Chief Acquisition Officer

Darnese Wilkerson was appointed as NARA’s Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) in January 2025. In her role as CAO, she leads agency-wide acquisition policy, planning, and operations. She is also responsible for determining an executing training and professional development of the NARA Acquisition Workforce. 

Prior to joining the agency, Ms. Wilkerson served as the Director of the Office of Acquisitions at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she managed a portfolio of nearly $1 Billion annually and oversaw the completion of nearly 10,000 actions by collaborating with customers to create economies of scale to be leveraged for mission-critical support. 

Darnese has more than 30 years of contracts and management experience in both the private and public sectors. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from National-Louis University, and dual graduate degrees (Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Government Contracting) from the George Washington University.  Ms. Wilkerson is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education from the University of Southern California, in Organizational Change and Leadership.