Dr. Katie Helland, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Director of Military Accession Policy. Her office is a component of the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy. In her role, she provides oversight on a broad spectrum of recruiting and accession processing policies and programs in support of both officer and enlisted missions.

Prior to this role, Dr. Helland served as the Director of the Joint Advertising, Market Research and Studies program in the Defense Human Resources Activity. Advertising, Market Research and Studies program in the Defense Human Resources Activity. Her responsibilities included the development of joint outreach efforts for military recruiting and overseeing market research projects to understand young adults’ propensity to serve, recall of military advertising, and the barriers and motivators to service.

Dr. Helland has over twenty years of experience conducting research in government, private, and academic settings. Specifically, she has conducted numerous research studies on career decision-making, motivation, performance appraisal instruments, leadership effectiveness, and personality. Her work has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Helland received her doctorate degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Prior to receiving her doctorate degree, she received a BA in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Northern Iowa. Dr. Helland received the Defense Medal for Exemplary Civilian Service in 2022 and 2016.