Waypoints podcast

We are so excited to share this episode from the 50th, where Shannon, Jenn, and Jeannette had the opportunity to sit down with Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) 33 (and, if you've been living under a rock, the first female CNO)! We recorded this on Saturday, April 18, just before she sat down for a fireside chat as part of the 50th events. If you can't tell from our voices, we were kind of overwhelmed at having the chance to speak with her and hear about her experiences and perspective. Talk about coming full circle... a theme which we will revisit in another podcast coming shortly after this one.

Please join us as we learn from ADM Franchetti - about her journey from journalism student at Northwestern through her launch into the surface Navy and eventual appointment as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations. And so much in between. Thank you to ADM Franchetti for being generous with your time, for making us cry, and for staying from start to finish to celebrate this momentous occasion. You inspire us, ma'am - THANK YOU!

Hi everyone - this is our second episode live from the 50th events April 16-19, 2026. Please join us this time as we get the opportunity to speak with and learn from RADM Julius Caesar (Ret.), Class of '77 -- Distinguished Graduate, retired Surface Warfare Officer, leader in the Naval Academy Minority Association SIG, and all around amazing human being! He was on hand to support the women of USNA at the 50th and joined us for a mini-episode.

Again, please excuse our exuberance in the podcast -- our big feelings and consumption of copious amounts of caffeine continued in this epside. Thank you so much to RADM Caesar for joining us and for being a leader and ally. This was such a fun conversation ... and we got to think about what it would be like to show up for Plebe Summer with the name "Julius Caesar" -- that must have been character-building!

Please stay tuned for additional mini-episodes in the coming week.

Ok y'all - for the next few episodes, we'll be featuring speakers and special guests live from the Annapolis events to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of women at USNA! These are shorter episodes that we managed to record amidst the craziness - thanks to our guests, who were willing to miss out on a few minutes of the broader programming. Our first guest was LtGen Lori Reynolds, USMC (Ret.), from the class of 1986. LtGen Reynolds was one of the speakers on the "Warfighters Answering the Call" panel, which focused on the key roles of women in warfighting roles in the military. Please join us as we talk with LtGen Reynolds just as the events get rolling! And you'll have to excuse our exuberance in the podcast... we had lots of caffeine and lots of feelings.

Thank you to LtGen Reynolds for giving us her time and energy - and to John Schofield and the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation team for their fantastic, invaluable support! In fact, we recorded these on their equipment, so any weird sounds or mistakes are due to our rookie-ness.

It's the week of the 50th anniversary events in Annapolis (and West Point and Colorado Springs)...in anticipation of the events, Jeff Webb '95, President and CEO of the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation, met with Jeannette at the Fluegel Alumni Center in Annapolis.

Please join us to learn about Jeff's path from the cycling team and ocean engineering at Navy to the SEAL teams to Run to Honor and the private sector ... and onto the Alumni Association and Foundation. And also -- Tainted Love, Welcome to the Jungle, and Nirvana.

Thank you to Jeff and the entire Alumni Association and Foundation team for all of the support (and hosting) you're providing for the 50th anniversary events! We are so grateful for your support and leadership! Thank you as well to Chris Servillo '99 and Natasha Schleper for your magnificent editing, for John Schofield for all of the support you've given us over the past year, and to the USNA Women's Glee Club for lending us your voices for the opening and closing music.

Maybe we'll just keep going until you've heard from EVERY woman in '98! We don't know about you all, but we've thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with our classmates and being reminded of how absolutely awesome they are.

This time, Sara Stires and Tara Golden join from Annapolis and the greater Norfolk area with Shannon and Jeannette to discuss animals, the DFC, Glee Club, and the importance of recognizing the right path when you sense it. We're also adding a trigger warning in here - we talked about some painful memories in this episode, including a squadron mishap, mental health, and some bad plebe year experiences. If this is not a good time for you to listen, please consider holding off and tuning in down the road when you're ready.

Thank you to Sara and Tara! We loved talking with you and if we'd planned ahead, we could have maybe thrown a song or two into this unplanned mini Glee Club reunion.

And next weekend is the 50th anniversary event -- hope to see many, many of you there!

Haven't had your fill of the women from '98 yet? We know, we get it - you want to hear from MORE of us. Of course you do! So...(drum roll)...we're excited to share Part 1 of a 2.5-part series - where the women of SOMB talk with their classmates. This week, Jen (Schulze) Salisbury, Susanne Wienrich, and Sarah Rollings, all 98ers, join from Maui, Salt Lake City, and London with Shannon and Jeannette to talk about the 50th anniversary, being a "girl" one in the 90s (and today), and some truly awful songs (Tubthumping anyone?). And a bunch of things.

