Kathleen T. Jabs

Kathleen serves as Special Assistant to the President for Military and Veteran Affairs at William & Mary. From 2019-2022, Kathleen served as Acting Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs for the Commonwealth of Virginia where she worked to coordinate state and federal resources to support Virginia’s military and veteran communities and liaison with federal defense facilities.

Kathleen graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy earning a Bachelor of Science in English with minors in Russian and Engineering. She completed six years of active duty, then transferred to the Navy Reserve where she commanded three units before retiring as a Captain in 2017. Her military career spans a variety of active duty and reserve positions, with service in Japan, Hawaii, Panama, the Pentagon, and military installations along the East Coast.

Kathleen has more than 30 years of government, military and academic leadership and communications experience including assignments with NATO Allied Command Transformation, US Fleet Forces Command, the Joint Staff, and National Defense University. She is a graduate of the Hampton Roads CIVIC Leadership Institute Executive Program, the Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Executive Institute, and the Naval Post-Graduate School (NPS) Executive Leader Residence Course.

In addition to her defense career, Kathleen earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from George Mason University and has published a novel, several award- winning stories, and many articles in literary and national publications. Named a fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, she serves as President of the Naval Academy Alumni Association Peninsula Chapter and is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist with the Historic Rivers chapter. She is married with two grown children.