Dr. Brodi Kotila

Brodi Kotila is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. She supports the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense on a wide range of matters including strategic planning and implementation, legal, regulatory, and policy analysis, risk mitigation, disaster response and emergency management, and military personnel and health issues.

Previously, Kotila served as Assistant Secretary for Strategy, Plans, Analysis and Risk at the Department of Homeland Security, leading policy development, strategy, and planning for the Department and managing the Office of Policy’s 180 employees and approximately $40 million budget. Prior to joining DHS, Kotila served as Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of the Army, providing advice on policy, planning, and resource matters including headquarters restructuring, recruiting, retention, training, health care, and family programs. Previously, Kotila led interagency policy development for the White House Domestic Policy Council on veterans and military families issues including mental health care, suicide prevention, education, training, and employment. From 2011-2014, Kotila served as Special Counsel to the Department of Defense General Counsel, where she advised the General Counsel and the Secretary of Defense on issues including DoD efforts to combat sexual assault in the military, implementation of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and the role of women in military service. Kotila previously served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Kotila holds a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.