Also, you may notice that Jen's answer to one of the final questions - our reflections on the coming 50th and what's changed, what hasn't, and where we still see challenges - is missing. It's been edited out for now, and it will be the focus of a podcast later this year (spring? summer?) and Jen, Susanne, and Sarah may join us again for that one.

Part 2 - with two more 98 women (we won't tell you their names yet) - is next in line and will hopefully be in your queue in another two weeks.

Last thing: we've learned that Jen is a prolific podcaster! We're thrilled to share a link to her podcast on her website here - https://www.mylifeasalandlord.com. She discusses landlord and tenancy issues, real estate investments and development, and more. Please take a look! She has like 5 times as many podcast episodes out there as we do, it's fantastic.

Please join Shannon and Jeannette for a deep, wonderful, and inspiring discussion with Lauren (Narducci) Symmes '00! Besides being married to a '98 classmate (shout out to Mark), she is also full of wisdom, strength, and some really fantastic ideas. We talk about everything from the 40th and 50th anniversaries of women at the service academies... to learning how to study as a plebe... to losing bets with your plebes... to the Tootsee Roll song. Lauren gave us some fantastic ideas and made us remember how much there is to celebrate!

And if you don't remember the Tootsee Roll song (like Jeannette) and end up googling it, we're sorry...

Thank you to the Women's Glee Club, to Chris Servillo '99 and Natasha Schleper for editing, and to John Schofield and the entire Alumni Association and Foundation team for your support of our work!

We did something new this week as we build up to the 50th! Five amazing women from the great class of '95 joined Kate and Jeannette for a wide-ranging discussion... we had Molly Boron joining us from Maryland, Heidi Huerter Lenzini joining us from Virginia, Megan Humbert Schwartz joining us from the UK, Motisola Bowman joining us from Virginia, and Rachel Medrano Oden joining us from California.

Each time we have these discussions, we are so humbled by the backgrounds, achievements, and experiences of our Navy alumnae! And '95 did not disappoint. Please join us to hear about NAPS, what it was like to start plebe year in the shadow of the Tailhook scandal, and flying, floating, and leading in the Navy. We also talk about funeral homes, how Morrissey's songs all sound the same (sorry, Rachel), and sailing around the world.

Thank you to Molly, Megan, Motisola, Rachel, and Heidi for taking time out of your Saturday to talk with us - and to Heidi for organizing! Thank you to the USNA Women's Glee Club as well and to the USNA AA&F for your fantastic support of this work (and to Natasha for your masterful editing)!

Until next time...onward to the 50th!

Please join us at Waypoints as we get to talk with another amazing USNA alumna in advance of the 50th anniversary events this spring! Today we get to meet and speak with Julie (Nichols) Kubal, class of '96 and New York City native...please listen in as we talk about fencing (which just sounds cool), loneliness, and the importance of connections. We also discuss Julie's career changes... from astro engineering and the NFO world to her work as a family photographer in the DC area (see her site at https://juliekubal.com). And while we don't talk about the Talking Heads, Cake, and the Violent Femmes when we discuss music and memories at USNA, we should have...so we're adding these in the notes (note for listeners: Julie and her roommate, Pauline, also listened to A Tribe Called Quest, Nirvana, George Michael, Mary J Blige, Arrested Development, De La Soul, and Digable Planets...)

Thank you for listening! And if you haven't registered for the 50th Anniversary events yet, you should do so RIGHT NOW before it fills up!

Please join us as we continue our Waypoints podcasts in support of the 50th Anniversary of women at the Military Service Academies - and as we talk with and learn from Jill Richards '94. Jill service selected as an NFO into the P-3C community before her career took an sharp turn -- after nearly 36 years in uniform, Jill recently retired and is the owner and Chief Catalyst at Catalysis Acupuncture in Bend, Oregon. Jill also works with the SAN on trauma recovery and recently authored an article in Shipmate about trauma and recovery: https://lsc-pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/article/WRESTLING+WITH+TRAUMA/5068014/856414/article.html

Please join us as we discuss diving (and the 10 meter tower), gender, and the 50th anniversary of women at the academy. Thank you to Jill! And thank you to the USNA Women's Glee Club and to the Alumni Association and Foundation for the support!