About

Rebecca Calder is a retired Naval Officer and public speaker committed to sharing leadership and resiliency lessons she has learned from her 25+ year career serving in the US Navy to audiences around the globe. 

Originally from Longview, Washington and a graduate of Phillips Academy, Andover and the United States Naval Academy, she earned her designation as a Naval Aviator in July of 2000 and began her career as an F/A-18 Hornet pilot where she has served in multiple squadrons. She flew missions in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch in 2002 and in support of Iraqi Freedom in 2008.  

Rebecca attended the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) in 2004 where she became the first female pilot to graduate from the elite program. She has accrued over 2,500 flight hours and 421 carrier arrested landings and became the first woman to have her basketball jersey (#32) retired from the United States Naval Academy in January 2014. She was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, and inducted into the Andover Athletics Hall of Honor in 2008, as part of the inaugural class. 

Rebecca received her Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Regent University in 2019 and is currently a PhD student pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Leadership, also at Regent. She has given keynote and motivational speeches on Women in Leadership, Veterans in the Workplace, and Resilience. 

https://parade.com/590623/parade/becky-calder-blazes-a-trail-for-female-fighter-pilots/

https://phillipian.net/2022/04/15/becky-dowling-calder-94-first-ever-female-pilot-to-graduate-from-topgun/

https://www.navy.mil/Women-In-the-Navy/Past/Display-Past-Woman-Bio/Article/2955195/cmdr-becky-calder/

https://www.capitalgazette.com/cg2-arc-140114cs-becky-dowling-feature--20140114-story.html

https://athletics.andover.edu/news/andover-hosts-2022-nepsac-spring-summit

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/real-life-top-gun-maverick