Jan Lesher

Ms. Jan Lesher is an accomplished public servant and recognized leader in crisis communications, homeland security policy and operations, and the complex relationships between state, local, and federal governments.

Most recently, Ms. Lesher served as Chief of Staff for Operations at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Secretary Janet Napolitano. In this capacity, she was the first DHS Chief of Staff in the Obama Administration, and a principal advisor to Secretary Napolitano on a wide range of policy and operational issues. Ms. Lesher’s portfolio spanned across the entire Department, but much of her effort centered around the coordination and management of the Department’s operational components, the critical agencies on the frontlines of the fight to secure the U.S. Homeland like The Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Prior to serving as Chief of Staff at DHS, Ms. Lesher was Chief of Staff to then-Governor Napolitano in Arizona, where she was the senior advisor to the Governor on a variety of state policy issues, strategic communications, and had oversight responsibility for the management of the Governor’s office and other key executive branch offices. Ms. Lesher spent considerable time focusing on managing the state’s relationship with the federal government, especially in the critical area of border security, where she was a key player during the federal border security ramp-up that included tactical infrastructure, increased personnel, and deployment of cutting edge technology in Arizona in 2008 and 2009, which strengthened Arizona’s southern border in critical areas exponentially. Ms. Lesher also served as Director of Arizona’s Department of Commerce, where she led efforts to promote investment and increase economic development in Arizona.

Between her tenures of public service, Ms. Lesher also held leadership positions in the private sector. She started Lesher Communications, a successful public relations and communications consulting firm in 1990, and served as Vice President of Communications and Marketing for the Tucson Economic Development Corporation, Executive Director of the Tucson Community Cable Corporation and Vice President of Warner-Amex Cable.

Ms. Lesher has an impressive history of community involvement, including service as a member of the Board of Directors of the Commerce and Economic Development Commission; Arizona Town Hall; the Greater Arizona Development Authority; the Community Food Bank; and La Frontera. She was named a Woman of Influence by Inside Tucson Business in 2004 and the Metropolitan Tucson Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year in 2005. In 2008 she was the Arizona Capitol Times Leader of the Year in Public Policy and received the YWCA Business Leadership Award.

Ms. Lesher was born and raised in Tucson, AZ and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Arizona.