NEW LONDON, Conn. – Two presidential appointees to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Board of Visitors took the oath of office on Wednesday, May 22.
Brig. Gen. Maritza Sáenz Ryan (USA Ret.) and Rear Adm. Joyce M. Johnson (USPHS Ret.) were both sworn into office by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas just prior to the start of the 143rd Commencement exercises at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
The USCGA Board of Visitors provides the Commandant of the Coast Guard with independent advice and recommendations on the operation and other matters relating to the Academy. Members are nominated by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House.
Brig. Gen. Ryan is the former head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy. She was the first woman and first Hispanic West Point graduate to serve as an academic department head there.
Rear Adm. Johnson became the first woman chief medical officer and surgeon general in U.S. Coast Guard history. As a physician, Dr. Johnson is board certified in Public Health/Preventive Medicine, Psychiatry, and Clinical Pharmacology.
Vice Adm. Peter V. Neffenger (CG Ret.) and Ms. Nancy Duff Campbell, founder and Co-President Emerita of the National Women's Law Center, were also appointed by the White House to the Board of Visitors.
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