One active-duty soldier and an Army veteran have been appointed to the 2021–2022 class of White House Fellows, a highly competitive program for leaders who are committed to public service and have “the skills to succeed at the highest levels of the federal government.”

Fellows serve for a year and work full-time with White House staff, Cabinet secretaries and other senior government officials. They are chosen based on evidence-backed criteria, including professional accomplishments, leadership skills and commitment to public service.  

The program was created in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson.  

In addition to the soldier and Army veteran, four other members of the 2021–2022 class of White House Fellows have served in the U.S. military, including in the Navy, Air Force and Air Force Reserve. There are 19 people in the class. 

From the Army, Maj. Zachary Griffiths, a West Point graduate, will work with the National Security Council.  

Griffiths is a Special Forces officer with three combat deployments. Most recently, Griffiths returned from Iraq, where he served as special assistant to the Special Operations Joint Task Force commander. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Griffiths assisted with his local hospital’s crisis planning. Griffiths also has taught American politics in the social sciences department at West Point, and he mentored cadets who were trying to pass the rigorous combat diver qualification course.  

Griffiths earned the Service Medal for Merit in Bronze Grade decorated with Swords from the Hungarian minister of defense, and his Special Forces detachment was recognized with the Larry Thorne Award, an annual Special Forces award that honors its toughest Green Beret detachment. 

Army veteran Tom Barron will work with the White House Domestic Policy Council.  

Barron served for more than nine years in the Army as a Special Forces and infantry officer. He commanded a Special Forces team focused on the African continent, deploying to Niger and the Horn of Africa, and served as deputy director of operations for Special Operations Command Forward-North and West Africa. Barron also led an airborne infantry platoon in combat in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.  

He most recently was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., where he advised private and social sector clients on strategy and operations challenges. 

For more on this class of White House Fellows, click here. 

Applications for the 2022–2023 fellowship year will be accepted from Nov. 1 through Jan. 7. For more information, click here.