The Honorable Alex Wagner

The Honorable Alex Wagner served as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower & Reserve Affairs from 2022 to 2025. Nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he was responsible for the entire human capital enterprise of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, including recruiting and retention, talent management, compensation, health care and dependent care, discipline, oversight of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Air Force ROTC detachments, and reserve component affairs impacting nearly 700,000 Airmen, Guardians, and civilians across the Department of the Air Force.  

Previously, as Vice President at the Aerospace Industries Association, Alex led policy efforts on behalf of America’s most prominent aerospace and defense companies focused on talent development, including specific programs to enhance workforce diversity, expand STEM education access, and protect employees’ health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Obama administration, he served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Army, spearheading creation of the Army Rapid Capabilities Office, the Army Digital Service, and worked alongside tech industry leaders to launch “Hack the Army”—at the time, the most aggressive federal government bug bounty in history.  Over the course of several prior appointments in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, he shaped the development and implementation of DoD policies on nuclear and conventional weapons systems, including emerging autonomy in weapons systems. Prior to his government service, as a lawyer in private practice, Alex helped draft the briefs and refine argument strategy for a First Amendment case decided on the merits by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

He earned a J.D. cum laude from Georgetown Law, an A.B. with honors from Brown University, and is currently an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.