"The Very Few, The Very Proud: Women Who Succeeded in the U.S. Marine Corps!"

Email: waldropms@aol.com

Bio: Marianne Waldrop is the youngest of four children from a U.S. Marine Corps family and was born and raised on the east coast.  In 1987, she graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a BA in Math and in 1989, she graduated with an MS in Computer Science from Naval Post graduate School in Monterey, CA.  Subsequent to graduation, she served as a project manager for Marine Corps signals intelligence systems.  After this tour, Marianne resigned her commission to work in the information technology industry in San Diego; however, this venture in “corporate America” was short-lived (2 years) due to her recall from the reserves for post-9-11 intelligence operations in support of U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida. She retired in 2011 and earned a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Univ. of San Diego in May 2016.

Her research investigated formative experiences and factors influencing highly successful women military leaders.  In over a two year period, with a generous research grant from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, Marianne ultimately completed her dissertation entitled: Understanding Women Leaders in a Male-Dominated Profession:  A Study of the United States Marine Corps’ Women Generals.