Ms. Christine Nez Nalli was appointed the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Human Resources Directorate in January 2022. In this position she manages the Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) human capital activities and provides human resources and personnel security services to diverse clientele - Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and other serviced Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities. Her responsibilities include human resources servicing for approximately 5,200 civilians and 3,600 military personnel along with associated personnel security operations; personnel security adjudications, appeals, and policy covering over 13,000 positions across the OSD, Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities. In addition, Christine represents the OSD, Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities (referred to as the “Fourth Estate”) in a DoD-wide policy development role, providing advice on emerging initiatives affecting policy, service delivery, and collaboration with Fourth Estate organizations.
Prior to joining WHS, Christine was the Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) for HR Operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As the Deputy CHCO, she led a large, geographically dispersed HR workforce engaged in all facets of HR management. She was responsible for the HC strategies and planning for 23,000 FEMA workforces located throughout the United States. Before joining FEMA, she was the Deputy Director for the Office of Human Resources at the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA from March 2019 to July 2020. Prior to USDA, Christine held various HR positions at the EEOC, NOAA, Veteran Affairs, Energy, Treasury and Navy in Washington, DC.
Christine served almost 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Ordnance Officer. Her assignments included Fort Bragg, NC, South Korea, Italy, and Fort Belvoir, VA. Her last assignment was Fort Bragg where she supported the 82nd Airborne Division and was a qualified paratrooper.
Christine earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ and a Master of Science in Human Resources from American University in Washington, DC. She is a member of the Navajo Tribe and raised on the Navajo Reservation in Northern Arizona and Northern New Mexico. Christine is married to Dr. Nicholas R. Nalli, a Senior Research Scientist with IMSG at NOAA.