From Air-Traffic Control to Journalism, Public Affairs to Stand-Up Comedy, Gwen Smalls Has Lived an Adventure

After more than 40 years of federal public service, including nearly 19 years in the U.S. Navy, Gwendolyn Smalls considers herself a jack-of-all-trades who strives to be master of all. This commitment to growth and success resulted in service with the Navy and as a civilian employee with the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

In June 2023, Smalls brought her talents to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management as a public affairs specialist in Grand Junction, Colorado.

“I never knew much about DOE, but after being here for a few weeks, what I really appreciate about LM is we’re working to make people’s lives better,” she said. “Plus, I’ve been in Grand Junction for about a month, and as I told my son, these are the nicest people I ever met in 40-plus years of federal employment.”

When you’re in the military or federal service, you move around a lot and always have to overcome the feeling that you don’t belong when you get to a new place. Smalls didn’t feel that in Grand Junction, where everyone welcomed her, she said.

Smalls’ service has taken her to bases and offices in California, Florida, Maryland, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., as well as overseas to Guam, Japan, and South Korea.

Her experiences are just as varied: air-traffic controller, Navy journalist, equal employment opportunity specialist, and public affairs and community relations specialist and manager.

Born in Beaufort, South Carolina, Smalls grew up and went to high school in Syracuse, New York. After high school she joined the Navy and became an air-traffic controller. After seven years, she and her then-husband, a Marine, found it nearly impossible to be stationed at the same duty station, or even two that were near each other, so she decided to move on from air-traffic control. Being in two airplane crashes didn’t help either.

“Both times I was in an aircraft returning to a carrier from a deployment,” she said. “One was an aircraft malfunction, the other we just ran out of gas.”

She says aircraft preparing to land on an aircraft carrier are frequently low on fuel. That time, they were too low.

Smalls found her true love in writing and became a Navy journalist. She said, “I like to talk, to interview people, and learn about them — learn the little side bites of their personalities.”

After leaving the Navy in 1998, Smalls was hired as a public affairs officer by the U.S. Army Garrison in Yongsan, South Korea.

“My true love has moved on to public affairs,” she said. “I’ve been a specialist and a supervisor, and I love supervising and teaching.”

It’s a big responsibility to be a great supervisor, she says, and everybody deserves a great supervisor. But it takes dedication and a lot of hard work.

“Sometimes you need to give your mind a rest,” she said. “It’s kind of a breath of fresh air to take a non-supervisory position.”

When Smalls isn’t working, she likes cooking and especially baking for other people because she finds it satisfying and relaxing. Currently, her off time is occupied by downsizing from the four-bedroom home she had in Japan to fit her new home in Grand Junction.

Although her recent career choices have been in journalism and public affairs, she says she could have taken a completely different track if she had discovered one of her talents earlier.

“I tried stand-up comedy in my 40s when I was in Korea,” she said. “I like to make other people laugh and laugh at myself.”

A club manager saw her telling jokes and put her on the bill at his club. It was a positive experience.

“It was a trial by fire in front of a mostly military audience of 300 people,” she said. “Afterward, I would have considered comedy for a career if I had started earlier.”

Comedy’s loss is LM’s gain.

“I want to be with this organization for the long haul,” Smalls said. “I want to see how far I can go before I retire for good.”