Leah Cole, MSEd, PMP

Experience

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  U.S. Coast Guard

  May 2004 - Aug 2008

  CFO | COO | Chief of HR | Leader of 16 member team, 750K budget, training, humanitarian and law enforcement missions execution across the Florida Straights and Caribbean Responsible for safely operating and navigating a 378’ ship and leading maritime law enforcement teams in conducting counter-narcotic operations, hurricane response & recovery, deploying 185 days a year.

  • Executive Officer, Patrol Boat

    Jun 2006 - Aug 2008

  • Deck Watch & Law Enforcement Officer

    May 2004 - Jun 2006
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  US Coast Guard Academy

  Aug 2009 - Jun 2012

  Military Professor, US Coast Guard Academy Leadership Development Center

  Professor, Instructional Designer of Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Leadership Competencies courses and adult education for 8,000 active duty and reserve US military members annually. Entire suite of 23 courses received full ACE accreditation under tenure

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  U.S. Coast Guard

  Jun 2012 - Jun 2016

  Executive Assistant to the senior most operational commander across the Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Gulf; schedule/trip/calendar planner, speechwriter, researcher COO | Led 42 person department, 400k budget, law enforcement, humanitarian, and counter-narcotics operations for Major US Coast Guard cutter, deploying 185 days a year across the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea

  • Executive Assistant (EA) Atlantic Area Commander

    Jun 2014 - Jun 2016

  • Operations Officer

    Jun 2012 - Jun 2014
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  U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

  Jun 2016 - Jun 2018

  Joint Inter-Agency Task Force, Chief, Oceania Future Operations (J35)

  International Task force leader for all joint US-Australia, New Zealand, and all Pacific Island Nations operations, exercises, and building partner capacity activities. Worked directly with highest levels of Goverments, Heads of State, Chiefs of Defense and Law Enforcement, Ambassadors and Embassy, Foreign Military Officers to secure partnerships for a free and open Indo-Pacific and address transnational issues

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  Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies

  Jun 2018 - Jun 2019

  Military Professor, Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies

  Military Fellow and published author on matters of regional security, maritime security and sustainability policy across the Indo-Asia-Pacific. Seminar leader, workshop lead, and course developer.

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  U.S. Coast Guard

  Jul 2019 - Jun 2024

  CFO | Chief of HR | CLO Responsible for leading 145 personnel, $1B 4,600ton capital asset, executing annual procurement budget of 2.7M, operating and engineering budget of 35M and generating mission excellence and personnel readiness to execute maritime security across the Pacific, deploying 185 days a year across the Arctic, Pacific & Indian Oceans COO | PMP Chief of Operations & Strategic Planning for the US Coast Guard across the Indo-Asia-Pacific and Arctic regions. Accomplishing DHS/DoD/DoS/NSC objectives for the Coast Guard, International Fisheries and Environmental Agreements, humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of disasters and sustainability of our Oceans.

  • Executive Officer, National Security Cutter Bertholf, Pacific Area

    Jun 2022 - Jun 2024

  • Chief of Response Operations Planning

    Jul 2019 - Jun 2022
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  Harvard University

  Jun 2024 - now

  National Security Fellow

  The National Security Fellowship is a one year executive level program at Harvard Kennedy School sponsored by the Belfer Center for Science andInternational Affairs. The fellowship provides an opportunity to strengthen executive leadership, professional, and intellectual skills while contributing to the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy (DETS) program on complex issues ranging from European Security, Indo-Pacific Strategy, Al, Cyber, Arctic, Space, Migration, and Energy Transition.