Brian Gawne, CAPT, USN (retired) joined Fisher House Foundation in 2010 after 28 years of naval service. He served for five years as the Foundation’s VP for Operations, and in 2015 transitioned to VP of Community Relations. In this position, he coordinates with Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Officials, local community groups, and military medical centers to support existing Fisher Houses and help build new Fisher Houses where they are needed most. Additionally, he is the program director for the Foundation’s Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship program for children of service members who died or were severely disabled in military service after September 11, 2001.

A combat veteran of six fleet tours in fighter aircraft, Brian served as Commanding Officer of the Navy’s first F-18F Super Hornet squadron. His staff experience includes consecutive tours in the Pentagon as a budget analyst and executive assistant in the Navy’s Programming Directorate (OPNAV N80), and division chief for the Director Navy Staff. He also served two years in Stavanger, Norway as a strategic plans officer assigned to NATO’s HQ North. He is a graduate of the US Naval Academy, holds a masters degree from the Naval War College, and has logged over 3500 flight hours in F-14 fighter aircraft as a Naval Flight Officer.

Brian and his wife Jan currently reside in Burke, Virginia. Jan is a former critical care resource nurse and a volunteer at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. Their daughter Madeleine is a critical care nurse who has worked at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, DC, their son Ryan is a Lieutenant serving in the US Navy, and their daughter Kelly is computer engineer.