Dr. Theresa Jackson Santo is a Department of War civil servant whose 20-year career has operated at the intersection of research, policy, and practice. She is an established expert in military public health and human performance, rigorous program evaluation, and using data to drive action and inform national-level policy that enhances the readiness of the Total Force.
Dr. Santo currently serves as the Acting Director for Warfighter Performance Optimization (WPO) within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Safety and Occupational Health (ODASW(SOH)) at the Pentagon. In this role, she leads the development and enterprise-wide integration of WPO policy, provides authoritative advisory expertise to governance bodies like the Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC) WPO Integration Group, and ensures the strategic alignment of human performance initiatives across the Department. Her leadership is built on a history of managing complex, cross-component initiatives, including serving as the principal integrator for the Total Force Fitness (TFF) mission and providing oversight for a robust contract portfolio.
An accomplished author with over 25 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Santo’s distinguished service has been recognized with the Superior Civilian Service Award, the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, and the Civilian Service Commendation Medal. She holds a Ph.D. in Public and Community Health with a concentration in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In addition to her professional contributions, Dr. Santo is deeply active in her community, serving as a Den Leader for her sons’ Cub Scout pack and as a former PTA board member for her children’s school. She and her husband, Ron, are proud parents of four children ages 5-10.
