dr. candice bird
Director, Human Resources and Personnel Security
In 2016, Dr. Candace Bird assumed the duties of Human Resources Officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (P&R) - Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP). In this role, she is dual-hatted as the Human Resources Officer and Training Coordinator providing oversight of the Human Resources, Personnel Security, and Professional Development and Training functions within MC&FP. This role supports 120+ employees in MC&FP and an additional 50+ additional employees assigned to other organizations throughout P&R.
Prior to joining MC&FP, Dr. Bird served as Chief of Child & Youth Programs assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Air Force from 2012 to 2016. In this role, she served as the senior most subject matter expert providing policy, planning, and resource management of Child Development Centers, Family Child Care Programs, School Age Care Programs and Youth Programs. These programs supported Active, Guard and Reserve families serving 250K+ military-connected children at 300+ locations stateside and overseas. Including her current role, she has served military family programs over 29 years as a caregiver, coordinator, operations manager, director and major command specialist in Japan, North Dakota, Germany, Hawaii, Virginia and Maryland.
In 2021, Dr. Bird was recognized with the OSD Exceptional Civilian Service Award. In 2018, Dr. Bird was inducted into the elite Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame in recognition of her service to military children and families. Additionally, during Public Service Recognition Week in 2016, Dr. Bird was recognized by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter as a recipient of the prestigious “Spirit of Service” award acknowledging her commitment to and impact on military child and youth programs.
Dr. Bird is a proud graduate of University of Oklahoma with a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. She completed post-baccalaureate studies in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, earned an M.S. in Administration (Human Resources) from Central Michigan University and received a B.S. in Psychology from Benjamin Banneker Honors College located at Prairie View A&M University. She also holds School Age and Youth Development Professional Certificates from Concordia University as well as being a graduate of the 2024 Federal Internal Coach Training Program.
Dr. Bird is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. where she serves as the Chaplain of her Graduate Chapter. She is also a member of the Society of Human Resource Management and an avid Toastmaster having completed the requirements for Distinguished Toastmaster, the highest level of educational achievement in Toastmasters. At her church, Dr. Bird serves as Chair of the Pastor’s Education Committee and an adult sponsor of the Youth Drama Ministry. In her spare time, she mentors those interested in higher professional pursuits and enjoys reading and playing word games. Her favorite quote is from Dr. Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”