Ms. Colvin served as a Trustee of El Pomar Foundation’s Board from March 2020-March 2024 and returned to the Board as a Trustee in January 2025.She has also served as a regional council member on El Pomar’s Pikes Peak Regional Council since 2016.
Colonel (Ret) Gail Benjamin Colvin (USAF) is Chief of Staff at theU.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO. A keymember of the university superintendent’s cabinet, Ms. Colvinserves as the Academy’s Chief Business Officer, overseeing abroad range of administrative, policy, and organizationalfunctions of the Academy’s 400–person staff supporting thecommissioning and university missions as well as theinstallation’s 10,000 personnel workforce, $450 millionbudget, and over $9 billion in real property and infrastructure.Her30-year military career is marked by diverse leadership experience in a wide variety of disciplines includingjoint military doctrine, research and development, and weaponsystems acquisition. She has commanded at the squadron and group level and served in avariety of positions at the Joint Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, and major commandlevels. Colonel Colvin served as the Chief of Joint Doctrine for the Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff and headed the U.S. delegation to the NATO subcommittee on Allied Jointdoctrine.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, she graduated from the Academy as a member ofthe first class with women in 1980. She is a board member of the Colorado Federal Executive Board developing strategies andserving as a catalyst toincrease government effectiveness for over 250 federal field offices,53,000 civilian federal employees and 40,000military personnel at six military installationsthroughout the state. She currently serves on several communityboards and is a member of El Pomar’s Elevating Leadership Development program Colorado Springs Black Advisory Council. Ms. Colvin earned a master’s degree in business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Masters inNational Security and Strategic Studies from Air War College, and is acertified Level 3 acquisition professional. She isthe recipient of New York’s 2007 USO Military Leadership Award, the Academy’s 2008 Roy Wilkins NAACP award,USAFA’s 2020Distinguished Graduate Award, and a Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Inductee.