Retired Major General Margaret (Peggy) Wilmoth, PhD, MSS, RN, FAAN, and professor in the School of Nursing at University of North Carolina, is a moderator at the 2023 Power Up Conference and Concert. (Photo by Jon Gardiner, UNC/Chapel Hill)

It’s one mission to serve your country. It is quite another to serve your own mission.

Those lessons apply to every person making life and career adjustments.

“Women who have served in the military have successfully learned to maneuver in a closed, highly structured environment and within their own area of expertise such as logistics, combat arms, personnel, operations, and more,” says retired Major General Margaret (Peggy) Wilmoth, PhD, MSS, RN, FAAN, and professor in the School of Nursing at University of North Carolina since 2017.

“While there are many transferable skills, moving back into the very different civilian culture — whether in business, education, law, medicine, or elsewhere— means learning new ways of interacting, a new language and new, often covert rules,” says Wilmoth, Executive Dean at UNC School of Nursing, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Wilmoth, who has an extensive and impressive resume in the military as well as academia, nursing and public policy, will share her lessons and learnings on reinvention and reimagining your career at Take The Lead’s Power up Concert and Conference August 26, moderating a panel on “Women Who Served: Reinventing Life After The Military.”

“ Wilmoth will share her #lessons and learnings on reinvention and reimagining your #career at @Takeleadwomen Power up Concert and Conference August 26, moderating a panel on “Women Who Served: Reinventing Life After The Military.””

Learn more and register here for the 2023 Power Up Concert and Conference on Women’s Equality Day August 26. Early bird ticket prices through July.

Her insights are transferable to any career, whether shifting fields and disciplines or starting as an entrepreneur from scratch.

“Rather than trying to draw a straight line from what one did in the military to the same type of position in the civilian sector, it is important to take the time to examine one’s values and priorities, what strengths one has to bring to the workplace, what really one is passionate about and where you see yourself in three to five years. This may lead you in a very different - and fulfilling – direction,” says Wilmoth, who was previously the inaugural dean of the Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University.

An early leader in examining the impact of cancer and other chronic illnesses on intimacy and sexuality, Wilmoth’s more recent work has examined the well-being of reserve-connected military children, psychiatric evacuation from the theater of war and deployment-related health policy. Inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in 2008, Wilmoth was one of the inaugural co-chairs of the Military/Veterans Expert Panel and was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow from 2009-2010, where she worked in the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi.

In the panel she is moderating on Women’s Equality Day for the 2023 Power Up Conference in person at the University of Southern California as well as virtually, Wilmoth says they will discuss the integral value of networking.

“In the panel she is moderating on #WomensEqualityDay for the @Takeleadwomen 2023 #PowerUpConference in person at the University of Southern California as well as virtually, Wilmoth says they will discuss the integral value of #networking. ”

“We will talk about the value of having a ‘kitchen cabinet’, the value of relationship building and sustainment, being true to oneself, risk taking and more. Each of the women on the panel have had to overcome self-doubt, negative talk from others, figuring how much risk they were willing to take and the value of the journey,” says Wilmoth, who has earned the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Expert Field Medical Badge, and holds the ‘9A’ Proficiency Designator in Medical-Surgical Nursing awarded by The Surgeon General, U.S. Army. She is also a member of the Order of Military Medical Merit.

“Networking is critical to growth; that is how doors open,” Wilmoth says. “Men tend to do a lot of this on the golf course, women not so much. The Power Up Conference is 100 times better than a game of golf!“

With a day of keynotes, panels, question and answer sessions, breakouts, roundtables on specific topics, a silent and live art auction and a celebratory concert, this year’s Power Up Conference and Concert offers participants the opportunity to learn, share, network and build on their skills.

“With a day of keynotes, panels, question and answer sessions, breakouts, roundtables on specific topics, a silent and live art auction and a celebratory concert, this year’s @Takeleadwomen #PowerUpConference and Concert offers participants the opportunity to learn, share, network and build on their skills. ”

“It will bring women from all over with unique stories, provide opportunities to listen and learn from others and to make new connections across many different business, culture and work settings,” says Wilmoth, who also in the U.S. Army Reserve where she commanded units, serving as the first nurse and female commanding general of a medical brigade with responsibility for wartime readiness of all the U.S. Army Reserve medical assets in the Southeastern United States, including Puerto Rico.

“This is how we build strength,” says Wilmoth, who says she has learned so much from Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead.

“I have taken two of Gloria’s courses - and grew from them in ways I am still discovering. The 9 Power Tools course is foundational — how can we be successful if we don’t use power tools effectively? Ambition is one thing - but Gloria is so right about intentioning….and putting that into action through the Mastermind course was hard thought work, but so very clarifying,” Wilmoth says.

