Marjorie K. Eastman
Marjorie K. Eastman (born 1979) is an independent award-winning author, advocate, and U.S. Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Her memoir The Frontline Generation: How We Served Post 9/11 is the first book to define post 9/11 service and leadership. The book earned a 2017 Independent Publishers National Book Award and is on the recommended reading list for the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Center of Excellence Library and Museum.[1] In 2019, Eastman was selected by The Junior Chamber International (JCI) USA as a recipient of the 2019 Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award. [2] The TOYA is one of the oldest and most prestigious programs in America, recognizing only ten individuals nationwide who exemplify the best attributes of the nation’s young people. Previous honorees include the likes of John F. Kennedy (1946), Chuck Yeager (1954), Elvis Presley (1970), and George Stephanopoulos (1993).
Early life
Eastman was born and raised in Southern California. She earned her bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego. As an undergraduate, she was competitively selected for a White House Internship in 2000[3] and also studied abroad at the University College London, School for Slavonic and East European Studies. She attended the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, where she earned her master's degree in International Security, with concentrations in Homeland Security, Intelligence, and Human Rights. During her graduate studies, she was one of 56 students selected nationally for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Honors Internship Program. She also has an MBA from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management.
Career
Eastman has worked in public, private, and non-profit sectors. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, panelist, and contributing writer. Eastman is involved with charities and boards that support girls, women, veterans and entrepreneurs.
Eastman has been recognized by the Nashville Business Journal with the 2015 Award for Veteran Leading in Business and has been described as a veteran thought leader in PBS's Veterans Coming Home Initiative. In 2018, Eastman was selected as one of the nation's Top 25 Influencers Supporting to the Military Community, known as Mighty 25.[4]
She is part of the Next Generation Council of Advisors for the national cross-partisan movement With Honor, and is active as a state leader with the Veterans for Smart Power Network for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.
Writings
Marjorie is an award-winning author of the 2017 National Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for, The Frontline Generation: How We Served Post 9/11. The book began as a personal memoir for her son and became the first to define post 9/11 service and leadership. It was a featured title for Hudson Booksellers in airports across the U.S. (2016-2017) and is on the recommended reading list for the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Center of Excellence library and museum.
Eastman's unique experience as a female veteran was profiled on the Nashville Public Television feature Veterans Coming Home[5] in 2016. Her opinion pieces on veterans and the post 9/11 generation of leaders and service have been published in local, regional and national media outlets, including The Washington Post, USA Today,[6] CNN.,[7] The Houston Chronicle coauthored with General Peter Chiarelli, Task & Purpose, Military.com, Forbes, The Foreign Policy Magazine, C-SPAN, and NPR have also featured her work.[8]
Her 2018 weekly business column that highlighted impactful, scalable, and unique post 9/11 businesses and charities that were founded by veterans and/or military family members was the inspiration for the 2019 Bicycle Collector’s Deck known as Frontline Leaders. In partnership with U.S. Playing Card Company, a limited-edition collectible highlighted 52 interesting and successful post 9/11 businesses and charities launched by the military community, showcasing each organization’s logo on the face of the card. This product was a spin-off from the 2003 Most Wanted Iraqi Playing Cards, flipping the script to bring awareness and highlight the post 9/11 military community as a positive force in American culture and economy.[9]
References
- "2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards National Medalists". Independent Publisher. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- "The 2019 Ten Outstanding Young Americans". Independent Publisher. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- Edward (April 30, 2001). "Capitalizing on Your Potential". University of California San Diego. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- "2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards National Medalists". Independent Publisher. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- "Veterans Coming Home". Corporation for Public Broadcasting. WNPT. July 22, 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- Eastman, Marjorie (May 25, 2017). "Memorial Day: Don't wait for someone else to serve". Gannett. USA Today. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- Eastman, Marjorie (October 19, 2016). "The day the next greatest generation was born". CNN. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- "Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam War Veterans". C-SPAN. September 19, 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- Eastman, Marjorie (April 11, 2018). "What the 'Most Wanted Iraqi's' Deck of Cards Can Teach Us About War". Task and Purpose. Retrieved 8 May 2020.