Laura Hill, M’98, Applies Saint Mary Lessons as Assistant Chief Information Officer for the Forest Service

Since the early 2010s, online learning has been on the rise. Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, about 60 percent of all U.S. college students took at least one remote class in 2021, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

While online instruction is now widely available, Laura Hill was among the first distance learners at Saint Mary. Laura and her husband, Bart J. Hill, didn’t shift instruction methods for convenience, though. The change was necessary when they deployed to Bosnia in the late 1990s.

At the time, the Hills had nearly completed the requirements for the Saint Mary Master’s in Education program. The degree was important for their military promotions, and they didn’t want to wait until returning from deployment to finish.

In an unprecedented move, Saint Mary faculty agreed to let the couple complete one course and their dissertations from a warzone.

“They were gracious enough to entertain the idea of making us distance learners,” Laura Hill said. “It was an incentive for me to actually put communications out in the field that we never had – internet and connectivity – to be able to have a dialog. It had never been done before, so it was groundbreaking from both perspectives.”

Hill is now the assistant chief information officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources and Environment Forest Service. She is the first woman to permanently occupy the role.

The United States Army veteran is responsible for providing executive leadership to and defining the strategic direction of the NRE Forest Service Information Technology program – one of the largest mission support areas in the USDA.

In the role, she’s learned to ask for grace in challenging times – a skill she strengthened as a Saint
Mary student.

“We were very stressed when we had to deploy to Bosnia and thought we would not be able to finish up our education,” Hill recalled. “Saint Mary said, ‘We’re going to go ahead and do something different with you.’ That was amazing. When I get in situations where I’m a little stressed, I’ll say, ‘Hey, can you give me a little grace and space to work on this?’ It’s worked and goes back to my Saint Mary experience.”

Before her NRE Forest Service assignment, Lieutenant Colonel Hill completed a distinguished career as an Army Signal Corps officer.

While functioning as chief of the Operations Center for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir, Hill was responsible for providing emergency response communications during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Hill’s exceptional performance led to her appointment to the Washington Area Communications Command, White House Communication Agency. As one of the highest-profile communications officers in the Department of Defense, her work directly impacted the security of the United States.

Her numerous military accolades include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and White House Presidential Service Badge.

Today, Hill’s connection to Saint Mary has come full circle as she helps pave new pathways for USM students. She serves on the university Cybersecurity Advisory Board, and members of her Forest Service team also traveled to meet with USM cybersecurity majors in January.

“Saint Mary was so open for us to have our team come out there, engage, and help them create a new program for cybersecurity,” Hill said. “It’s been a special way to give back, and I feel very grateful for the opportunity.”