[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_image src=”https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/math\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/12\/img_toc_alumni-news.jpg” alt=”jody daniels” title_text=”jody daniels” _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_image][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ module_id=”zhengfamily” _builder_version=”4.14.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” background_image=”https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/math\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/12\/img_bkgd_blacktartan-stripes_2.jpg” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”24px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ alt=”tartan and stripes black background” title_text=”tartan and stripes black background”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”1px||1px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/math\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/12\/cat_alumni-news_right.png” alt=”Alumni news” title_text=”Alumni news” align=”right” _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/math\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/12\/img_stars.jpg” alt=”stars” title_text=”stars” _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” custom_padding=”5px||10px|||” border_width_all=”10px” border_color_all=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/math\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/12\/img_title_three-stars-go-well.png” alt=”three stars go well with tartan” title_text=”three stars go well with tartan” _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#E0E0E0″ header_2_font=”||on||||||” header_2_text_color=”#ffffff” border_width_bottom=”10px” border_color_bottom=”#EAAA21″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
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The sun never sets on the work of Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels, Chief of U.S. Army Reserve and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command.<\/p>\n
Decorated with three stars, Daniels leads 200,000 dedicated professionals. They contribute skills that power all branches of the U.S. military spread across the world. Her team includes doctors who are managing public health and vaccine distribution for COVID-19; specialists who solve problems regarding complicated transportation, engineering and logistics plans for units around the world; and even lawyers, communicators and other critical professionals.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a vast job that\u2019s almost incomprehensible in scope and importance. Chatting virtually from her home in Virginia, she describes her role as \u201ca series of 48 battle assembly weekends,\u201d one per month over her four-year assignment, which began in July 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy objective is to improve our mid-grade strength,\u201d she said, as skilled soldiers often opt out after serving their typical six-year term creating a brain drain scenario. \u201cI want to ensure more people continue to serve. So how do I make their first experience the best it can be while offering them other opportunities?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Daniels’ preparedness to answer this classic question of leadership came through her undergraduate degree in applied mathematics in 1983.<\/p>\n
\u201cCMU is really known for its ability to teach problem solving,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Decades later, specific projects still stand out to her, including a group project from an upper-level computer science class.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to use a programming language I had never used before. I couldn\u2019t do as much code-writing as those who\u2019d been doing it for years, so I was editing, writing and problem-solving,\u201d she remembered. \u201dWe had to divide up the problem and tackle it to make sure everyone contributed equally and to each of our strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCMU also did a lot for my ability to do independent research, check sources and fact check,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd that goes along with the Military Decision Making Process. It starts with facts and assumptions, then looks at constraints and restraints, followed by choosing a course of action.\u201d<\/p>\n
This process, reinforced over and over at CMU, served Daniels well as her career wound between academia, military and civilian service. She\u2019s earned a master\u2019s degree and doctorate in computer science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master\u2019s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. Much of her career has been spent serving in strategic leadership positions in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves, as well as directing research at Lockheed Martin.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Times New Roman|700|on||||||” header_2_text_color=”#EAAA21″ header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#ffffff” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#EAAA21″ text_text_shadow_style=”preset3″ text_text_shadow_color=”#000000″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Fluency in \u201cgeek and soldier\u201d converged perfectly from the start, as Daniels pursued her technical interests while attending Carnegie Mellon on an ROTC scholarship.
\u201cI would not have been able to afford it otherwise,\u201d Daniels says, noting the tuition cost would have been out of reach for her family with three siblings and a father also in the service. \u201cBut truth in advertising: both of my parents went to CMU; my father got a degree in print management, and my mom was a College of Humanities and Social Sciences (now the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences) major. My grandfather was chairman of admissions and, on my mother\u2019s side, her father and stepmother went to the Carnegie Institute of Technology. I have my grandmother\u2019s college ring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniels is the first woman to hold the top leadership position in the U.S. Army Reserve, and one of a very few in similar roles in other branches. Ask her about it and you get the sense it\u2019s a question she\u2019s fielded before…many times. She points out that while, yes, she\u2019s usually outnumbered by men, the military is well-equipped to advance talented leaders no matter the demographic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe military is a fabulous place for women to serve because the pay scale is known, the promotion timeline is known and the job descriptions are pretty clear. It\u2019s a merit-based system, and that\u2019s the great equalizer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#ffffff” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#EAAA21″ text_text_shadow_style=”preset3″ text_text_shadow_color=”#000000″ global_colors_info=”{}”]Being one of a very few women in math and computer science classes, Daniels joined Kappa Kappa Gamma. She and her sisters were active with SDC (Student Dormitory Council) and fierce competitors in annual Buggy races \u2014 she was the first female driver to place first in the races.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sorority kind of faded and then it came back. I\u2019ve been in touch with the sorority over the years, but COVID-19 has done a lot to bring us all back together,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been fascinating to meet these women all over again, and to reminisce about all the weird things we did and what we’ve accomplished since then. It’s been really great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leadership of the Army Reserve is a 48-month assignment. Daniels has big goals to accomplish over her term.<\/p>\n
When it concludes in 2024, Daniels knows she\u2019ll start that 49th month with a brand-new assignment: retirement. Her husband, retired Col. John McCarthy, already concluded his service, and she looks forward to more time to devote to their shared interests in trail running, whitewater kayaking and any intense physical challenge \u2014 like tire flipping.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will have hit the pinnacle of my career. You know, there is no four-star position in the Army Reserve!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Elizabeth Speed [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#e0e0e0″ custom_margin=”0px|||||” custom_padding=”30px|0px|30px|0px|false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/math\/2021-issue\/volatility-surface\/” button_text=”Research Feature: Volatility Surface” _builder_version=”4.14.4″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#00687f” button_border_width=”0px” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”#||divi||400″ button_icon_color=”#00687f” button_icon_placement=”left” button_on_hover=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/math\/2021-issue\/student-stories\/” button_text=”Student Stories, Pt 1″ button_alignment=”right” _builder_version=”4.14.4″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#00687f” button_border_width=”0px” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”$||divi||400″ button_icon_color=”#00687f” button_on_hover=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CMU alumna\u2019s leadership builds a foundation for success for the U.S. military around the globeThe sun never sets on the work of Lt. 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