Counsel, Office of Naval Research

Catherine Donovan

Ms. Donovan was appointed in December 2011 to her current position as Counsel, Office of Naval Research (ONR). ONR is an Echelon 1 Command that serves as the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology provider. Ms. Donovan is legal advisor to the Chief of Naval Research on all aspects of the operations of ONR, with an emphasis on the execution of its basic research budget and the administration of contracts and grants for the Department of Defense at all educational institutions. Prior to this appointment, she was Associate Counsel at ONR, overseeing the General Law Division. Before that, she was Deputy Associate General Counsel in the General Law Division at NASA, and prior to that, she was the Deputy Assistant General Counsel (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) (M&RA) for the Department of the Navy.

Ms. Donovan has been a member of the Department of the Navy Office of General Counsel (OGC) since 1988, with the exception of her time at NASA. She started her OGC career with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in the civilian personnel law section. In 1993 Ms. Donovan transferred from NAVSEA Headquarters to serve as Assistant Counsel for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. In 1996 she returned to the Washington, D.C. area and served as an Assistant Counsel in the Human Resources Operations Center (now part of the Office of Civilian Human Resources (OCHR)), went on to become an Associate Counsel in the Office of the Assistant General Counsel (M&RA), and then Counsel, OCHR. Prior to her Department of Navy career, Ms. Donovan was a captain in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and served as labor counselor and trial counsel while stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

A graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Ms. Donovan received her J.D. from the Syracuse University College of Law in Syracuse, New York. She is admitted to practice law in New York. In 1996 Ms. Donovan received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award for her work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. In 2002 Ms. Donovan received the Superior Civilian Service Award for her work at OCHR and in 2007 she received the Superior Civilian Service Award for her work at M&RA.