More Than 85 Broads

All of these women have held positions of awesome, sometimes overwhelming, responsibility. Each has had her character, courage, and confidence tested to the extreme, and every one of them has had to find her own unique answer to the fundamental question raised throughout this book and our network: How do you turn adversity into challenge, challenge into success, and success into happiness again and again and again? If you look up officer in the dictionary, of the definitions you'll find is "someone who holds an office of authority or trust." These remarkable women have learned to exercise their authority to create the greatest common good, and they have earned the trust, respect, and loyalty of those around them classmates, cadets, colleagues, and all the members of our global network. They most definitely are officers.

Gail Seymour

Following her graduation from the US Military Academy at West Point, Gail was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps, the logistics branch of the Army. After graduation first in her class at the basic officer training course, Gail got her “jump wings” before going on to her first assignment in Germany,. When Gail returned to the US, she attended the combined logistics office advanced course and was next assigned as the supply and service officer of the 101st Corps Support Group. During this tour, Gail was the honor graduate of her air assault class and served as the primary logistics liaison for the 3rd Infantry Brigade during their joint readiness training. After serving on active duty for over five years, Gail left the military to join Bristol-Myers Squibb as part of the company’s corporate associates program, a leadership development program for “retired” talented junior officers.

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership comes from gaining the respect of others through the actions you take and the decisions you make. The leader that I have become is due in large part to my experiences at West Point, as well as serving on active military duty. I thrive on being challenged and knowing that I'm making a genuine difference.

Nana Adae

After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1991, Nana served as an officer in cryptology, working with communications specialists, linguists, and signals analysts as she led one of the largest military communications centers in the western Pacific. Following her tour of duty in Japan, Nana attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, where she studied Arabic. Her language training prepared her for additional tours of duty in Spain and Greece, leading specialized teams onboard Navy reconnaissance aircraft. She was awarded the NATO Medal and Air Medal while leading her team on missions over the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Leaving the Navy after more than seven years of service, Nana enrolled at Columbia Business School to earn her MBA. Upon graduation, she worked at Goldman Sachs before moving to Stonewater, a start-up focused on consolidation in the day-spa industry. Nana recently joined Lehman Brothers' Investment Management Division.

The military taught me a lot about dealing with change, since I could be in Spain one minute and Greece the next.