Ms. Jane Horton brings over a decade of experience as a respected and influential global leader in the national security, humanitarian, and veterans space. She is a fearless and relentless advocate; one who has successfully fostered bipartisan collaboration on legislation, policies, and programs to better the lives of veterans, service members, their families, and those across the globe.
Recently, Jane served as a senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon. In this capacity, Ms. Horton advised on matters such as civilian and military personnel policy, military family policy, and international security affairs. She has championed efforts to advance warfighter brain health and Gold Star family initiatives. Prior to this position, Ms. Horton served as the congressional and military liaison for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington D.C. As a personal advisor, Ms. Horton provided guidance and oversight for regional, national, and international partner engagements; she also worked to advance equities and manage interactions with visiting delegations worldwide.
Additionally, Ms. Horton served as a policy consultant to the Travis Manion Foundation, the Advisory Board to the Independence Fund, Freedom Hunters, Remember My Service, End Child Soldering, and the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. Jane also served as a presidential delegate to the Invictus Games in Sydney, Australia, and was appointed to the U.S. Afghan Women’s Council in 2019. Ms. Horton’s distinguished career includes contributing as a writer for publications such as Task and Purpose, Huffington Post, and The Drudge Report; she has been featured on ABC, USA Today, Fox News, CNN, Voice of America, and numerous other publications and public appearances.
Furthermore, Ms. Horton has extensive leadership in military and veteran advocacy and a passion for service. She has dedicated over 13,000 hours to Gold Star family and survivor populations. Some notable achievements include championing the extension of the Fry Scholarship to surviving spouses, The Sergeant First Class Sean Cooley and Specialist Christopher Horton Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program Act, the Department of Defense Comprehensive Strategy for Warfighter Brain Health, and several laws in multiple National Defense Authorizations Acts regarding service member brain health, Gold Star, surviving family, and casualty policy. She has advised numerous senior military, congressional, and government leaders across the globe, earned multiple awards for her community and civilian service, and traveled to combat zones to visit the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan on numerous occasions. She has traveled twice with the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, as a special assistant and in her role as a senior advisor. She recently traveled on her sixth trip to Afghanistan in June of 2021 to continue her work in the country and advise on ways to care for their war widows and orphans. Ms. Horton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration from Rogers State University and a certificate in international studies from Harvest Brisbane, Australia.