COL Mike Barron (USA, Ret.)

Senior Advisor - National Security & Legislative Affairs
Board Member

Mike Barron is the President and CEO of Capitol Hill Connect, LLC consulting firm, a Department of Veterans Affairs certified service-disabled veteran owned small business providing strategic value through expert consulting on congressional and legislative affairs, strategic planning and integration, program and project management, policy and governance, strategic integration, performance management including operations and training, leadership, and change management.  A recognized authority on military and veteran affairs, national security, defense and foreign affairs, Mike assists clients in achieving and sustaining success in a highly competitive environment.

Mike Barron is a retired United States Army Colonel of Infantry, who served in command and leadership positions at all levels, from tactical through strategic.  He is a decorated combat veteran of Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.  His last active duty assignment was as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army.  Prior to that, he served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Legislative Affairs.  Earlier in his career, in addition to his infantry leadership assignments, he served as an instructor and assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point and later was a Military Congressional Fellow serving on the personal staff of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Honorable Newt Gingrich of Georgia, followed by selection as the Army Liaison to the United States Senate.  

Since retiring from active military service in 2010 he has served as an executive with the Boeing Company, as Director of Government Affairs and Director of International Operations and Policy.  Moving to the nonprofit sector, he then served as Director of Government Relations for the Military Officers Association of America, a national military and veteran service organization.  He most recently served in senior leadership at the Veterans Administration as Senior Advisor, to the Undersecretary for Health, where he provided advice, counsel and recommendations to the Undersecretary, Deputy Secretary and the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on issues, policy and legislation affecting Veteran healthcare.

An Army ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of San Francisco, he holds advanced degrees from Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, the City University of New York, and the United States Army War College.  He was a Fellow with the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds advanced senior executive education certifications from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  He serves on the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.