KINGS POINT, N.Y., January 28, 2015 - Today, the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point announced that Rear Admiral (RADM) Mary Landry, United States Coast Guard (USCG) Retired,  will be the Keynote Speaker for the 2015 Women on the Water (WOW) Conference to be held at the Academy, March 25-27.

"We are very pleased to have Ms.Landry as our keynote speaker at this year's WOW Conference," said Rear Admiral James A. Helis, Superintendent. "She is a distinguished leader and role model whose lifetime of service is an example for all, especially the midshipmen and cadets about to launch their careers"

Mary Landry is the Director of Incident Management and Preparedness at Coast Guard Headquarters.  She is responsible for establishing, developing, and implementing all hazards incident management goals, strategies, policies, and doctrine to meet Coast Guard responsibilities in incident preparedness and response.  Ms. Landry was recently detailed to the White House for one year as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Resilience Policy where she worked on national preparedness and response issues.

Prior to joining the Coast Guard's Senior Executive Service, Ms. Landry served on active duty in the Coast Guard retiring at the rank of Rear Admiral in 2011.  As a flag officer she served as Director of Governmental and Public Affairs at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. Her subsequent tour was as the Commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District and Commander of Task Force 189.8, headquartered in New Orleans. As District Commander, Rear Admiral Landry was responsible for U.S. Coast Guard operations covering 26 states, more than 1,200 miles of coastline and 10,300 miles of inland waterways from Florida to Mexico and including the entire navigable lengths of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee River systems. During this tour she served as Federal on Scene Coordinator in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and oversaw the service's response to the historic 2011 Mississippi River Valley floods.

Ms. Landry's military commendations and civilian honors include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (three awards), the University of Rhode Island Distinguished Achievement Award, the Seamen's Church Institute River Bells Distinguished Service award, the U.S. Women International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) Personality of the Year 2011, New Orleans Magazine 2011 Top Female Achiever, the 2014 Sea Service Leadership Association North Star Lifetime Achievement Award, and an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Hilbert College. She has an undergraduate degree from SUNY Buffalo, a Master's Degree in Management from Webster University, and a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. She is also a graduate of the Harvard National Security Fellowship.

To learn more about the Women on the Water Conference, please click: Women on the Water 2015