"Leadership Forward" ft. Tyra Dent AAFEA President From Mid-Career to Executive Service

Leadership Forward Speaker Series

From Mid-Career to Executive Series

A conversation with the African American Federal Executive Association (AAFEA)

Monday, January 29, 2024| 6-7 p.m. ET 

Tyra Dent currently serves as the National President of the African American Federal Executive  Association (AAFEA), a nonprofit organization, dedicated to promoting and preparing  African Americans for advancement into and within the senior and executive ranks of the US  Government. As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, Ms. Dent provides strategic leadership direction and oversight in governing AAFEA operations and  programs.  

Prior to joining the non-profit sector, Ms. Dent served as a distinguished career senior executive,  having retired from the Senior Executive Service (SES) as the Deputy Chief Human Capital  Officer (DCHO), Department of Commerce (DOC). As DCHO, Ms. Dent provided department wide human resource (HR) policy and operational oversight in collaboration with the CHCO.  Prior to that role, Ms. Dent served as the Human Resource Division Chief at the US Census  Bureau. In this capacity she led a national HR service delivery operation and advised Executive  Staff and senior officials on all phases of human resource management. This responsibility  included consultation on special HR efforts related to the management of census programs and  research and development of policy guidance for recruiting and hiring approximately one million  temporary employees nationwide to conduct the 2010 decennial census. Ms. Dent began her  professional leadership journey with an appointment as a Presidential Management Fellow, at the  U.S. Department of Treasury, Financial Management Services, where she coordinated and  negotiated banking arrangements for federal deposits. Subsequently, Ms. Smith joined the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as Program Manager for the Next  Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD). Ms. Dent possesses expertise in human resource  management, strategic planning, change management and diversity, equity and inclusion.  

Ms. Dent holds a BA in psychology from Hampton University and an MPA from Howard  University. Ms. Dent volunteers with the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) and is a  long-standing member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.