Shelby Oakley

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT SHELBY OAKLEY

Shelby Oakley is a Director in the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Contracting and National Security Acquisitions team. In her role, she oversees GAO’s portfolio of work examining the most complex and expensive acquisitions within the federal government. Her portfolio includes Navy Shipbuilding and Nuclear Triad modernization programs as well as GAO’s annual work to assess the cost, schedule, and performance of DOD’s entire portfolio of major weapon system development programs – almost a two trillion dollar investment. In addition, her portfolio also includes oversight of contracting activities of the Veterans Affairs Department and whistleblower protections. Shelby previously served as Director in GAO’s Natural Resources and Environment team where she led teams reviewing a range of nuclear security, policy, and nonproliferation related issues. In her role as Director, she has testified before Congress multiple times. From 2004 to 2015, Shelby led teams reviewing the activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with a focus on helping NASA improve its acquisition management practices. Her reviews covered key aspects of NASA’s operations, such as Space Shuttle workforce transition and sustainment of the International Space Station, as well as reviews of all major NASA systems including in depth reviews of NASA’s human spaceflight programs and the James Webb Space Telescope. Shelby joined GAO in 2001 after earning a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 2001 and her Bachelor of Arts Degree in both Psychology and Sociology from Washington and Jefferson College.