50 Years of Women at the U.S. Naval Academy: The Waypoints Podcast, and Sisterhood of Mother B
By Shannon Martin McClain (USNA ’98) and Jeannette Gaudry (USNA ’98)
Both United States and the great state of Maryland mark their 250th anniversary this year, but 2026 is also a groundbreaking anniversary for an institution with deep roots in the state. The United States Naval Academy (USNA) may be a federal institution, but its identity is closely linked with the state. “Annapolis” is Navy shorthand for USNA, a practice that spilled into popular culture.
This summer will mark 50 years since the first women joined the ranks of midshipmen at USNA, and Academy Alumnae and Alumni, along with the city of Annapolis, have been marking the anniversary in special ways. In February, the Museum of Historic Annapolis opened a new exhibit, “Trailblazers: 50 Years of Women at the U.S. Naval Academy.” From April 16-19, the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation’s (NAA&F) Fluegel Alumni Center played host as USNA Women presented a conference and gala for more than 950 alumnae, alumni, midshipmen, families and supporters. And the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation’s “fleet of podcasts” has featured many alumnae in the lead-up to the 50th events. Among these, the Sisterhood of Mother B, a group of women graduates has focused this season of their Waypoints Podcast on celebrating 50 Years of Women at USNA.
In the next newsletter, we will share the story of USNA Women’s 50 Year Celebration from April 16-19 and the progress and community it represented. However, this month, we’d like to first take a closer look into the Sisterhood of Mother B and the Waypoints Podcast, which is part of the broader USNA Women umbrella.
The Sisterhood of Mother B and the Waypoints Podcast:
In 2018, our class, the Class of 1998, gathered for its 20th reunion. For the first time, the reunion included an event that our class had not tried before. After a nudge from a previous class, the women of our class held a brunch event at Ogle Hall, the former USNA Alumni Association building. While at USNA and, for many, in the Navy or Marine Corps, we had rarely gathered as a group of women to share our experiences and to support each other. In the 90s, the culture of the institution allowed little room for such activities. At the time, many of us had the sense that we wanted to just to be accepted as part of the whole class, to be seen as midshipmen instead of “female midshipmen” – with all of the baggage that entailed. We felt that the price of the acceptance we sought was avoiding women-only gatherings. Twenty years later, we realized it was time we met as a group for friendship, healing, and the support we’d needed for years.
The 20th Reunion Women’s Brunch was truly special – the discovery of shared experiences, the commonality of what had at times felt like an isolating existence, the amazing stories of the work that the women of our class were doing in all walks of life. Seven of the women from our class felt so galvanized by it that we formed the Sisterhood of Mother B (Mother B is the midshipmen’s nickname for Bancroft Hall, the Academy’s sprawling dormitory).
Caption: Photo credit: Sisterhood of Mother B. Photo is from the USNA Class of 1998 25th reunion women’s brunch, September 2023. USNA Women President Linda Postenrieder (USNA ’82) is in the center with the USNA Women’s Shared Interest Group flag.
As we formed as a group, we had several key goals:
First, we hoped to encourage the women of subsequent classes to connect with each other now – instead of waiting 20 years as we had. We also sought to share our stories so that women who felt isolated in their individual experiences could learn of other women out there who could relate to those experiences or support their journeys. We wanted to share our experiences and the experiences of other alumnae to help connect with and develop future leaders. And importantly, we wanted to share those same stories with the wider public to normalize women – and diverse alumnae and alumni – as military leaders. Finally, we hoped to help recruit more amazing women candidates to follow us into Naval Service with their eyes open to both the challenges and opportunities of that service.
In 2018, the Sisterhood of Mother B (SOMB) partnered with USNA Women, the NAA&F’s affiliated shared interest group supporting women, to publish articles about various topics. We also sold t-shirts to raise money for scholarships to the Academy’s Summer Seminar and STEM programs for girls who might not have access otherwise. On the front, the t-shirt said, “Be the Woman you needed as a Plebe,” and on the back, “Stronger Together.” Both slogans illustrate our mission to improve our leadership and create connections.
In January of 2019, we started the Waypoints podcast as another means to capture and share the experiences of Alumni and Alumnae; to create an oral history of the groundbreaking work and progress that has been made over these decades; and to help normalize women as leaders in the Navy and Marine Corps. Over the first six years of the blog and podcast, we interviewed a wide range of alumni, shared our own stories, and asked our listeners to share theirs through write-in episodes.
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of women at USNA, SOMB and the Waypoints podcast (now finishing its seventh year) has focused on telling the stories of women throughout the years. We have over 60 episodes complete across all seasons, with 21 and counting focused on the 50th anniversary.
To capture common threads, we ask each interviewee four basic questions:
Why did you come to USNA, and who were you on Induction Day?
Please share a challenging experience from USNA and/or in the Navy or Marine Corps and how that experience shaped you as a leader.
Share your best or favorite moment from USNA and/or the Navy or Marine Corps, and what it meant for you as a leader.
As we mark 50 years of women at USNA, where are we now? How far have we come, and what work is yet to be done?
We started with women from the Class of 1980 and are working our way through the decades. We have done interviews with single graduates, a mother-daughter pair, friends across classes, and small groups of classmates. Some of the stories are traumatic. USNA can be a traumatic place for all who attend, and service in the Armed Forces in times of both peace and war carries significant risks. Some of the stories evoke anger and sadness. Others demonstrate great persistence and resilience. All of them inspire us and confirm how seriously alumni abide by the mission of the Academy – “to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.”
During April’s USNA Women’s 50 Year Celebration, we had the opportunity to interview many of the panelists including Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Lieutenant General Lori Reynolds, Rear Admiral Julius Caesar, and others. We also have the opportunity to interview Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers, the youngest daughter of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt (former Chief of Naval Operations) about her father’s role in opening the Navy and U.S. Naval Academy to women. We will be continuing our 50 Year interviews, and we hope you will listen.
Caption: Photo credit to Wendy Moynihan. Left to right: Jeannette Gaudry (USNA ’98), Admiral Lisa Franchetti (Northwestern ’85), Jennifer Marino Parsons (USNA ’98), Shannon Martin McClain (USNA ’98) at the USNA 50th Anniversary Celebration, April 18, 2026.
The Sisterhood of Mother B and USNA Women are excited to partner with Maryland 250 to capture this special piece of Maryland History. For the next month’s newsletter, we will share an article about the events of the 50th anniversary celebration itself, so please stay tuned!
If you’d like to listen to any of the Waypoints podcast episodes, they are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify at the links below. The 4th Season is focused solely on celebrating the 50th anniversary of women at USNA.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0wBSEsD1rIcKSFbjNvJ449?si=ZUrecI9_ROmT6WyBqRB74A
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/waypoints-podcast/id1468356384