Jeannette Gaudry Haynie, PhD, is a Marine Corps attack helicopter pilot and combat veteran. A New Orleans native and a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, she spent ten years on active duty flying the AH-1W Cobra helicopter before transferring to the Marine Corps Reserves and diverting into academia.

She earned her Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of New Orleans and her doctorate in International Relations from The George Washington University while serving on the Joint Staff and, eventually, in the Marine Corps Commandant’s think tank.

Having spent the first half of her Marine Corps career immersed in a uniquely hierarchical institution, Jeannette turned her attention to the study of that institution and of conflict in many forms, learning about how gender shapes violence across the spectrum of conflict and how leaders understand and operate within that framework. She has taught courses on Gender and Conflict and International Relations.

In the Marine Corps, she has used her academic work to shape policy development, advocating for the development of critical and creative thinkers within the ranks and for a stronger understanding of the skills of the Marines in the Corps. She has helped the Corps create doctrine on critical thinking and learning in the warfighting context while assessing how policy and culture affect different groups, limiting diversity, readiness, and warfighting effectiveness.

Besides her academic and military experience, Jeannette has served as Senior Fellow and then co-director of the nonprofit Women In International Security, where she conducted research, wrote policy briefs, and planned and moderated a range of panel events featuring experts on climate change, refugee crises, trafficking, and extremism.

With her husband, a Marine infantry officer, she is the creator and co-leader of the Outdoor Leadership Lab, a leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving program for youth based upon Marine Corps training and leadership principles. She is a member of the Presidential Leadership Scholars’ Class of 2019, where she will further develop the Outdoor Leadership Lab. She is also a founding member of nonprofit Sisterhood of Mother B, a leadership and outreach program for graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy, a Girl Scout Troop leader, and a marathon runner. She and her husband have three children and a minivan.

With a fellow USNA grad and USMC pilot, Jeannette co-hosts the new podcast of the Sisterhood of Mother B, Waypoints. Mother B is the nickname for Bancroft Hall, the Annapolis dorm where all midshipmen live. Waypoints can be found on Apple podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/waypoints-podcast/id1468356384