Heather Wilson, Ph.D.

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Personal Information

Wilson was appointed Secretary of the U.S. Air Force in 2017 and oversees 685,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces, and an annual budget of $160 billion. Prior to that appointment, she served as president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, an engineering and science research university, from 2013 to 2017.

In 1998, Wilson became the first female military veteran elected to a full term in Congress, representing New Mexico until 2009.

After she graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in its third class to admit women and was selected as a Rhodes Scholar – one of the world’s most celebrated and distinguished international fellowships – she served as an Air Force officer for seven years. She was subsequently appointed to the National Security Council and as cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.