Shari Durand, a long-time civilian employee of the Department of Defense, took over as acting director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in July 2016.

Durand is from Somerville, Alabama. Her mother, Peggy, also worked for the Defense Department—in her case, the Army. Durand attended Athens State College, graduating in 1980 with a B.A. in psychology. She later earned an M.S. in procurement management from American University in 1990.

She started with the Department of the Navy the following year, as an intern. Beginning in 1983, Durand was a contracting officer for the Naval Air Systems Command in Arlington, Virginia. She was sent to San Diego in 1991 as the contracts department head in the Navy Public Works Center there. In 1995, she became academic director, then director, of the Naval Facilities Contracts Training Center at Port Hueneme, Calif. Durand returned to Washington in 1997 as a deputy program manager in the Base Realignment and Closure Office, and in 2000 she was named assistant deputy commandant for contracts for the Marine Corps.

Durand started with the DTRA in 2003 as deputy associate director for business enterprise, working on the business side of the agency dedicated to stopping weapons of mass destruction. In 2007, she was made associate director, business enterprise/component acquisition executive and in 2012, Durand was made the agency’s executive director. She held that post until being named acting director in 2016.

Durand has a son.

-Steve Straehley

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