Ms. Marie C. Balocki

Acting Executive Director for the Department of Defense Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program

Marie C. Balocki is the Acting Executive Director for the Department of Defense Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program. The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program was established by Congress in 2008 to support National Guard and Reserve members and their families by providing them with information, services, referrals, and proactive outreach opportunities throughout the deployment cycle. Ms. Balocki leads the Department of Defense -wide effort to help the 1.2 million National Guard and Reserve Service members and their families connect with local resources before, during, and after deployments, including information on health care, education/training opportunities, financial, employment and legal benefits. The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program works in conjunction with Federal partners, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor, to provide up-to-date and relevant information to Service members and their loved ones.

Ms. Balocki graduated from Troy State University, Troy, Alabama, where she received a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She began her career as a volunteer in 1995 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas working as a Family Programs volunteer coordinator for the installation. Over the next five years, she held several volunteer management positions at Fort Hood, Texas and for the international community at SHAPE, Belgium. While serving at Fort Hood, Ms. Balocki also was President of a non-profit corporation that supported volunteer service providers.

In October 2000, Ms. Balocki assumed duties as a Marketing Specialist for the U.S. Army’s community in Chievres, Belgium. Then, in 2001, she served for a year as an Executive Assistant for the Armed Forces YMCA in Anchorage, Alaska. In 2002, she moved to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where she served as the installation’s volunteer coordinator for 2 years, then the Youth Education Support Services Director and School Liaison Officer for 3 years. Beginning in 2007, Ms. Balocki served as the Family Programs Director for the Military Intelligence Readiness Command, a U.S. Army Reserve Command unit of 7,000 members across 32 states.