Who We Are

Navy Capt. Debra Keenan

Chief, Strategy Management,,
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)

Navy Capt. Debra Keenan currently serves as the chief of strategy management of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE).

She is a 1984 graduate of Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and received her Master of Science from Naval Post Graduate School. She is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives.

She attended Officer Indoctrination School at Newport, R.I., in 1984 and was subsequently assigned to the Naval Hospital Long Beach, Calif. During her four and a half years at Naval Hospital Long Beach she served as a staff nurse in the medical and surgical units and the emergency room. She reported to the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., in 1989 where she served as a staff nurse in the pediatric acute care clinic and the emergency department, earning certifications in emergency and trauma nursing. She later served as the division officer of the center’s orthopedic trauma and surgical unit. She relocated to the Naval Hospital Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, in 1993 and served until 1996 where she worked as a staff nurse on the labor and delivery unit and as the head of the medical, surgical and pediatric unit.

She was selected for duty under instruction at the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, Calif., and earned her Master of Science in Management, graduating with distinction in March 1998. While assigned to the Naval Medical Center San Diego, she served as the manpower analyst for nursing service and as deputy director, health care operations and planning. She was assigned to TRICARE Region Nine, office of the lead agent, from June 2001 to July 2003 as a clinical operations consultant and member of several regional and Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs integrated product teams on referral management and the implementation of the new generation of TRICARE contracts.

In July of 2003, she was transferred to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Calif., as the deputy director for health care and was selected in 2005 as the first director of the hospital’s new clinical support services. She was appointed as the director of medical services which included a combined enrolled population of approximately 26,000 beneficiaries. While there, she also served as the interim executive officer. She reported to the U. S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington, D.C., in July 2008 where she served as director of strategy management and was responsible for the planning and implementation of systematic and programmatic strategic management and organizational performance improvement activities for Navy Medicine.

Keenan’s decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards) and the Joint Service Achievement Medal.