Kimberly Jackson is a senior international and defense researcher at RAND. She has over two decades of experience as a national security analyst, advisor, and senior government executive. Her research focuses on operational and strategic readiness, net assessment, global force management, defense strategy, military culture, special operations, and Pentagon organizations, processes, and leadership development.
Previously, she served as Chief of Staff in the Department of Veterans Affairs, managing the agency’s 451,000 employees and $325B budget. From 2021-2023, she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Readiness in the Department of Defense (DoD), responsible for policy, strategic guidance, and oversight of U.S. military readiness.
Jackson was also previously a United States Navy Reserve officer, where she held assignments in Naval Special Warfare and in the Chief of Naval Operations' Strategic Studies Group.
Jackson began her civilian service in the DoD as a Presidential Management Fellow, and later held positions leading special operations, security assistance, and Syria policy. She also served as a defense policy advisor in the U.S. Senate, where she spearheaded legislation to create the National Guard and Reserve Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, providing resources to redeploying reservists nationwide.
Jackson holds an M.P.P. and an M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. in journalism from the University of Minnesota. She also serves as a coach with The Honor Foundation.
M.P.P., University of California, Berkeley; M.P.H., University of California, Berkeley; B.A. in journalism, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Contributing editor, War on the Rocks
