To infinity and beyond! 🚀🌌

Alumna Maria Demaree '90 has been a part of Lockheed Martin for over 30 years and is currently the Vice President and General Manager of the National Security Space line of business at Lockheed Martin Space. Maria leads a workforce of over 7,500 team members while managing a $6B+ customer portfolio.

Within Lockheed Martin Space, Maria is a proven thought leader in software defined satellite architectures, Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), software factory and digital transformation and remote workforce initiatives.

She joined us on Episode 61 of The People of Penn State for an insightful conversation on her role with Lockheed Martin, the organization's work in space exploration, her time as a member of Lion Ambassadors, and much more.

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Timestamps for our conversation with Maria:

0:00 — Intro

2:00 — Why Maria chose Penn State

5:50 — Lion Ambassadors

8:25 — Maria's role with Lockheed Martin

14:05 — "Mission first. People always."

16:20 — Changing technologies

20:01 — Lockheed Martin's work with space exploration

22:00 — Organizational culture and values

24:05 — Lightning Round Q&A

30:25 — Outro

Learn more about the Penn State Alumni Association: alumni.psu.edu.
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Fancy a swim? How about a swim across the entire English Channel? 🤯🏊

On today's podcast, we chat with Jeannie Zappe '87, Speaker and Coach at Eternal Optimist LLC, and open water distance swimmer!

Jeannie's personal feats include swimming around Manhattan at 53, crossing the English Channel at 55, and joining the elite ranks of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming at 56 by completing a Catalina Channel crossing.

A transformative speaker and eternal optimist, Jeannie has also excelled in leadership roles in higher education IT before pursuing her true calling as a swim coach in 2010. Harnessing her lifelong passion, she's coached young talents to elite national athletes and iron men/women.

Connect with Jeanne on Facebook and LinkedIn!

Watch the video version of our conversation with Jeannie on YouTube.
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Timestamps for our conversation with Jeannie:

0:00 — Intro

1:44 — Becoming a Penn Stater

7:45 — Initial career goal of being a swimming coach

9:20 — Ad Read - Alumni Association Membership

10:15 — What it was like to swim the English Channel

16:40 — The Triple Crown of open water swimming

23:45 — Techniques and strategies for distance swimming

33:05 — Jeanne's work with Eternal Optimist LLC

41:30 — Lightning Round Q&A

Learn more about the Penn State Alumni Association: alumni.psu.edu.
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Lieutenant Colonel Robert Michaels '02, '05 Dickinson Law, has served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps since January 2006.

During his time as an Army lawyer, he has served in military units all over the world. In addition to service in Iraq, South Korea, and Europe, he most recently returned to the United States after serving for two years as the first-ever U.S. Army Exchange Officer to the Republic of Poland. During that assignment, he was the Operational Law Attorney to the General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube.

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Timestamps for our conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Michaels:

0:00 — Intro

1:46 — Becoming a Penn Stater

7:20 — A strong family connection to the U.S. Military

16:00 — Lieutenant Colonel Michaels' attempt to become Penn State student body president

16:55 — Experiences in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps

22:10 — Time as a JAG Officer with the Polish Armed Forces

32:24 — Lightning Round Q&A

41:34 — Outro

Learn more about the Penn State Alumni Association: alumni.psu.edu.
Follow the Penn State Alumni Association on:
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Instagram
LinkedIn