Alexis Lasselle Ross
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy and Acquisition Reform
U.S. Army
Dr. Alexis Lasselle Ross currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Strategy and Acquisition Reform. She is the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) responsible for the design and implementation of acquisition reform and modernization initiatives.
Dr. Ross previously served as a Professional Staff Member on the Armed Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives (HASC). As a member of the Chairmen’s reform team, she developed reforms adopted in the FY17 and FY18 National Defense Authorization Acts in the areas of intellectual property, weapons sustainment, services contracting, and government-wide procurement through e-commerce. In addition to these projects, she directed general acquisition policy for the HASC. Prior to joining the HASC staff, Dr. Ross was the Deputy Associate Director of Health Benefits at the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, an independent, temporary Federal commission authorized by Congress to offer recommendations on military compensation reform to the President and Congress. In that capacity, she developed alternatives to the existing DOD health care program covering $50 billion and 9.6 million beneficiaries.
From 2009-2013, Dr. Ross served as a Senior Congressional Strategist and principle advisor to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, G-4. From 2007-2009, she contributed to logistics priorities and strategies as the Deputy Director of the Logistics Initiatives Group within the Army G-4.
Dr. Ross began her career at the HASC where she served in several capacities. As a Professional Staff Member, she was responsible for all committee action on Army and Marine Corps readiness matters, including combat operations, training, logistics, and equipment maintenance. As an analyst for HASC, she conducted numerous oversight studies, including a 16-month study on pre- deployment preparations that involved routinely embedding with an Army and Marine Corps battalion as they trained and operated throughout the U.S. and Iraq. Previously, Dr. Ross directed the committee’s legislative operations, which entailed orchestrating committee mark-ups, guiding House floor debate, and coordinating House-Senate conferences on the annual defense authorization bill.
Dr. Ross received a PhD in Public Policy from George Mason University. Her research areas included policy change, Congress and national security policymaking, legislative-executive branch interaction, and military compensation and personnel policy. She is a graduate of the Naval War College with an MS degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. She earned a BA degree in International Relations from Bucknell University. During her tenure at Bucknell, she spent a year studying at Oxford University in England. Dr. Ross is a recipient of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award.