Barbara McConnell Barrett
b. 1954, Pennsylvania -
Service History
25th US Secretary of the Air Force, 2019 - 2021
US Ambassador to Finland, 2008 - 2009
Biography
Barbara Barrett was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 13, 2008, and confirmed by the US Senate on April 29, 2008, to serve as the US ambassador to the Republic of Finland.
In addition to her ambassadorial position in Finland, Barrett held a diplomatic post at the United Nations, chaired the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, led the State Department’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Working Group, and was a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council.
Barrett has decades of experience in aviation and space and as a civilian advisor on defense matters. She served four terms as chairman of the Board of The Aerospace Corporation, advisor to the Secretary of Defense, deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and vice chairman of the US Civil Aeronautics Board. Barrett was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. An instrument-rated pilot, she trained and received certification for space travel on the Soyuz TMA-16 to the International Space Station.
Earlier in her career, Barrett served as interim president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management. There, she founded a program to train and mentor Afghan women entrepreneurs. Before she was 30, Barrett was an executive with two global Fortune 500 companies.
She was a Harvard University fellow for teaching leadership, CEO of the American Management Association, president of the International Women’s Forum, and partner in a large Phoenix, Arizona, law firm. She served on the governing boards of Raytheon, Space Foundation, the Mayo Clinic, Exponent, Hershey Trust, and Piper Aircraft. She was also the founding chairman of Valley Bank of Arizona.
Today, Barrett serves on the governing boards of the Smithsonian Institution, RAND Corporation, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Horatio Alger Association, and Lasker Foundation. She is also the owner of Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana. Barbara Barrett has was awarded the Horatio Alger Distinguished Americans Award, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce Heritage Award, six honorary degrees, and induction into Arizona’s Aviation Hall of Fame.
Originally from Western Pennsylvania, Barrett earned bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees at Arizona State University. Barbara and her husband, Craig, live in Paradise Valley, Arizona.