Captain Jeffrey Kendall Sapp, (Ret.) M.A., M.S., M.A.
Jeffrey Kendall Sapp “Jeff” is a retired Navy Captain, who graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1977. He has had a distinguished career in athletics, academics, change management, and community service, making his influence felt throughout the United States and other countries.
His philosophy is characterized by John Quincy Adams’ belief that “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”
After concluding an exemplary career in collegiate athletics, Jeffrey launched a professional vocation characterized by accelerated assignments to high-visibility leadership positions in engineering, technology, education, and manpower. They focused on competency alignment, process improvement, outcome assessment, and strategic planning.
(Among publications that featured highlights of his career are Navy Times, All Hands Magazine, football game day programs, the Gazette Telegraph, and the Honolulu Advertiser.)
Jeffrey’s Leadership Responsibilities in the U. S. Navy
In Washington DC, Jeffrey was the Chief of Staff of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Headquarters, which is a key component of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). It conducts the Navy’s central activity for designing, engineering, integrating, building, and procuring US Navy ships and shipboard weapon & combat systems.
Jeffrey’s Headquarters directed six major laboratory and engineering centers across the nation that underwrite US military power and contribute to the Navy’s ability to complete difficult missions. These facilities are the Navy’s in-house innovation partners driving research, testing, and acquisition of cutting-edge technology. Collectively, they manage a $4.5 billion annual operating budget and comprise a workforce of nearly 18,000 civilian scientists, engineers, and other experts who understand the technical dimensions of military problems and who work with government and private industry to develop solutions.
The solutions enhance the Navy’s dominance as the world’s most capable and technologically advanced maritime power. They also strengthen America’s ability to fight and win the long global war on terror, remain prepared for large-scale conventional campaigns, defend the homeland, and provide humanitarian assistance in the wake of natural disasters.
Jeffrey’s Academic & Planning Leadership
Jeffrey also served as the Chief of Staff for NAVSEA’s Warfare Systems Engineering Directorate, which is primarily responsible for Future Naval Capabilities, Naval Directed Energy & Electric Weapons, Warfare Systems Engineering & Architecture, Force Test, Assessment & Readiness Engineering, and International Programs.
As Commanding Officer of the NROTC Unit for Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he led officer development programs for three major universities and one junior college. These programs benefited Navy-wide efforts to work better with Minority Serving Institutions, contributed to improving competency and professionalism among newly commissioned officers, and helped increase Navy officer corps diversity.
He also served as the University’s Professor of Naval Science and on several councils and committees, including the Council of Academic Deans.
At the Naval Academy, he served as Special Assistant to the Dean of Admissions, Deputy Director of Athletics, and Head of the Physical Education Department.
In Washington, he served as the Navy’s Deputy Director for Enlisted Plans and Career Management, Senior Aide-de-Camp to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Deputy Legislative Assistant to the Chairman, and – in the Joint Staff’s Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy – a Strategic Planner for International Security Assistance.
Jeffrey’s Command of Six Warships
At-sea, Jeff was assigned to frigates, destroyers, oceangoing minesweepers, and a Destroyer Squadron Staff; all of which operated in the Persian Gulf, Pacific Northwest, and Western Pacific. He commanded six different warships and is an acknowledged authority in mine warfare, undersea warfare, and combat systems that integrate computers, electronics, and weapons systems.
Jeffrey’s Ethics-based Leadership and Voluntarism
Jeffrey is a role model for ethics-based leadership and good citizenship principles. He is an author and champion for outreach strategies that inform and encourage youth to pursue a quality education. He has been particularly dedicated to informing primary and secondary school students about academic and career opportunities associated with being a Naval officer, or civilian engineer employed by the federal government. Moreover, he encouraged them to pursue degrees in Business, Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics, and to apply for Navy-sponsored Internships, Cooperative Education programs, or full-tuition scholarships. He is also the architect of efforts that encourage educators to pursue Navy-funded programs for visiting professors, grants and research, and orientation visits to Navy laboratories, ships, aircraft, and submarines.
Through off-duty volunteerism with organizations that are education-focused or leadership-centered, Jeffrey is in the vanguard of senior leaders dedicated to giving something back to the community. He has been an adjunct member of the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization, Community that Cares, and on the National Board of Advisors to the Master of Business Administration program at Southern University and A&M College.
He served on the External Advisory Board for the College of Science & Technology at Savannah State University and was a member of the Advisory Council for the Opportunity Funding Corporation Venture Challenge, which helps Historically Black Colleges and Universities develop comprehensive curricula that better prepare undergraduate and postgraduate students to become entrepreneurs.
Jeffrey also was a trustee for the US Naval Academy Foundation and was adjunct faculty for both the US Office of Personnel Management Development Center in West Virginia and the General Services Administration’s Leadership Institute.
Jeffrey’s Current Motivational Speaking
Jeffrey Kendall Sapp has made a difference in the lives of thousands across America as a motivational speaker at hundreds of events hosted by local, state, and federal agencies, academic institutions, youth organizations, and professional groups. His speeches and seminars educate, entertain, and enrich lives, by teaching leadership strategies for harnessing one’s potential for self-empowerment and attaining higher levels of achievement. He can customize his presentations for all audiences, whether they be C-Suite executives or youth looking for direction.
This TEDxWarrenton talk provides an example of his journey and fight against cancer.
His public speaking also has promoted positive images about the Navy and built goodwill, as audiences were very diverse, and, by some standards, unique for inviting a Navy Captain as their keynote. They include:
- California Institute of Technology Young Engineering & Science Scholars Summer Program
- National Academies of Science Women in Science and Engineering program
- Reach for Tomorrow, Inc.;
- Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund;
- National Youth Leadership Forum;
- Maryland Task Force on Mentoring in Montgomery County;
- National Alliance of Black School Educators;
- Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority, and t
- Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.,
His motivational speaking was featured in the Denver Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Odyssey West Magazine, and on television programs in seven states.
You can see more videos of him in action by going to his Facebook page.
Jeffrey’s NCAA All-American Honors in Football
In college, Jeffrey broke new ground by becoming the first African American in history to be named co-captain of the Naval Academy’s football team, and—despite weighing only 197 pounds—the first selected as an NCAA college All-American for his play at defensive nose guard.
His honors include the University of Norte Dame Defensive Player of the Game Award, and the Thompson Trophy, one of the Naval Academy’s two most prestigious athletic awards given to the senior who had the character and leadership that did the most to promote team spirit and athletics.
He is an inductee in three Athletic Halls of Fame and has been featured in sports specials televised by ABC and CBS Sports, the Military Channel, and the College Sports Channel.
He was also featured in the Washington Post, Football News, Black Collegiate Football, and other notable periodicals.
Jeffrey’s Education & Additional Honors
The son of a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer, Jeffrey is an alumnus of the Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Naval War College, Salve Regina University, the Armed Forces Staff College, and The Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management. He earned a Bachelor of Science in American Political Systems, a Master of Arts in National Security & Strategic Studies, a Master of Arts in International Relations, and a Master of Science (with honors) in Management Science.
His civilian honors include the Defenders of Freedom Award for a lifetime of community service, the West Point Leadership Award, and the Ambassador of Goodwill Award from the City of Colorado Springs.
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