vailsymposium

Captain Dawn Halfaker is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Halfaker and Associates, an award-winning professional services and technology solutions firm founded in 2006. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Halfaker and Associates operates worldwide providing leading-edge, innovative solutions in information technology for government organizations on issues of national and global significance. Under Halfaker’s leadership, the Company has achieved extraordinary success and growth which is fueled by the Company’s vision of “Continuing to Serve.”

Prior to starting Halfaker and Associates, Halfaker consulted on several projects with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office and was focused on medical research and technology to enhance warfighter capabilities and save lives on the battlefield. She interned as a military liaison to the House Armed Services Committee where she advised the committee Chair on key Department of Defense legislation and issues and also served as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army. Throughout her military career, Halfaker earned respect as a dynamic leader of men and women in combat, peacekeeping, and in training in the United States, South Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq. While in the military, Halfaker held several leadership positions and deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division where she commanded a military police platoon in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was subsequently wounded during a combat patrol near Baghdad in 2004, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for her service.

Halfaker remains active supporting numerous civic, cultural and business organizations and is a staunch advocate for Veterans and Wounded Warriors. Specifically, she is a member of the USO Board of Governors and the Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee for Veterans Employer Training and Employer Outreach and the Department of Veteran Affairs Readjustment Committee. Halfaker also participates as a member of the Advisory Board for Humana Military Health Systems and ThanksUSA and is a member of the NDIA Board of Trustees and the Reserve Forces Policy Board. Previously, Halfaker served as the Chairwoman of the Board for the Wounded Warrior Project where she focused on raising awareness and enlisting the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women in addition to helping severely injured service members recover and readjust and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Committee for OIF/OEF soldiers and families which focused on improving VA policies and care for veterans who were severely injured in combat.

Halfaker holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Arts in Security Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. In 2012 Halfaker was recognized as an Ernst & Young Greater Washington Entrepreneur of the Year® Award Winner. Some of her other accomplishments include: 2012 Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Corporate Citizenship Award Winner; 2012 Aspen Institute Scholar Award; 2012 Civilian Job’s Most Valuable Employer for Military; 2012 Women in Technology Leadership Award Finalist; 2012 Heroine in Technology Finalist; 2011 Fortune Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs; 2011 Worth Magazine Top Entrepreneurs to Watch (#18); and 2011 Washington Business Journal Women Who Mean Business Award. Additionally, she has been featured on several media outlets including HBO, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Huffington Post and The New York Times.