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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 8,383. Clinton is named for Richard Clinton (politician), Richard Clinton, a ...

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

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, receiving a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1969.Clinton's Nomination of DeMesme
/ref> She later earned an M.S.W. from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

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

Cumberland County, North Carolina Cumberland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 334,728, making it the List of counties in North Carolina, fifth-most populo ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

. 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. The DA is the Federal government of the United States, federal government agency within which the United St ...

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 othe ...

. 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 government that manages the United States federal civil service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight, and support, an ...

Congressional Fellow in the Office of Sen.

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...

( D–

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

). 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 S ...

, 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.

Clinton Administration

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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

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 International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

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 is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

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. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

, DeMesme was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

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