Kathy Roth-Douquet

Kathy Roth-Douquet is founder and chief executive officer of Blue Star Families. She was the acting Principal Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

Roth-Douquet frequently speaks publicly about the role of the military in civil society and contributes to public discussions on civil military relations, military families, and national service.

Education Roth-Douquet graduated in 1986 with a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and later earned an M.P.A. in Public Administration and International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1991. She then went on to study at the University of San Diego School of Law, Magna Cum Laude and the Order of Coif where she received her J.D.

Career After attending Princeton, Roth-Douquet began working at the Nathan Cummings Foundation. In 1992, she worked as an aid to President Clinton where she was the first woman to serve as Lead Presidential Advance. She then worked with the Revlon Foundation, before taking the position of Acting Principle Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.

From 2004 until 2011, Roth-Douquet was a panel attorney at Appellate Defenders Inc. in California. In 2007 and 2008, she was an advisor to Obama for America and Veterans for Obama. In 2009, she founded Blue Star Families. She also worked at Princeton University Center for International Security Studies. It is the largest national non-profit organization dedicated to the support of US military families.

Roth-Douquet was a member of the Congressional Quality of Life Panel, which was formed in 2023. The Panel's advocacy efforts resulted in essential quality-of-life provisions for military families being included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Media and publications In 2006, Roth-Douquet co-authored "AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military Service and How it Hurts Our Country" with Frank Schaeffer, as well as "How free People Move Mountains" in 2008. and PBS News Hour advocating her work on civic and military issues.

In November 2022, Roth-Douquet published an article on NBC News about the lack of funding and financial assistance for military families. She has published essays and op-eds on various other media outlets like USA Today, PBS, Foreign Policy, and The New York Times among others.

Board membership and advisory roles Roth-Douquet is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, having served as co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center Defense Reform Task Force, and became a member of the Reserve Forces Policy Board in 2022. She is a senior advisor for the Summit Institute, In 2021, Roth-Douquet was elected as member of the board of trustees at Princeton University.

She is also a member of the advisory board of the Export-Import Bank of America and the America250.

Awards and honors Roth-Douquet is also a recipient of President George H. W. Bush's Daily Point of Light Award, and the Outstanding Civilian Service Award. In August 2021, Roth-Douquet was the inaugural selection to be inducted into the National Football League Hall.