Ruby Butler DeMesme (June 24, 1948 – April 20, 2020) was

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Environment from 1998 to 2001.

Biography

Born in

Clinton, North Carolina Clinton is a city in, and the county seat of, Sampson County, North Carolina, United States. The population of Clinton is 8,639 according to the 2010 Census. Clinton is named for Richard Clinton, a Brigadier General of the North Carolina milit ...

, Ruby B. DeMesme was educated at St. Augustine's College in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...

, receiving a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in 1969.Clinton's Nomination of DeMesme
/ref> She later earned an

M.S.W. The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

. From 1969 to 1980, DeMesme worked as an executive administrator in the

Cumberland County, North Carolina Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,508, making it the fifth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Fayetteville. Cumberland County is pa ...

Department of

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

. In 1980, she joined the

United States Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the Federal government of the United States ...

and spent the next decade working in a number of positions dealing with

personnel Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...

. From January 1989 to April 1990, she was a

United States Office of Personnel Management The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that manages the US civilian service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight and support, and tend ...

Congressional Fellow in the Office of

Sen. A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "th ...

John Glenn ( D–

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

). She then returned to the Department of the Army. In 1991, DeMesme moved to the

United States Department of the Air Force The United States Department of the Air Force (DAF) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Air Force was formed on September 18, 1947, per the National Sec ...

, becoming Assistant Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Health Affairs, and Morale, Welfare, Recreation and Services Program. In February 1993, she became Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Force Management and Personnel, being promoted to full Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Force Management and Personnel in May 1994. On July 6, 1998,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

announced his intent to nominate DeMesme to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Environment. She was the first African American woman to be appointed to this position. DeMesme retired from government service in 2001, joining IBM as Senior Defense Fellow and, later becoming Director of Human Capital Solutions & Defense Practices.BearingPoint Appoints Ruby DeMesme to Its Public Services Business Transformation Team
/ref> In 2005, she joined BearingPoint's Public Services Business Transformation Team. In May 2009, she joined

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...

as a Senior Executive Advisor/Strategist on Federal Government Human capital Programs and Policies. She is Chairman of the Andrews Federal Credit Union Board, White House Appointee to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS); member of the Army Science Board, and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. She is a noted author, mentor, and inspirational speaker. After her 2020 death in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina, Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as Grand Strand, "The Grand Strand" i ...

, DeMesme was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on June 12, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demesme, Ruby B. 1948 births 2020 deaths People from Clinton, North Carolina St. Augustine's University (North Carolina) alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni United States Air Force civilians Women in the United States Air Force African-American female military personnel Clinton administration personnel People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women United States Army women civilians African-American United States Army personnel African-American United States Air Force personnel