Dana H. Born

Dr. Dana H. Born is an Associate with the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Program and Senior Advisor to the National Security Fellowship at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS).

Prior to retiring from the Harvard faculty in 2024, Dr. Born served as Co-Director of the Center for Public Leadership, Faculty Chair of the Senior Executive Fellows Program, Faculty Advisor to the National Security Fellows and Black Family Graduate Fellowship, and Lecturer in Public Policy. She received the HKS Innovation in Teaching Award in 2017 and the HKS Annual Teaching Award each year from 2014 through 2024.

A retired Brigadier General, Dr. Born served for 30 years in the United States Air Force as a leader and commander during times of peace, conflict, and crisis. Before joining Harvard, she spent nine years as Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), becoming the first woman to hold that position and leading more than 700 faculty and staff with a $350 million annual budget. She previously commanded the 11th Mission Support Squadron at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., where she served as an on-scene commander during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Her other assignments included serving as an aide, speechwriter, and policy analyst to two Secretaries of the Air Force; as an exchange officer with the Royal Australian Air Force; and in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Her military and professional honors include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Secretary of the Air Force’s Eugene M. Zuckert Award for Outstanding Management Achievement, and the Air Force Association’s Hoyt S. Vandenberg Award for outstanding contributions to aerospace education.

Dr. Born is Chair of the Board of Trustees of DeVry University and Keller Graduate School of Management. She is also an independent director and former Chair of the Midwest Reliability Organization, where she serves on the Organizational Group Oversight Committee and the Governance and Personnel Committee. Her current nonprofit service includes the USAFA Falcon Foundation Board of Trustees, the Harvard Veterans Alumni Organization Board of Directors, and the Honorary Advisory Board of the EOD Warrior Foundation. She previously served as a supporting director of the Air Force Academy Foundation and chaired its Stewardship Committee.

Dr. Born is a Senior Distinguished Fellow with The HOW Institute for Society, where she teaches and mentors participants in the NXT-GEN Fellowship for Moral Leadership and hosts the HOW Conversations video and podcast series. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Women’s Forum–DC, and Women Corporate Directors–DC, and a founding advisor to With Honor. She is a past president and board chair of the International Women’s Forum–Massachusetts, a past president of the Society for Military Psychology, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Her prior corporate board service includes Apollo Education Group and Volato, where she chaired the Audit Committee.

A graduate of USAFA with distinction, Dr. Born earned a B.S. in Behavioral Sciences; an M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Trinity University in Texas; an M.A. in Research Psychology from the University of Melbourne, Australia; and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Penn State University. Penn State recognized her with its Alumni Fellow Award in 2012 and Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018. She received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Administration from Simmons College in 2007.

Across her work in national security, higher education, corporate governance, and moral leadership, Dr. Born remains deeply committed to developing leaders prepared to serve with courage, character, and purpose. During the 2026–2027 academic year, she will continue that work at Harvard through the Belfer Center, the Center for Public Leadership and its fellows, the inaugural 50-member American Service Fellowship cohort, including 25 military veterans, and her service on the Harvard Veterans Alumni Organization Board of Directors.

Born, D. H. (2026). The Middle Matters! Journal of Character and Leadership Development, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.58315/jcld.v13.345

Born, D. H., Correa, M. & George, W. (2025).  Authentic Leadership Across Levels: Unlocking Global Potential. In Special Issue: The Future of Global Talent Management: Strategies, Innovations, and Challenges for a Diverse and Dynamic Workforce.  Editors: Gary Latham, Ron Piccolo, and Paula Caliguiri. Organizational Dynamics.

Born, D. H., & Yemiscigil, A. (Fall, 2024).  Leadership Perspective: What Makes Leadership Development Impactful? Exploring a Whole-Person Approach. Journal of Character and Leadership Development (JCLD). https://doi.org/10.58315/jcld.v11.304

Born, D. H., & Caliguiri, P (Spring, 2024).  Leadership Perspective: Leaders’ Psychological Bravery. Journal of Character and Leadership Development (JCLD). https://jcldusafa.org/index.php/jcld/article/view/292/437

Dimmock, A. & Born, D. H., (Fall, 2023).  Leadership Perspective:  A More Perfect Union:  Meaning in the Preamble of the United States Constitution. Journal of Character and Leadership Development (JCLD). https://doi.org/10.58315/jcld.v10.285

Yemiscigil, A., Born, D. H., & Ling, H.  (Feb 28, 2023). "What Makes Leadership Development Programs Succeed?" Harvard Business Review. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/what-makes-leadership-development-programs-succeed