117 Loree Draude: What A Pioneering Female Combat Pilot Learned About Opening Up New Horizons For Herself And For Others

It's always a privilege to interview a true pioneer on the podcast, and today I'm delighted to welcome Loree Draude, who became one of the first women to fly combat jets in the US Navy. Now she's a seasoned leader and entrepreneur who advises and coaches executives and founders on how to improve their leadership. She is the author of the recently published bestselling book, Soar Into Joy: A Combat Pilot's Wisdom on Falling in Love with Your Life, and a sought-after speaker for her entertaining and inspirational talks about how to soar professionally and personally.

Loree draws on her years of experience in the tech industry and the US Navy. She deployed twice to the Persian Gulf, accumulating over 300 carrier landings and 1,600 flight hours. After completing her naval service, Loree led product, marketing and operations teams at startups and tech companies, including Google and Meta. Loree holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Mathematics from the University of San Diego.

But her path wasn’t all glory and success. Loree has been laid off, forced to shut down her startup due to lack of funding, been divorced, fired, and quit her job.

She wrote a one-woman show called I Feel the Need about the first West Coast aircraft carrier deployment with women in combat squadrons. The show debuted Off-Broadway in New York and also played at the Edinburgh Festival here in the UK.

I’m looking forward to hearing her take on challenging established mindsets on an aircraft carrier, the soaring highs and crashing lows of life’s rollercoaster, and of course I’m curious to learn about the Unlock Moments of remarkable clarity that shaped her journey.

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Loree Draude: https://loreedraude.com/

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The Unlock Moment podcast is brought to you by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD. Downloaded in over 115 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com