Theresa Whelan, currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Her office is responsible for Department of Defense policy for all of Sub-Saharan Africa. Ms Whelan brings to her position fifteen years of experience in the defense intelligence and defense policy communities, including twelve years focusing on African issues.

Prior to assuming the DASD position, Ms. Whelan served as Director of the Office of African Affairs for two years. From June 1998 to November 2000, Ms. Whelan was assigned to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy's Balkans Task Force where she served first as the NATO Team Chief on the Task Force throughout the Kosovo crisis and then as the Task Force Deputy Chief of Staff. She was also a Defense Department representative on the US negotiating team at the Kosovo Talks in Rambouillet and Paris, France, from February to March 1999. Her prior positions in the Office of the Secretary Defense include those of Senior Program Director for the US/South Africa Joint Defense Committee, Countries Director for Southern Africa and Countries Director for West Africa. From 1987 to 1991 Ms Whelan served as a military intelligence analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency. During that time she spent three years working as a Military Capabilities Analyst for West, Central and East African countries and a year as a Current Intelligence Analyst covering the same geographic region.

Ms. Whelan has a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations with a minor in Russian Studies from the College of William and Mary. Ms. Whelan was also nominated for and completed a year-long fellowship with the Council on Excellence in Government in 1996