“That goes to show you that no matter one’s age, walk in life and boxes we put ourselves in (or let others put us in), we can break out and grow to be our best self,” says Wilmoth, who was promoted to Major General and assigned to the Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army, where she served as the Deputy Surgeon General for the Army Reserve—the first female and nurse to ever do so. She also served in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Health Affairs and was appointed by the Secretary of the Army to serve two terms on the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee

Amanda Huffman, a military veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force for six years as a Civil Engineer and also on a combat deployment with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, is a panelist at the Power Up Conference, talking about her shift to being a mother, podcast host, award-winning author and journalist.

“Amanda Huffman, a military #veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force for six years as a Civil Engineer and also on a combat deployment with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, is a panelist at the #PowerUpConference, talking about her shift to being a mother, podcast host, award-winning author and journalist. ”

She is more about shifting and refining than reinvention—which can imply starting over completely.

“You don't really need to reinvent yourself,” says Huffman, host of the “Women of the Military” podcast with more than 200 episodes and over 125,000 downloads.

“It is more that you need to take the skills you have learned from the military and figure out how to use them in a new way. It could be seen as reinventing yourself, but it is really just a slight shift in a new direction,” says Huffman, mother of two sons and author of Women of the Military, including stories of 28 military women.

What needs to happen, is “Realizing how much you have gained from military service and figuring out how to use it in the next stage. And if you want to go in a new path or field know that you are not starting from scratch, instead you have a foundation of military service that can help guide your future,” says Huffman, whose recent book, A Girl’s Guide to Military Service, is the Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Gold Winner for Teen Non-Fiction.

Huffman agrees that the chance to participate in the Power Up Conference—in person or virtually—is an excellent opportunity for personal growth and creating a new mindset and path ro solidify a bright future

“Huffman agrees that the chance to participate in the @Takeleadwomen Power Up Conference—in person or virtually—is an excellent opportunity for #personalgrowth and creating a new mindset and path.”

“The power of being around other women is phenomenal,” says Huffman. “I am excited to not only connect with others but be inspired by the things women are doing. Women amaze me everyday and to be in the same place with so many amazing women is bound to be an amazing event.”

As a frequent contributor to major military publications, Huffman offers advice on how to manifest a new career path.

“Start following your passion today. I started my journey to blogging and writing by writing five minutes once a week. And then I started writing a little more and kept building to where I am today.”

She adds, “You can start with five minutes a week. It really only takes one small step followed by the next step to build something amazing.”

Also serving on the panel at the Power Up Concert is Alicia Chin Greer, Senior Manager of Operations at MITRE’s Leadership Center of Excellence, senior Executive Coach and a Leadership and Team-Building Consultant. She will offer takeaways on shifting careers after the military.

“It is important for women to create change because women make up half of the population in the U.S., but still do not make up half of the population in positions in senior leadership positions,” says Chin Greer. “There are many reasons for this, but capability is not one of them. Representation matters.”

““It is important for women to create change because women make up half of the population in the U.S., but still do not make up half of the population in positions in senior leadership positions,” says Chin Greer. “There are many reasons for this, but capability is not one of them. #Representation matters.” #parity”

Chin Greer graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Minor in Systems Engineering, one of the first Chinese-American females to graduate from West Point.
A crucial lesson, she says, is to “find your voice, and then find the most effective way to employ it within your context. Effective communication in its simplest form consists of two things: someone to say something and someone to hear it - and you have the power to affect both. Finding your voice, saying something, allows your message to be heard. Understanding your context and effectively employing it puts you in the best position for someone to hear it,” Chine Greer says.
During her five years of service in the Army, she was deployed to Puerto Rico, Iraq and Afghanistan where she was the Executive Officer and Unit Movement Officer for the first Company of Army Engineers. In Iraq, she managed all Personnel Operations for a 3,500-person unit. She has earned two Bronze Stars; an Army Commendation Medal; four Army Achievement Medals; a Presidential Unit Citation; the National Defense Service Medal; and the Army Air Assault Badge.

Following military service, Chin Greer earned a master’s degree in Business Administration at University of Georgia in 2006, and became Operations Manager at Goldman Sachs before she was named Vice President and managed the New York Securities Lending Team.

At Goldman Sachs, she served on the Leadership Development Planning Committee, Women in Operations Panel, MBA and Veterans Recruiting Team, Asian Professional Network Committee, and is a member of TEDWomen and Leadership Greater Washington. She will offer advice from each phase of her leadership path.

“I hope that participants will leave the Power Up Conference feeling empowered, curious, and connected,” Chin Greer says.

Wilmoth promises the panel and the entire Women’s Equality Day Power Up Conference and Concert will be worthwhile and fulfilling for virtual and in-person participants.

According to Wilmoth, “We need to own our personal power, own our value and engage, because if we are not at the table, we will be on the menu.”

“According to Wilmoth, “We need to own our personal power, own our value and engage, because if we are not at the table, we will be on the menu.” #genderequality #careersuccess”

Take The Lead Leadership Takeaway:

“We need to own our personal power, own our value and engage - because if we are not at the table, we will be on the menu.”— Retired Major General Margaret (Peggy) Wilmoth, PhD, MSS, RN, FAAN.

Featured

About the Author

Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldon www.micheleweldon.com