Ms. Paige Hinkle-Bowles is the Chief Human Capital Officer at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In this role, she is the senior-most human capital executive in FEMA, with responsibility for advising Agency leadership on the scope and coverage of FEMA personnel programs and how to best align and integrate human capital strategies and policies with the Agency’s goals and program planning. She leads, develops, implements, and administers FEMA’s comprehensive human capital programs, to include planning and establishing organizational structures, evaluating programs, and interpreting policies in executive resources management, training and career development, labor management relations, workforce planning, employee relations, recruitment and employment, benefits and services, workers compensation, and special interest programs. She also provides oversight of day-to-day human capital and payroll operations.
Prior to joining FEMA, she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Civilian Human Resources), dual-hatted as the Director, Office of Civilian Human Resources (OCHR). In this capacity, she was the senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) and other senior Department of the Navy (DON) officials on current programs, areas of interest and significant events impacting the Department’s civilian workforce. She was responsible for a broad and complex spectrum of civilian HR policies, programs, advisory services, and operations affecting civilians employed by the DON worldwide. She also served as the DON’s HR and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Functional Community Manager.
Previously, she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Civilian Personnel Policy). Her responsibilities included development and oversight of civilian personnel plans, policies and programs that affected defense employees worldwide. Ms. Hinkle-Bowles’ portfolio spanned the full spectrum of the Human Capital Lifecycle, to include talent acquisition, development and sustainment, performance management, strategic workforce and succession planning, and leader development. Specific programs within her area of responsibility included senior executive management, human resources functional community management, and policy for deployed civilians.
Prior to this appointment, Ms. Hinkle-Bowles served as the Principal Director to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Civilian Personnel Policy). In that capacity, she co-led an interagency team charged with responding to a Presidential mandate to better prepare Service members for transition to civilian life.
Ms. Hinkle-Bowles also served as the Deputy Director of Force Management Policy, Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., with responsibility for establishing force management policies for Air Force military and civilian personnel.
Ms. Hinkle-Bowles entered federal civil service as a Strategic Air Command intern at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. Prior to her appointment to the Senior Executive Service, she held a variety of positions throughout the Air Force and Department of Defense, to include serving as Director of the Regional Personnel Center for U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Civilian Personnel Officer at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom; Deputy Director for Human Resources in the DoD Program Executive Office, National Security Personnel System; and Director of the Air Force Senior Executive Management Office.
Ms. Hinkle-Bowles earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Texas A&M University and her Master of Arts degree in political science and public administration from Midwestern State University. Her professional military training/education includes the CAPSTONE General and Flag Officer Course and Squadron Officer School in-residence, and she is a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University.
Ms. Hinkle-Bowles is a recipient of the 2015 Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award, and she received both the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence in 2013 and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2016.