Jessica Salyers
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Council Speaker
Council - 2022 Aug 30 GrowthSpace HR Council - East
Dr. Jessica Salyers is the Chief Learning Officer for the Veterans Health
Administration, encompassing the Employee Education System and VHA
Healthcare Leadership Talent Institute (HLTI). In her role overseeing 400
employees and a $100M budget, she is responsible for providing the right
learning, anytime, anywhere, to all VHA employees in the areas of clinical
care, health care operations and administration, as well as leadership
development, talent management and succession planning. Dr. Salyers serves
as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary for Health for the analysis,
development, delivery, implementation, and evaluation of education,
learning, development, and training programs, products, and services that
support workforce development and continuing education for the
Administration’s more than 377,000 health care professionals and staff, as
well as 120,000 residents and trainees at over 1,255 sites, caring for 8.92 million Veterans. As an
advocate and champion for transforming VHA into a learning organization, Dr. Salyers works with VA
and VHA leaders to identify requirements and leverage collaborative and innovative education, training
and development opportunities in support of Department and Administration goals and objectives.
Dr. Salyers is also responsible for developing and implementing a VHA-wide comprehensive leadership
development, talent management and succession planning strategy to ensure a steady leadership
pipeline, guiding a collection of multi-dimensional talent assessment information on executives across
VHA to identify those in the pipeline for key leadership positions and ensure they receive the work
experiences, assignments, coaching/mentoring and training necessary for building executive leadership
skills.
Prior to her appointment, she served as the Executive Director for HLTI in VHA. Her previous positions in
the Air Force include Chief Talent Management Officer for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB); Deputy Executive Director, Chief of Staff and Chief
Learning Officer at the Air Force Research Laboratory; and others. She has 18 years of experience in
industrial/organizational psychology, organizational consulting, change management, leadership
development, organizational development and strategic planning.
Dr. Salyers’ major awards include the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, Exemplary Civilian Service
Award (2013), Special Act or Service Award (multiple), Dayton Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award, and
Leadership Dayton graduate.
She holds a doctorate in business/consulting psychology; a master’s degree in industrial/organizational
psychology; and a bachelor’s degree in general psychology, criminal justice studies and sociology. Her
specific areas of research interest and experience include survey assessment and design, information
overload and future of work.