Dr. Cherry L. Wilcoxon
Acting Deputy Director, Defense Contract Management Agency

As the Acting Deputy Director for the Defense Contract Management Agency, Dr. Cherry L. Wilcoxon oversees a team of more than 10,000 civilian and military personnel who provide contract administration services for the Defense Department, other federal organizations and international partners. The agency executes contract management responsibilities covering more than 200,000 contracts performed at more than 10,000 contractor locations worldwide, with a value of $3.5 trillion. In addition, the agency authorizes about $1 billion in payments to contractors each business day.

Wilcoxon, a career member of the Senior Executive Service with top-level clearance (TS/SCI), is the Executive Director of the Financial and Business Operations Directorate and Comptroller for the Defense Contract Management Agency. In this position, she directs the agency financial operations, managing a budget of approximately $1.7 billion and a workforce of 11,000. Her responsibilities encompass strategic planning, programming, budgeting, execution, and accounting across various appropriations to include Operations & Maintenance, Investments, Federal and DoD reimbursements, Security Assistance, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Contract Administrative Services (CAS).

Wilcoxon has 34 years of DoD financial management experience, most recently with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) as the Acting Chief Financial Officer and Senior Advisor. She has held positions with the Defense Security Service, Deputy Director of Financial Management, Defense Intelligence Agency, Chief Accounting Operations, Joint Functional Component Command - Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance United States Strategic Command, Director, Resource Management, Joint Task Force - Global Network Operations United States Strategic Command, senior budget officer, United States Air Force HQ Civil Engineer, Base Operating Support Program Administrator and Air Force Institution - Civil Engineer and Services School, Course Instructor.

A native of Alabama, Wilcoxon graduated from the University of Texas - El Paso with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, from Jacksonville State University with a Master of Business Administration in Finance, and from the University of Baltimore with a Doctor of Public Administration.

Wilcoxon is a distinguished recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Presidential Rank Award (Distinguished) in 2021, highlighting her exceptional leadership in defense financial management. Her notable honors also include the Defense Security Service Employee of the Year Senior Award in 2016 and the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award in 2011. Wilcoxon is a Certified Defense Financial Manager with Acquisition Specialty and DoD Financial Management Certification (Level 3).

(January 2024)