Carey Lohrenz: The Navy’s First Female F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot

On fearless leadership, challenging adversity and pushing boundaries.

A former Lieutenant in the United States Navy and the first fully qualified female naval aviator to fly the F-14 Tomcat in the United States Military, Carey Lohrenz is used to breaking barriers. And she hasn’t stopped yet.

Now a founder, the best-selling author of Fearless Leadership and a successful Keynote speaker — Carey explains in this interview how she ended up a fighter pilot in the Navy, the importance of ignoring the naysayers, and how we can all live fearlessly.

Newnham: Carey, can you tell us a bit about your background and what were you like growing up?
Lohrenz: I knew from the very beginning that I’d be an aviator. Flying was in my blood. My older brother and I grew up playing with Dad’s silk maps and flight gear.

We’d perform imaginary feats of daring and skill, pretending to be pilots just like our dad, a former United States Marine Corps aviator. After he left the armed forces, my dad flew for a major airline until retirement; my mom had…