March 11, 2022
A talk about the book, 'The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line' will focus on two main topics. The first explores the book's themes of risk-taking, belonging, and determination to succeed - as detailed through an examination of the stories of various women featured in the book. The purpose is not to discuss their jobs per se but to relate how they came to make the decisions they did, how that affected them personally, their major contributions to the war effort, and how so many were connected in various ways, even networked, or crossing paths with others. While many had to act alone, without support, role models, or colleagues, that sense of connection was important to their success.
The second part of the lecture will focus on legacy, how these women's achievements have left a lasting impression on us today, how they influenced others through their example, their service echoing down through the generations. There will also be a number of examples of the surprising impact of connection and how that continues to influence new generations.
Mari K. Eder, retired U.S. Army Major General, is a renowned speaker and author, and a thought leader on strategic communication and leadership. General Eder has served as Director of Public Affairs at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and as an adjunct professor and lecturer in communications and public diplomacy at the NATO School and Sweden’s International Training Command. She served in a number of senior positions in the Pentagon, on the Army Staff, as Deputy Chief of Public Affairs and Deputy Chief of the Army Reserve, and with DoD’s Reserve Forces Policy Board. General Eder speaks and writes frequently on communication, history, and cyber security topics in universities and for international audiences and consults on communications issues.
General Eder is the author of The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women who Changed the Course of WWII. Her latest communications book, American Cyberscape: Trials and the Path to Trust, was released in November, 2020, a partner book to her earlier volume, Leading the Narrative: The Case for Strategic Communication. When not writing, lecturing, or traveling, she works with rescue groups and fosters rescue dogs.