Zeita Merchant
Zeita Merchant | |
|---|---|
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| Education | Tougaloo College (BS) George Washington University (MPA) |
| Occupation | United States Coast Guard admiral |
Zeita Merchant is the current Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Personnel Service Center. She is the first female African-American to be appointed rear admiral lower half in Coast Guard history.
Education
[edit]Merchant graduated from Tougaloo College with a bachelor of science degree in biology. She also earned a master of public administration degree from George Washington University.[1][2]
Career
[edit]Merchant joined the Coast Guard in 1997 and stated the following about the organization's gender and race bias at the time: "Everywhere I served I saw other women but they were juniors, there were no senior African American women in the Coast Guard at that point in time. So I really couldn't see what I wanted to be".[3]
In 2016, Merchant took command of Marine Safety Unit Chicago, becoming the first African-American woman to command a Prevention/Marine Safety Unit/Office in the Coast Guard.[4]
Merchant is currently Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Personnel Service Center.[citation needed]
She is the first female African-American to be appointed rear admiral lower half in Coast Guard history.[citation needed]
Awards
[edit]In 2018, Merchant was awarded the CAPT DAVID H. JARVIS Award, making her the first African-American woman to be given this award.[4]
On Veterans Day in 2021, Merchant received a Women in Service award from the American Red Cross.[5]
Role model
[edit]One of Merchant's role models and mentors was Dr Olivia Hooker, who was the first African American woman to join the U.S. Coast Guard. Dr. Hooker joined the Coast Guard during World War II and the galley on the Coast Guard's Staten Island, New York base is named after her.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Coast Guard Alumni Serve Ships and Shores". GW Today. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "Captain Zeita Merchant" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Veterans Day: These women are blazing a trail as officers in the U.S. Coast Guard". ABC7 New York. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ a b https://media.defense.gov/2018/May/30/2001924326/-1/-1/0/WOMENCHRONOLOGY.PDF
- ^ "Women on the Waterfront: Captain Zeita Merchant". Waterfront Alliance. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Black History Month: Coast Guard Captain Zeita Merchant Keeps New Yorkers Safe While Blazing New Trails - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2023.