Scott Lanum was appointed as Director of the Coast Guard Civil Rights Directorate in January 2025. In this role, he is responsible for oversight of a global Civil Rights program that encompasses all aspects of a model workplace – including military and civilian informal and formal civil rights complaint processing, Title VI and civil liberties programs, affirmative employment efforts, special emphasis programs, alternative dispute resolution, disability and religious requests for reasonable accommodations and workplace climate assessments. In addition, he is responsible for ensuring that effective equal opportunity training is delivered to the almost 60,000 military members and civilian employees of the U. S. Coast Guard.
In the past, Mr. Lanum has served as the Assistant Director for Civil Rights Compliance at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Chief of the EEO Policy and Operations Division of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). During his tenure in these positions, he ensured that the value for civil rights was integrated into the core principles of the agency. Before those assignments, he was the Equal Employment Opportunity Director of the Naval Sea Systems Command. While serving in that capacity, he was responsible for all aspects of equal employment opportunity for more than 50,000 federal employees and military personnel.
Mr. Lanum began his government career in 1979 when he enlisted the U.S. Coast Guard. He served for 23 years and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer.
Mr. Lanum is a recipient of two Navy Meritorious Civilian Service medals. He received an undergraduate degree from Excelsior University and holds a Master of Human Resource Management degree from Webster University.