Nicole Lillyman serves as the Deputy Executive Director of Operations, where she leads the Conference’s Fiscal, Human Resources, and Information Services divisions. She brings nearly 20 years of senior management and leadership experience across diverse public service organizations, with a proven ability to develop tailored strategies and deliver effective results in complex, dynamic, multi-agency environments.

Prior to joining TNDAGC, Nicole spent seven years at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, serving as the Senior Acquisition Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. In this role, she led analysis, oversight, and advocacy for United States Special Operations Forces (SOF) acquisition programs in support of national security priorities. Her broader career reflects extensive operational leadership, including oversight of large-scale budgets and workforces, interagency coordination, senior-level congressional engagement, and executive advisory support across federal and public-sector organizations and agencies.

Nicole holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College at the National Defense University, where she completed a practicum focused on Counterterrorism Strategy and earned a minor concentration in Ethics.

She resides in Columbia, Tennessee, with her fiancé, stepson, and stepdaughter.