Kathy Roth-Douquet

Kathy Roth-Douquet is founder and chief executive officer of Blue Star Families. She was the acting Principal Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

Roth-Douquet frequently speaks publicly about the role of the military in civil society and contributes to public discussions on civil military relations, military families, and national service.

Education

Roth-Douquet graduated in 1986 with a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and later earned an M.P.A. in Public Administration and International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1991.[1][2] She then went on to study at the University of San Diego School of Law, Magna Cum Laude and the Order of Coif where she received her J.D.[2][3]

Career

After attending Princeton, Roth-Douquet began working at the Nathan Cummings Foundation. In 1992, she worked as an aid to President Clinton where she was the first woman to serve as Lead Presidential Advance.[4][5] She then worked with the Revlon Foundation,[6] before taking the position of Acting Principle Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.[4][7]

From 2004 until 2011, Roth-Douquet was a panel attorney at Appellate Defenders Inc. in California. In 2007 and 2008, she was an advisor to Obama for America and Veterans for Obama.[8] In 2009, she founded Blue Star Families. She also worked at Princeton University Center for International Security Studies.[4]

Roth-Douquet founded Blue Star Families in 2009.[4][9] It is the largest national non-profit organization dedicated to the support of US military families.[10][11]

Roth-Douquet was a member of the Congressional Quality of Life Panel, which was formed in 2023. The Panel's advocacy efforts resulted in essential quality-of-life provisions for military families being included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Media and publications

In 2006, Roth-Douquet co-authored "AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military Service and How it Hurts Our Country" with Frank Schaeffer,[12] as well as "How free People Move Mountains" in 2008.[4] She has appeared on the Today Show, Fox and Friends,[13] and PBS News Hour[14] advocating her work on civic and military issues.[2][15]

In November 2022, Roth-Douquet published an article on NBC News about the lack of funding and financial assistance for military families.[16] She has published essays and op-eds on various other media outlets like USA Today,[17] PBS,[18] Foreign Policy,[19] and The New York Times among others.[20][21]

Board membership and advisory roles

Roth-Douquet is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, having served as co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center Defense Reform Task Force, and became a member of the Reserve Forces Policy Board in 2022.[22] She is a senior advisor for the Summit Institute,[4] a Senior Fellow for the Truman National Security Project, a Fellow with the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces in Society, and also serves on the advisory board of Hope For The Warriors.[23] In 2021, Roth-Douquet was elected as member of the board of trustees at Princeton University.[24]

She is also a member of the advisory board of the Export-Import Bank of America and the America250.[25]

Awards and honors

Roth-Douquet is also a recipient of President George H. W. Bush's Daily Point of Light Award, and the Outstanding Civilian Service Award.[26] In August 2021, Roth-Douquet was the inaugural selection to be inducted into the National Football League Hall.[4]

Personal life

Kathy Roth-Douquet is a military spouse to her veteran husband, Greg Douquet, co-founder of Red Duke Strategies LLC and former U.S. Marine Corps colonel. Together they have two children.[22] While her husband was posted abroad with the US Marine Corps Forces Europe, Kathy lived with her family in Stuttgart, where her daughter Sophie wrote a column for USA Today.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Kathy Roth-Douquet '86, CEO of Blue Star Families, on Leadership". brynmawr.edu. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  2. 1 2 3 Fisher, Akemi Sue (2021-11-11). "Women Of The C-Suite: Kathy Roth-Douquet of Blue Star Families On The Five Things You Need To…". Authority Magazine. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  3. ↑ "Kathy Roth-Douquet *91". She Roars: October 4–6, 2018. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kathryn Roth-Douquet *91 (SPIA)" (PDF). Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  5. ↑ Manfre, Jessica (2023-11-01). "MIGHTY 25: Kathy Roth-Douquet paved the way with Blue Star Families". We Are The Mighty. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  6. ↑ Bumiller, Elisabeth (1996-11-03). "Fund-Raiser Wed To Billionaire Finds Roles Clash". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  7. ↑ "Kathy Roth-Douquet". freshfiction.com. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  8. ↑ "Kathy Roth-Douquet - CEO at Blue Star Families". THE ORG. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  9. ↑ "Testimony of Kathy Roth -Douquet CEO, Blue Star Families". Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  10. ↑ "Blue Star Families and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes Program Announce New Initiative to Solve Military Spouse Employment". uschamber.com. 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  11. ↑ Families, Blue Star (2024-09-19). "BLUE STAR FAMILIES ANNOUNCES GOVERNOR WES MOORE AS HONORARY CHAIR OF "DO YOUR PART" STATE INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT MILITARY FAMILIES". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  12. ↑ "PAW September 27, 2006: Books and Arts". princeton.edu. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  13. ↑ "Blue Star Families, USAA announce 'welcome week' to support military families | Fox News Video". Fox News. 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  14. ↑ "Kathy Roth-Douquet". PBS. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  15. ↑ "Kathy Roth-Douquet". Council on Foundations. 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  16. ↑ "Opinion | Why are some military families living in their cars?". NBC News. 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  17. ↑ Roth-Douquet, Kathy. "Politics vs. military families: Column". USA Today. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  18. ↑ "Column: Why we need to extend economic empowerment to military spouses". PBS. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  19. ↑ Roth-Douquet, Kathy (2026-06-16). "Kathy Roth-Douquet". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  20. ↑ Keilar, Brianna (2019-11-11). "On Veterans Day, a reminder of a different cost of service: Why military spouses have a hard time getting hired | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  21. ↑ "Michelle's Focus Group: Military Families - CBS News". CBS News. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  22. 1 2 "Reserve Forces Policy Board > Board Biographies > Roth-Douquet". rfpb.defense.gov. Archived from the original on 2025-12-16. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  23. ↑ "THE NEW RAPID DEPLOYMENT: RESOURCES FOR RETURNING VETERANS" (PDF). Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  24. ↑ "Nine elected to Princeton Board of Trustees". princeton.edu. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  25. ↑ "Kathy Roth-Douquet" (PDF). Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  26. ↑ "CSA presents Outstanding Civilian Service Awards at Twilight Tattoo". United States Army. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  27. ↑ Roth-Douquet, Sophie. "This 9/11, remember military kids, too: Column". USA Today. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
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