Mr. Edward E. Belk, Jr currently serves as the Director of Civil Works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was selected by the Secretary of the Army into the Senior Executive Service in 2012. Mr. Belk is responsible for the development, defense and execution of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works Program across the United States and its territories and across all national accounts (Investigations, Construction, Operations and Maintenance, Mississippi River and Tributaries, etc) and business lines (Navigation, Flood Risk Management, Ecosystem Restoration, Hydropower, Recreation, Regulatory, Emergency Response, etc), working closely with senior Administration officials, Congressional leaders, subcommittee staff and local project partners. He also provides leadership and supervision for the Civil Works Directorate with national staff oversight for program management, planning, engineering, operations, regulatory and emergency response activities across all Civil Works programs.
Prior to his current assignment, Mr Belk served as the Director of Programs for the Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) and the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was the principal advisor to the Commander, MVD, and President, MRC, for the development, defense, and execution of the Civil Works Program across the twelve states served by the Mississippi Valley Division. Prior to that, he served as Chief of Civil Works Programs Integration for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Belk also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Management and Budget) in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) in the Pentagon. In addition, Mr. Belk previously served as Chief of Operations and Regulatory Division for the Corps, where he provided national oversight of the development, resourcing and delivery of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) programs for the Civil Works infrastructure portfolio and for Corps operational programs such as hydroelectric power, public recreation, environmental restoration, wildlife management, project cyber security, and the regulatory oversight of waterways and wetlands. Mr. Belk has extensive executive, managerial, and leadership experience in the development and delivery of large, complex water resource infrastructure (including navigation, flood risk management, coastal restoration, and ecosystem restoration sectors) across the full spectrum of program life cycle (planning, design, real estate acquisition, environmental compliance, construction, and operation/maintenance). He is also seasoned and experienced at developing and strengthening strategic relationships at local, regional, and national levels that enable mission execution and program delivery.
Mr. Belk completed two tours in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served as the senior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilian in the seven Provinces of northern Iraq and senior advisor to the Commander, Gulf Region North District, with headquarters initially in Mosul and later in Tikrit. Mr Belk holds an MS in Engineering Management and BS in Civil Engineering, both from Christian Brothers University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Mississippi, a member of the Society of American Military Engineers and ex officio member of the Engineering Advisory Board for Christian Brothers University. He was selected by the President to receive the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, an honor bestowed on less than 1% of Senior Executives across the US Government. He was also selected as the LTG J.W. Morris Civilian of the Year for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in
2012. He has been awarded the Bronze Order of the de Fleury by the Army Engineer Association and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal for his service in Iraq