Dr. Laura Stubbs
Director for Enterprise Services

Dr. Laura Stubbs was appointed to the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the Director for Enterprise Services (ES) reporting to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, effective July, 2010. ES is responsible for strategic planning, internal communications, performance and information management, legal policy, and oversight of congressionally mandated programs affecting the readiness and wellbeing of the U.S. armed forces.

Before assuming her current role, Dr. Stubbs was the Chief Learning Officer for the Carderock Division at the Naval Surface Warfare Center where she provided the overarching strategy for technical learning and workforce development initiatives for 3200 employees.  Prior to that position, she was the Branch Head for the Machinery Science and Technology Group where she led a team of engineers and scientists to develop cutting edge upstream technologies for the Navy. 

With a proven track record of success, from 2006-2009, Dr. Stubbs was recalled to active duty by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs as a Human Capital and Lean Six Sigma Deployment Champion.  She developed, implemented and promoted the use of process improvement practices to better implement the Department of Navy human capital strategy and total force planning management policies.

No stranger to private industry, Dr. Stubbs previously worked at Procter and Gamble where she held key leadership positions.  She organized and implemented one of the most complicated logistics, customs, importing and exporting programs leading teams in the delivery of key global materials and in the successful launch of a new, global product simultaneously on four continents.

Dr. Stubbs earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park.  She holds both her B.S.E. and M.S.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Stubbs entered the U.S. Navy as the first African-American Naval Nuclear Power School instructor and later transferred to the US Naval Academy as an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. 

Her awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the DoD Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Role Model Award and the VADM Samuel Gravely Award for achievement in equity and diversity.  Throughout her careers, ever cognizant of her responsibility as a role model, she has dedicated her life to assisting others in achieving their dreams.  Her most recent award from the University of Pennsylvania’s Black Alumni Society, honored her for that lifelong dedication in which she received the Living Legend Award recognizing outstanding achievement and significant contributions to the University of Pennsylvania and to the Community. 

An active member of her communities, Dr. Stubbs is a member of a variety of professional organizations including: Lifetime Member of the Navy League, Reserve Officers Association, National Naval Officers Association, American Society of Quality, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Naval Engineers, African American Federal Executives Association, Military Officers Association of America, and Women’s Memorial at Arlington Cemetery.