Elizabeth Brownlee Kolmstetter

Kolmstetter holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in industrial and organizational psychology from Virginia Tech and has pioneered numerous innovative talent management programs across eight federal agencies. She has excelled in male-dominated agencies such as the FBI, ODNI, and CIA and currently works for NASA as the director of Talent Strategy and Engagement in Washington, D.C. Her efforts have contributed to NASA being named the Best Place to Work in government and she was recently recognized with NASA’s 2020 Outstanding Leadership Medal.

After 9/11, Kolmstetter was tapped to help start the new Transportation Security Administration. She was directly responsible for establishing and managing the standards and hiring system that resulted in the largest civilian workforce mobilization in U.S. history. In 2007 she was named a fellow for the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, one of only two currently serving in the federal government. Kolmstetter has served on several nonprofit boards and is the recipient of Hollins’ Distinguished Alumnae Award and Hollins’ Honoris Causa.