Jennifer Walcutt

Dr. J.J. Walcutt is a scientist, innovator, and learning engineer that specializes in strategic development and reform across education, military, and government. She is currently serving as a Highly Qualified Expert (HQE) in Human Development for the USAF (HAF/A1). In this role, she is leading the design of an Air Force Development Strategy and providing advisement across a variety of assessment, strategic, and technology-enabled projects aimed at enhancing human capabilities.

Prior to her current position, Dr. Walcutt focused on optimizing human cognition and performance across a wide spectrum of learning programs including neuroinformed military training, data-driven higher education planning, and talent development optimization. More specifically, she led an effort across USAF to redesign pilot training processes, policies, and effectiveness with specific emphasis on developing a total learning architecture, optimizing the use and development of simulations and other light weight technologies, as well as full-spectrum recommendations across funding, readiness measurement, and policy modernization. Prior to this work, Dr. Walcutt completed a one-year sabbatical to tour the United States and study the connections between citizen innovation, government, and politics. On this tour, she traveled to all 50 states, interviewed Americans and experts in major issue areas, and used these data to create a National Readiness Blueprint. Her results have been published in a full-length book.

Prior to her tour, she served in the U.S. Government as the Director of Innovation at the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative under the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as a Human Innovation Fellow under the Office of Personnel Management. During her tenure in the government, she published two books. The first defined a national education reform plan and the second designed an open innovation model for re-imagining the executive branch. In her role at the Pentagon, Dr. Walcutt focused on promoting the science of learning through her service as a U.S. Delegate to NATO, Partnership for Peace, as a steward for DoDI 1322.26, and as a national and international keynote speaker. In her role as a Human Innovation Fellow, she used the science of human centered design to recommend improved governmental communication structures with the American people to promote innovative problem solving. In this role, she provided keynote speeches nationally regarding innovation across, and transformation of, the federal government. Dr. Walcutt has over 25 years of experience in research, development, and design with a specific emphasis on human optimization and enterprise modernization for the US military and our allies