Allison Barber Allison Barber is the Chancellor of Western Governors University Indiana . WGU Indiana . The only non - profit , online university that is competency - based offers new opportunities to Hoosiers who are seeking to advance in their careers . Chronicle of Higher Ed The university was recently highlighted by President Obama as an example of an effective higher education model . Prior to this position , Allison was President of Sodenta , her own Strategic Communication business , provides strategic communication advice to clients as they seek to have a stronger impact with targeted audiences . " Allison Barber " is also an adjunct professor in the School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University . Previously , she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications , United States Department of Defense from 2003 to 2008 . She was responsible for American Forces Radio and Television Service ( AFRTS ) , the Defense Media Center , the Pentagon Channel , several Department of Defense websites , and the Stars and Stripes newspaper , the American Forces Press Service . Allison has been recognized for her expertise as a communicator , leader and innovator . Her commitment to employee engagement and internal communications was recently highlighted in Smart Business Magazine . On March 2013 , Allison was named Nonprofit Communicator of the Year by PR News . On November 2011 , Allison was named a Woman of Influence by the Indianapolis Business Journal and on October 2011 , Allison was named Who ' s Who in Education by the Indianapolis Business Journal . IBJ On May 2011 , Allison was added to the board of Techpoint On June 2010 , Allison was added to the board of Fellowship of Christian Athletes Golf Ministries . On March 10 , 2010 , " Allison Barber " and her colleagues helped organize the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony for the Women Air Service Pilots . World War II Female Pilots were honored for their service to the country . In November 2008 , " Allison Barber " was invited to join the Board of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation . The organization provides financial training and support to the military community and funds immediate needs for those wounded in battle . Background . Allison Barber earned a BS in Elementary Education from Tennessee Temple University then an MS in Elementary Education from Indiana University before beginning her career as a teacher at Merrillville Public School in Indiana . She taught there from 1986 to 1991 then left teaching upon moving to the Washington , D . C . area with her husband . She then began a career in public relations . From 1992 to 1998 , she was a public relations director for the American Red Cross . Then she was president of the D . C . office of PlowShare Group , which specializes in public relations for non - profits . Then she was the president of Sodenta , a public relations and strategic communications firm ( htt ; : / / www . sondenta . com ) . In June 2001 she was chosen as the special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications . Then on November 26 , 2003 Lawrence Di Rita appointed her to her current position as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications . In 2008 , she return to private sector and re - launched Sodenta , her own consulting business . In 2006 , with the help of Washington , D . C . pr - fim Susan Davis , International , Allison created the America Supports You program , to help the American people find ways to support the military and their families and communicate that support directly to the troops . In less than two years , the program included 225 grassroots organizations and had begun organizing activities which claimed to support the military ; as well as 25 corporate partners that leveraged the America Supports You brand to create support for America ' s fighting men and women . On May 11 , 2007 , officials announced that the Pentagon is " looking into complaints that Defense Department officials charged with building public support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan might have been engaged in improper fundraising , " David S . Cloud reported May 12 , 2007 , for the New York Times . The Times reported that ASY ' s fundraising practices were under inspection by the Defense Department ' s Inspector General . One issue is " whether officials who run ' America Supports You , ' helped arrange a fund - raiser for a private foundation " — the America Supports You Fund — set up in December 2006 " by former Bush administration appointees , " Cloud reported . In a January 2007 memo explaining the ASY Fund , Allison Barber wrote : " What we have learned is that the American people are beginning to fatigue , even in their support for the troops . . . . I don ' t think we have a minute to lose when it comes to maximizing support for our military , especially in the new political environment . " The inspection was completed within the year without any implications . In October 2007 , Stars and Stripes reported that the ASY inspection had widened to include the daily military newspaper . " Both America Supports You and American Forces Information Service - - the parent organization for Stripes - - are headed by Allison Barber , " Stars and Stripes reported on October 20 . In July 2006 , Stars and Stripes awarded a $ 499 , 000 purchase agreement to ASY ' s PR firm . Stars and Stripes ' top editors said the agreement raised " extreme concern among editorial staff , " and promised to conduct a review of the paper ' s reporting on ASY . " We were aware of some interaction between S & S marketing department and ASY , but were appalled to learn the degree of involvement and the use of Stripes finances to fund the Pentagon ' s public relations campaign , " they added . The Inspector General ' s report on America Supports You was released late on a Friday , December 12 , 2008 . Barber helped organize an October 13 , 2005 , teleconference call " billed as a conversation with U . S . troops " in Iraq . President George W . Bush ' s questions for the troops " were choreographed to match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday ' s vote on a new Iraqi constitution , " reported the Associated Press . " ' This is an important time , ' Allison Barber , deputy assistant defense secretary , said to the soldiers before Bush arrived . ' The president is looking forward to having just a conversation with you . ' " In April 2007 , Allison Barber was recognized as " Communicator of the Year " for 2006 by the National Association of Government Communicators . . After giving more than seven years of service to the federal government , on October 20 , 2008 , Barber stepped down from her position in the Department of Defense to return to the private sector with her strategic communications company , Sodenta . A Stars and Stripes newspaper article reported in the Pacific edition , Wednesday , October 22 , 2008 : " America Supports You head Allison Barber leaving DOD - Allison Barber , who directed the American Forces Information Service that was the parent organization of Stars and Stripes , has resigned after seven years as a deputy assistant secretary of defense , officials said Monday . Barber was also the head of America Supports You , a Defense Department public affairs program meant to give publicity to non - profit groups that support U . S . troops . A program similar to the newly launched White House program called Joining Forces .