Vice Admiral Jo-Ann Burdian serves as Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area. In this role, she is responsible for directing Coast Guard forces and operations across all mission areas in five Districts from the navigable inland waterways east of the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, and East Coast of the United States throughout the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf. She also serves as Commander, Coast Guard Defense Force East, providing Coast Guard support as part of the joint force to the Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders for national defense missions.
Her previous flag assignments include serving as Director, Joint Interagency Task Force South, in Key West, Florida and as the Assistant Commandant for Response Policy at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC.
Vice Admiral Burdian is a Coast Guard Permanent Cutterman and Honorary Chief whose previous operational assignments include Commander, Sector Miami in Miami Beach, Florida; Chief of Response, Sector Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington; Command Center Chief, Sector Miami in Miami Beach, FL; Commanding Officer, USCGC Key Biscayne in St. Petersburg, Florida; and Executive Officer, USCGC Attu in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She began her career as First Lieutenant onboard the USCGC Courageous in Panama City, Florida. Her staff assignments include special assignment as a Coast Guard Liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC where she managed the Coast Guard’s Congressional engagements, advised service leadership, and advocated for multi-billion-dollar acquisition programs and legislation; and, a Senior Duty Officer in the White House Situation Room providing support to the President, National Security Council, and other senior government officials.
Vice Admiral Burdian utilized the Coast Guard Temporary Separation program to care for her sons while continuing to serve as a Selected Reserve Officer at Sector St. Petersburg, Florida.
Originally from Queens, New York, Vice Admiral Burdian is a 1997 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Government. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Florida State University. Vice Admiral Burdian has earned numerous personal, unit, campaign, and service awards.