Chandra Donelson

Chief Data and AI Officer and Director of Data Artificial Intelligence and Software

U.S. Space Force

Ms. Chandra Donelson was appointed as the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO) for the United States Space Force in December 2023. In this role, Ms. Donelson sets the strategic direction for and oversees the execution of polices and programs for data and artificial intelligence (AI), including data life cycle management, responsible AI, and ensures the synchronization of the efforts across enterprise. Concurrently, from March 2024 to October 2024, Ms. Donelson served as the acting CDAO for the Department of the Air Force (DAF). During her tenure, she led the delivery of several solutions, including CLARA, NIRPGPT, the DAF Artificial Intelligence Services Environment (DAIS-E), the DAF AI Launch Point, and established the DAF's data and AI governance structure. Ms. Donelson is a recognized subject matter expert in digital transformation, capability development, and scaling data and AI capabilities across the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community (IC). Prior to her current government service, Ms. Donelson served as the Deputy Chief Data Officer (CDO) for the Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA), Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2), at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, from 2021-2023. In this role, she led the development of key initiatives, including the first Army IC Data Strategy, the Army Data Literacy Program, the Army Intelligence Data Platform (AIDP), among other programs and policies. Ms. Donelson also served as the Army OSINT Data Manager for the HQDA G-2 from 2017-2021, where she developed and implemented the Army OSINT Reporting and Dissemination Standards and the Army Open Source Portal (AOSP). Before moving into technology, Ms. Donelson founded a bridal store in Texas and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. She currently serves at Air Combat Command (ACC). Prior to her current role, Ms. Donelson served as the Data and Analytics Officer for CENTCOM J2 (2017-2024), the Chief of Standard Evaluation at the 913th Operations Support Squadron (OSS) (2013-2017), and began her military career as an intelligence specialist at the 927th Fighter Support Squadron (FSS).

Ms. Donelson has a BS in Business Administration, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Master in Information Technology (IT), and a Master in Data Science and Analytics in High-Performance Computing.

Ms. Donelson is a native of Arkansas and currently resides in the National Capital Region (NCR) with her son.

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