Title: Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services (Retired)
Company: U.S. Air Force
Location: Arlington, Virginia, United States
Gina M. Grosso, Lt. General, USAF, retired deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services in the United States Air Force, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Military for dedication, achievements, and leadership in the Air Force.
Born at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Ms. Grosso seemed destined to join the military from a young age. She drew inspiration from both her father, a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and her younger mother. While Ms. Grosso was growing up, her mother pursued college and eventually a PhD, teaching her daughter a sense of drive and ambition.
In 1986, Ms. Grosso began a career with the U.S. Air Force that spanned over 30 years. She devoted 20 years of her service as an officer before being promoted to commander of the Joint Base and 87th Air Base Wing in 2009. Ms. Grosso considers this a major milestone, as she was one of the first ten joint base commanders in the U.S. military system, overseeing a base that combined forces from the Air Force, Army and Navy. She excelled in navigating the challenges posed by this position, eventually proving the joint base model effective in encouraging collaboration and trust between different branches of the military.
Deeply trusted for her strong leadership, Ms. Grosso later took on such roles as director of manpower, organization and resources, director of force management police, and ultimately, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services. Among her many contributions, she found deep rewards in her time as the director of Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response from 2014 to 2015. In this position, Ms. Grosso was able to put her love for data and analytics to work in understanding the scope of this problem within the Air Force. From there, she helped explore and develop solutions for mitigating these issues to protect the men and women serving in the military and to support survivors of assault. Ms. Grosso retired as a three-star general in 2018. However, she has continued to offer her insight as a member of a defense advisory committee on preventing sexual misconduct, furthering her commitment to fighting against this endemic problem.
Since her military retirement, Ms. Grosso has remained active. Her first private sector job since high school was with a woman-owned small business named Golden Key Group, where she assisted with an Air Force ROTC contract, drawing on her past experiences. In 2021, Ms. Grosso was asked by the Biden administration to accept placement as the assistant secretary for human resources administration and operations, security, and preparation for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a role which she held stepping down in 2024. She currently works part-time in support of a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, demonstrating her continuing dedication to others who have served in the U.S. military.
Both before and after joining the Air Force, Ms. Grosso prioritized a strong education for her foundation, beginning with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and industrial management from Carnegie Mellon University in 1986. Subsequently, Ms. Grosso obtained a Master of Business Administration with a minor in statistics from William & Mary in 1992, followed by a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval Command and Staff College in 1999. Returning to the academic world in 2005, she earned a fellowship in national security policy studies from the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. Ms. Grosso was also awarded an honorary PhD in public service from Carnegie Mellon University in 2023. She has been granted numerous military accolades and a Meritorious Service Award from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Outside of her military service and professional life, Ms. Grosso is a devoted wife and a loving mother to two stepdaughters. Believing in the importance of civic duty, she volunteers at food kitchens and is a regular donor to Doctors Without Borders. Though she does not intend to stop working, Ms. Grosso is still exploring what form that work might take. She is considering further efforts in government initiatives as well as spending more time on volunteer work.
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