Nanette M. DeRenzi, the former Judge Advocate General of the Navy and a retired three-star admiral, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Jefferson Consulting Group.

DeRenzi succeeds Thomas A. Daffron, who has resigned after 10 very successful years as Jefferson’s COO.

Jefferson Consulting Group is a small, woman-owned professional services firm that consists of two companies, Jefferson Business Consulting, which advises commercial clients on how to identify, create, win, and implement Federal contracts, and Jefferson Solutions, which provides management consulting services directly to the Federal government.

“I am extraordinarily pleased that Jefferson was able to attract an individual with Nan’s background to lead our day-to-day operations,” said Julia T. Susman, Jefferson’s President and Chief Executive Officer.  “In addition to her outstanding accomplishments as a lawyer and naval officer, she has been a skilled manager of people, programs, and budgets – all of which are essential to ensure effective support of the Navy’s mission.”

As the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, DeRenzi, who was a naval officer from 1987 until her retirement in 2015, managed and led a global law firm of 2,300 military and civilian attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants.  Her responsibilities ranged from recruitment of top legal talent, to the management, training and retention of that talent.

Among her management accomplishments are a realignment of the Navy’s global legal structure and a centralization of administrative functions to maximize resources and minimize overhead.  She developed flex-time, telecommuting, and virtual workplace programs, which resulted in her ability to attract and retain a diverse workforce.

Earlier in her career, she served as Commander of the Naval Legal Service Command, where she led 17 offices worldwide that provided legal services to the Navy.  She managed and equipped the Naval Justice School to successfully meet its responsibility to train all of the Navy’s legal personnel.

During her Navy career, DeRenzi also advised senior military, congressional, and civilian leaders on a variety of complex and sensitive legal and policy issues, including ethics, sexual assault prevention, diversity and gender integration, inter-agency relations, and regulatory compliance.

A native of Philadelphia, DeRenzi was raised in Pennsauken, NJ, and graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University in1983.  She was commissioned through the Judge Advocate General’s Corps Student Program and graduated from Temple University School of Law in 1986.  She later earned a Master of Laws degree in Environmental Law from George Washington University.

DeRenzi is admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  Among her many honors and awards are the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

For more information about Jefferson Consulting Group, please consult: www.jeffersonconsulting.com