Christopher Whelan

ABOUT

COL (Retired) Christopher M. Whelan is a Lead Program Manager in Nuclear Security at the Kansas City National Security Campus—a facility run by Honeywell FM&T for the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration. In this role, Chris works on several national security programs in the nuclear weapons and proliferation mission spaces. He retired from the Army after nearly 30 years of service, culminating as the Director of Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Integration at the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, KS. Prior to that, he was the Chief, DNWS Department, Nuclear Enterprise Directorate, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, also serving as the Commandant of the Defense Nuclear Weapons School.

Colonel Whelan was commissioned in May 1995 as a graduate of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, into the Chemical Corps. After serving for 17 years as a Chemical Officer, he transitioned in the FA 52 (Nuclear and Counterproliferation Officer) Branch. He has extensive experience in all levels of Weapons of Mass Destruction planning and policy, to include budget, nonproliferation, and treaty activities. Chris has considerable expertise in military education, having served as an Assistant Professor at both the United States Military Academy and the Command and General Staff School. He has also worked in a variety of staff positions at the 20th CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and High Yield Explosives) Command, The Joint Staff at the Pentagon, and as a Foreign Affairs Officer at the Department of State.

COL Whelan is married to Jennifer Whelan (formerly Walton) of Yarmouth, Maine, who serves as a Senior Attorney with the Social Security Administration. They have one son, Declan.