UW-Green Bay to host retired Army Major General Marcia Anderson, speaking on Unexpected Leadership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 21, 2024

The free event is sponsored by the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership and the Schreiber Institute for Women’s Leadership

Green Bay, WI – The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will welcome Major General (Ret.) Marcia Anderson for a free community presentation. General Anderson’s presentation is part of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership speaker series and will address “Unexpected Leadership.” The event will be held on Monday, March 18, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. via livestream or in-person at The Weidner on the Green Bay Campus. Registration for the event is open.

If your starting point is unexpected, how do you become recognized as someone who can rise? Leaders don’t always come from those at the top of the class, the most vocal, obvious allies, or even those senior in an organization. General Anderson is the U.S. Army’s first African American female officer to obtain the rank of Major General. During her presentation, she will share her experiences of being the example of an unlikely and unexpected leader and why cultivating listening skills, being attuned to, and adept at “reading the room”, are crucial for professional success.

Major General (Ret.) Marcia Anderson’s military career spanned 36 years in the Army Reserve and on Active duty until she retired in 2016. General Anderson has a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University, a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U. S. Army War College, and a law degree from the Rutgers University School of Law.  She has several military awards to include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, as well as the Parachutists Badge.

She was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1979 and served in various leadership and staff roles throughout her career.  She was promoted in 2008 to Brigadier General and led over 6,000 Soldiers in an area that covered several Army posts in the Western United States.  In 2010, General Anderson became the first African American Brigadier General to serve as the Deputy Commanding General of the Army’s Human Resources Command, which supports over 2.5 million Civilians, Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, retired Soldiers.  She served in that capacity until her United States Senate confirmation as the first African American female Major General in the history of the Army, Army Reserve or National Guard. She was subsequently assigned as the Deputy Chief Army Reserve in 2011.  In that role she served for three years at the Pentagon and had oversight for an $8 Billion budget, policy development and execution, and over 200,000 Soldiers and Civilians.

General Anderson retired from the United States Courts, where she served as the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Wisconsin, located in Madison, Wisconsin. Early in her legal career, she was Deputy General Counsel for a major utility in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and as a litigation associate for a firm in New Jersey. General Anderson is active in her community, and she currently serves as a member of the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors as well as a member of the team’s Executive Committee.  In addition, she is also on the boards of Directors for MGE Energy and Nicolet Bank.

Since 2016, General Anderson has served on the Department of Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Defense and Prosecution and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces and was appointed in 2021 as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) for Wisconsin.

UW-Green Bay’s Dr. Dawn Crim, vice chancellor for Advancement, Community Engagement and Inclusivity will moderate the conversation. General Anderson’s presentation will also include a question-and-answer session with the audience.

To register for the event and the free pre-event reception, please visit this page. Funding for the presentation comes from the Tommy G. Thompson Center for Public Leadership and is hosted by the Schreiber Institute for Women’s Leadership. To learn more about the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership, please visit https://thompsoncenter.wisc.edu. To learn more about the Schreiber Institute for Women’s Leadership, please visit https://www.uwgb.edu/womens-leadership. Mark your calendar for the next installment of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership speaker series at UW-Green Bay:

• John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Operation HOPE, Inc.
  • Public Service and Financial Wellness
  • Monday, April 15, 2024 7 p.m.
  • The Weidner

About UW-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a school of resilient problem solvers who dare to reach higher with the power of education that ignites growth and answers the biggest challenges. Serving 10,300 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students as well as 67,500 continuing education learners annually, UW-Green Bay offers 200 academic degrees, programs, and certificates. With four campus locations in Northeast Wisconsin, the University’s access mission welcomes all students who want to learn, from every corner of the world. Championing bold thinking since opening its doors in 1965, it is a university on the rise – Wisconsin’s fastest growing UW. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.

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