April White Castañeda

April White Castañeda is senior vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO). In this role, she leads the Human Resources sector, including the MITRE Leadership Development Center, talent acquisition, talent engagement, HR business partners, and the Total Rewards program. 

Castañeda joined MITRE in 2025 with 25 years of experience leading HR strategy design and execution. She is the former CHRO at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Castañeda previously led human resources programs at Caltech and at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Castañeda serves on the SLAC Board of Oversight’s Operations Committee, a Department of Energy National Lab managed by Stanford University.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in women’s and cross-cultural studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master’s degree in industrial/organizational social work from the University of Southern California.