Theme 2
“Judgement and Resilience Under Pressure”
High-stakes environments demand decisive action, even when information is incomplete and priorities conflict. This session examines how to navigate complex risks and remain resilient while keeping mission success and team well-being at the forefront.
Keynote Speaker:
The Honorable Fleet White
Fleet White was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs on August 14, 2026. Previously, he served in the Department of State as a Senior Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser and as the Senior Bureau Official and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security and Security Assistance in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
Prior to joining the Department of State, Fleet was an associate at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. where he focused on white collar defense and investigations. Prior to practicing law, he was a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. At sea, Fleet served on a fast attack submarine stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Ashore worked at the Pentagon on the Secretary of the Navy’s staff and on Capitol Hill as a liaison to the U.S. Senate where he traveled with senators on congressional delegations around the world.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Chicago Law School.
Panelists:
Retired Navy SEAL Lt Jason “Jay” Redman
Wounded Warrior and Retired Navy SEAL Jason Redman is a New York Times best-selling author, speaker, entrepreneur, and coach. Jason served 21 years as a Navy SEAL completing six total deployments across four continents, eighteen countries, and two combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Jason was severely wounded in 2007 outside Fallujah, Iraq leading his team on a direct-action mission targeting a high value Al Qaeda leader. The team survived the devastating ambush only after calling a Close Air Support mission from an Air Force AC-130 Gunship directly on their position. It would become the closest fire mission executed in the entire Iraq war. Jason became nationally known for the bright orange sign he had on his Bethesda Naval Hospital door which has become a national statement of overcoming adversity.
“Attention to all who enter here. If you are coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere. The wounds I received I got in a job I love, doing it for people I love, supporting the freedom of a country I deeply love. It went on to say how Jason would Overcome. The sign earned Jason an invitation to the White House to meet President Bush and it now hangs at the wounded ward at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Today, Jason teaches people how to achieve elite performance through his leadership and Overcome Mindset frameworks. These systems helped him rise above a leadership failure, devastating enemy ambush, life-changing injuries and even a debilitating business crisis. Jason’s incredible story, positive message and vibrant energy make him a highly demanded speaker both nationally and internationally. Jason has completed over 760 keynote speeches and workshops. In 2025, he won the Great American Speak Off on the stage at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas beating out 26K contestants!
In the Entrepreneur space, Jason has invested in short term rentals, commercial real estate, & runs a Virginia based event center. In 2023, Jason invested & became a founding member of Patriot Hard Seltzer. Currently, Jason is a founding member of the Technology company TurboVets and serves as the Chief Business Development Officer.
Jason is the New York Times bestselling author of The Trident, The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader, Amazon Best Seller Overcome, the Pointman Planner and Mission Invincible Marriage. Jason has appeared on multiple national news networks including Fox News, CBS, CNN, OAN, and CBN. Jason has also been featured on top podcasts such as Jocko Podcast, Shawn Ryan Show, Megyn Kelly Podcast, Lara Trump Show, Lewis Howes, Ed Mylett, and Tom Bilyeau’s Impact Theory. Jason has been featured in multiple documentaries including History Channel's, Navy SEALs, America's Secret Warriors.
Harold E. Underdown (Dog), Retired, USN (Seal) Master Chief
Mrs. Jen (Dowell) Baker
Jen Baker, a native of Lutherville, Maryland, graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1998 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, and was a member of the women’s club lacrosse team. Upon commissioning as a naval officer, Baker went on to flight school where she was winged as a Navy Pilot, and assigned to FA-18 Hornets. Shortly after arriving at the FRS (VMFAT-101), she was medically disqualified from aviation, and went on to serve two tours as a Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) in the greater Norfolk, Virginia area before leaving active duty in 2005. Following the Navy, Jen was an entrepreneur, a lacrosse coach, and a high school math teacher before moving on to Cornell University for graduate study, earning both an MBA as a Park Leadership Fellow, as well as a Masters of Mechanical Engineering, as a Lester B. Knight Scholar. During graduate school, she worked for Intel Corporation in a marketing/strategy role, and volunteered as a lacrosse coach with the Cornell women’s lacrosse team. Her time with Big Red Athletics lead her to pursue collegiate athletics as a career, and she joined the athletics administrative team at Cornell shortly after graduating. While there, Jen founded the Big Red Leadership Institute (BRLI) and oversaw student-athlete leader development, while gaining experience in other areas of the department. The BRLI delivered key leadership concepts set in the athletics context with a mission of building confident leaders and followers who provided immediate impact to their teams and communities. Jen left Cornell in 2016 after ascending to the role of Associate AD (Facilities) to join Under Armour as a Senior Manager of Corporate Real Estate, with responsibility for the facility operations of all offices outside of Baltimore. Soon thereafter, Jen returned to a campus and joined Hopkins as a Senior Associate AD, where she oversaw the day-to-day operation of the Department of Athletics with oversight in the planning, development and management of all fiscal and administrative operations. As such, she directed all revenue-generating initiatives and short and long-term budget planning for Johns Hopkins’ 24-sport varsity athletic program. Jen was subsequently appointed the Director of Athletics and Recreation on August 6, 2019. She now serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs, Director of Athletics & Recreation.
Johns Hopkins’ run of success under Baker’s guidance has been noteworthy. In six full years - two of which were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic - Johns Hopkins teams have won five national championships and 66 conference titles, including a school-record 15 in 2023-24, and claimed the program’s first LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup title in 2022-23. Johns Hopkins followed its initial Directors’ Cup crown with a repeat win in 2023-24, and has finished nationally in the Top 2 of the Directors’ Cup standings in each of the last 5 years. Individually, Blue Jay athletes have earned 16 national championships, 16 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, 130 CSC/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and 373 individuals have earned All-America status, including a school-record 81 during the 2024-25 academic year.
Among her many key initiatives at Johns Hopkins has been the launching of a unique leadership development program for Johns Hopkins athletes (Blue Jays LEAD). The Blue Jays LEAD program made its debut in 2017-18 with a mission of empowering scholar-athletes to actualize the leader within and inspire action in their communities at Johns Hopkins and beyond.
For her efforts, Jen was recognized as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Athletic Director of the Year in 2023-2024. She is a member of the NACDA Executive Committee, and has launched a Military Veterans Affinity Group within the industry. She additionally serves on the Athletic Advisory Board of Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit that pairs children facing serious medical challenges and/or disability with college athletic teams.
