WHF Profile: Katey van Dam (2017-18)
Can you tell us about yourself and your work before the White House Fellowship?
I commissioned into the Marine Corps out of the Naval Academy in 2005. I became a gunship pilot and was active for ten years, deploying to Afghanistan and the Gulf of Aden. I left the Marine Corps and went to grad school at JHU SAIS. I studied national security and international economics, anticipating I would go into policy, when I fell in love with tech. At the end of my second year, I applied for and was selected as a WHF.
How did you hear about the White House Fellows Program and what made you decide to apply?
I had a friend who was a WHF years before, so it was not completely foreign to me, but like so many things in my life, my husband was the one who told me about and encouraged me to apply. My mentors, Dr. Eliot Cohen and Michele Flournoy wrote my letters of recommendation, and were very supportive of my journey. Michele’s husband, Scott Gould, was a WHF and was a huge supporter who help me prepare for the interview process.
What goals were you hoping to achieve through the Fellows program?
I had worn a uniform my whole adult life up to that point. I wanted to understand how the civilian side of the government functioned – how decisions were made. Equally, I’d had an amazing experience as a CNAS Next Gen fellow a few years before and yearned for that same level of connection and comradery of a cohort of people at the same stage of life as me with a million different ideas and experiences, which is exactly what I found.
Where were you placed and what was the focus of your work?
I was placed at HUD and I was the deputy to the amazing civil servant who ran all the disaster response during the most expensive year of natural disasters in recorded US history. We worked hand in hand with the Deputy Secretary, and every day was a new coalition of civil servants, state officials, and local volunteers trying to help those in Puerto Rico, new Orleans, Texas, S Carolina, Florida and California.
What was your fellowship class like?
Amazing. Seriously. And crazy – all of us. Everyone came eager and curious. We still text regularly and keep up with each other’s professional and personal lives. I LOVE learning, and I’ve always been better at doing that in the field than the classroom. And there I was, mid-30s, surrounded by a group of extremely accomplished professionals my own age who still managed to have that child-like eagerness for life and experience. We could – and still do – talk about anything, minimal judgement. We got to know each other in a way that I’ve never experienced off a battlefield, and we got to trust each other. This allowed us to build bonds that will last a lifetime; I am sure of it.
What did you do immediately after the Fellowship?
I began working at InQTel, the intelligence community’s venture arm. Completely uncoordinated, so did one of my WHF colleagues.
How did the trajectory of your life and work change after the White House Fellowship?
I am not a domestic policy person, and I likely never will be, but working in Housing at the Federal level made me a better American. The perspectives I gained from working in Texas, trying to find families who’d lost everything housing, Red Cross aid, and FEMA support was life changing. With all the political madness that has happened since, it gave me a resounding hope in Americans, as a people and as individuals.
What are you most proud of achieving since the fellowship?
I had a son – and he is the best thing I’ve ever created in my life. Professionally, I am now an executive at an early stage start-up and love building something from scratch – real skin in the game because no one is coming to save us; I love it.
Can you tell us about peers and mentors who helped you on this path?
Michele Flournoy was an early believer in me. I met her when she was at CNAS and joined my Next Gen cohort to Taiwan. After that, she supported my challenge to the DOD to fully open all military specialties to women. When I asked her to support my application to the Fellowship, she did not hesitate.
Dr. Eliot Cohen was my professor in grad school and raised his eyebrows when I asked him to support my application. A committed never-Trumper, he questioned whether his letter was in the best interest of my desired outcome. I laughed and told him, “they” had to know who I was shaped by, so might as well. All though we often found differences in opinion and ideas, I forever appreciated Prof Cohen’s good nature and openness to my challenges, and learned so much how to question my own assumptions and biases from him.
LGEN Barno and Dr. Nora Bensahel have been mentors since they were in charge of our CNAS Next Gen cohort. They took me in, patient and kind, while I learned how a strong mentor-mentee relationship could work. I still catch up with them regularly, and they have been a trusted voice in my life for over a decade now.
During the Fellowship, I was assigned to Bud McFarlane. What an amazing man, but equally what an amazing person. Bud and I continued to keep in contact after the WHF, and he was a wonderful and supportive help while I tried to figure out professional decisions. His warmth and continued commitment to our country always made me look forward to meeting.
Finally, I left ten years of active duty as a pilot with a Marine grunt as my greatest example of how to be a leader. Christian Wortman was my CO at The Basic School, my last posting on active duty. Now- Maj Gen Wortman taught me that there was no harm in taking a moment to think when presented with a tense manpower situation. He also gave me room to explore controversial positions, and that trust I would comport myself appropriately while standing up for what I believed in was invaluable. I would follow him through the gates of Hell, even ten years later.
What are you working on now?
I am the Head of Strategic Growth as an early stage start-up called SkyFi. SkyFi is the geospatial data marketplace empowering enterprise and government clients with efficient access to analytics, imagery, and datasets. Our dual-use approach streamlines the acquisition and utilization of Earth Observation data and provides users with advanced post-processing and analytics management tools. SkyFi is committed to building the world’s largest virtual constellation of satellite and aerial imaging assets through our extensive and ever-expanding global network of partners.
It is so exciting to build a platform where everyone can access and task Earth observation imagery, a purview previously only available to government. We are bringing the power and intelligence of geospatial imagery and analytics to industry, non-profits, and governments.
Are there any books you’d recommend for those interested in doing similar work?
Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Secrets of Sandhill Road by Scott Kupor
It sounds like all of those experiences gave you a set of new skills that you might not have had in your previous role. How did you translate those skills into your career and work now?
These experiences built on the foundations my parents laid:
Be curious and open to new experiences and ideas.
Share your blessings (in this case network) to help raise those around you and pay it forward.
Never be too proud to ask questions.
Could you reflect on a learning experience during your Fellowship experience?
There are few things in this world I value more than good conversation. So, the Chatham House lunches and meetings were amazing. I learned so much, and in such an intimate setting we had really interesting discourse that built personal and group reflection from which we all grew.
Have you and your classmates remained close since your Fellowship year?
Very
What advice would you give to prospective applicants?
Look beyond the immediate and obvious opportunities of working at the highest level of Executive decision making in the US government. You will bring something unique to the Fellowship class, and you will learn so very much from them. These are friendships that should last a lifetime and will enrich you life personally and professionally.