Dr. Reed Skaggs is a trusted advisor for clients, uniquely able to navigate relationships between academia and the Department of Defense (DOD) science and technology enterprise. With a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and decades of experience within the federal defense establishment, Reed provides Lewis-Burke clients with informed strategies and effective approaches to supporting the missions of the DOD, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Energy (DOE), and the Intelligence community.
Reed has held various management and leadership positions such as serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Army Research and Technology and as the Acting Deputy Director for Ground Systems, Soldier Systems and Training, and Biometrics. Reed led the formulation of the Army Research Laboratory (ARL)’s long-term S&T portfolio strategy and established new programs for materials, computational sciences, and neuroscience. His assignment to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) expanded his breadth of experiences to include developing national policies for high skilled immigration, the United States accession to the Ottawa Convention, as well as addressing the health and sufficiency of the national security S&T enterprise for the 21st century. At Lewis-Burke, Reed enjoys counseling clients on the nuances of how DOD research operates and tailoring strategies to effectively engage, including connecting clients to the highest leaders in the DOD. As the senior expert for Lewis-Burke’s defense practice, Reed develops and implements multi-faceted initiatives to raise clients’ federal profile, ranging from organizing briefings on Capitol Hill to providing advanced intelligence to position them for unique DOD funding opportunities.
Issue Expertise: Defense/national security R&D, DOD laboratories and budget process, physical and materials sciences, and engineering.
Additional Experience: As a scientist, Reed appreciates learning about emerging technical research areas and leverages personal curiosity to develop innovative high-level strategies for clients. Most recent examples include identifying emerging federal opportunities such as robotics/autonomy, quantum information science, and infectious diseases.
Vital Statistics: Reed grew up in Southern VA, attending Hampden-Sydney College followed by his pursuit of an advanced degree in physical chemistry at George Washington University. Reed was a postdoc at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) where he was hired into civil service from 1999 to 2015 when he came to Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC. In his personal time, Reed loves to play golf and spend time with his two daughters and wife Jennifer. He is an avid Ravens and Nationals fan.