2009 Women of Color Award Winners
NEW MEDIA/IT PIONEER AWARD
LEADERSHIP
Force Master Chief Laura A. Martinez
Tiwanna B. Hayes
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Director of the Hospital Corps
Systems Integration Business
United States Navy
Analyst Senior Staff
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics BSc – University of Louisiana, Lafayette
Company
BA – business administration
MBA – New York Institute of
Force Master Chief Laura Martinez has had a
Technology
long history of “fi rsts” since she joined the Navy in 1979.
She graduated from Hospital Corps “A” School that same
Tiwanna Hayes wanted a job with a forward thinking, innova- year and reported as a general duty corpsman to the Naval
tive organization that would be challenging intellectually and Regional Medical Center in Orlando, Florida. She transferred
allow her to jump out in front an issue.“ By working under the to the Naval Hospital, Guam, and then to Jacksonville, Florida,
umbrella of a defense contractor, I feel I am working for the in 1984. Four years later, she attended fi eld medical service
best and most secure defense of my country,” she said. school at Camp Johnson, North Carolina, and upon gradua-
tion reported to the 2nd Force Service Support Group, Camp
The aerospace defense industry deals daily with highly sensi-
Lejeune.
tive material, which is vital to the safety and military pre-emi-
nence of America and its allies. A critical component is the After her promotion to chief petty offi cer—a major milestone
security of its communications and of its secret documents, for enlisted sailors, she was reassigned to the Medical Logistics
fi les and plans. As technical lead of the information security Company, 2nd Supply Battalion. Chief Martinez served on
compliance and governance team, Hayes has the responsibil- staff duty for the surgeon general, Bureau of Medicine and
ity for protection from cyber threats, information assurance Surgery for two years, when she terminated shore duty to
education, business continuity and disaster recovery, identity transfer to the Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan.
and access management and risk assessments of internal and
In 1996, she served with the 3rd Medical Battalion and was
external sites.
subsequently promoted to master chief petty offi cer, equiva-
Her contributions to the information security community lent to a “Top Sergeant” in ground forces and the Air Force.
within the aeronautics company have been outstanding. She
After Martinez’ selection into the command master chief pro-
drives innovation by empowering and encouraging the thirty-
gram, she became the fi rst female command master chief of
two security engineers on her team to explore and implement
the US Naval Hospital in Okinawa in 2001. Command master
new methods for enhancing the operation of information
chief is a plum assignment given to only the best-performing
security technologies and practices.
enlisted personnel in a military service that emphasizes high-
Through her leadership, Hayes’ team was able to realize level technical profi ciency among all its enlisted ranks. During
success. One such achievement was the development and her tenure, the hospital received the Commander Pacifi c Fleet
implementation of the Axiom dashboard, which was named Retention Excellence Award.
an “Area of Excellence” in a recent internal security audit. The
When Master Chief Martinez deployed to Iraq she led 500
Axiom dashboard provides top-level data integration view of
hospital corpsmen, who provided health services for 15,000
computing infrastructure and toolsets for governance controls.
United States and Allied troops. In January 2005, she became
In the early years, when Hayes was a single mother, it seemed the fi rst woman command master chief to be assigned to the
the world was fi led with roadblocks. “The mentors who took National Naval Medical Center, the fl agship of Navy medicine
the time for me didn’t just help put me on the right path,” based in Bethesda, MD. She served as regional command
she recalled. “Because of their commitment, I understand and master chief of the National Capital Area, championing the
appreciate the importance of reaching back to help.” Hayes care of wounded warrior casualties and ensuring family and
works actively to provide the same kind of mentoring for patient centered care.
others.
Two years on, Martinez reported as the fi rst female command
Whether it’s advising team members, encouraging middle master chief of Field Medical Training Battalion East. Her
school students’ interest in technical careers through the leadership helped FMTB East excel in training Hospital Corps
Junior Engineering Technology Society, or participating in the personnel to face the challenges of providing health-service
United Methodist Women’s organization, Hayes is quietly and support in combat.
consistently putting her knowledge and experience across to
In 2007, Master Chief Martinez reported to the Bureau of
the young people who seek to follow in her footsteps.
Medicine and Surgery as the fi rst African American woman
to be Navy medicine’s force master chief and director of the
Navy Hospital Corps. She is responsible for the welfare, mo-
rale, utilization and training of more than 27,000 sailors in an
$8-billion enterprise.
www.womenofcolor.net WOMENOFCOLOR | FALL 2009 37
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