Pathways to Public Service: Military Service Panel

Hear from Harvard alumni who pursued careers in public service through the U.S. military. Dinner will be provided.

About the Panelists:

Lieutenant Elizabeth Herington: 
LT Elizabeth Herington graduated from Harvard College in 2020 and is from Dallas, TX. As a Naval Intelligence Officer, she studies threats to US Navy operations in order to provide critical information to senior DOD decision makers. She has written assessments for the Secretary of Defense and has provided threat briefings to senior Navy flag officers. She has also served as a Surface Warfare Officer on board USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and deployed to the Arctic and Baltic Seas. She lives in Washington, DC with her dog, Daisy. In her free time, she volunteers on the board of a nonprofit providing disinformation education to high school students in the DC area, runs a book club and is a member of a track club. While in college, she lived in Pforzheimer House and studied Economics with a secondary in Government.

Captain Grace Chao: 
Captain Grace M. Chao commissioned into the U.S. Army through Harvard ROTC in 2019 as a Field Artillery Officer. Assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, she served in multiple artillery positions in Washington and South Korea. She will continue service as a data engineer with the Army’s Artificial Intelligence Integration Center after completing graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Her undergraduate degree is in Economics with a secondary field in Classics and language citation in Latin.

Captain Katherine "Kate" Krolicki: 
Captain Kate Krolicki is the Wing Executive Officer for the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The 89th Airlift Wing provides global Special Airlift Mission logistics, aerial port, and communications support for the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, and other political and military leaders. As the Wing Executive Officer, Captain Krolicki manages communications, tasks, and time for the 89th Airlift Wing Commander and Deputy Commander. She oversees officer performance reports, promotions, decorations, and other personnel issues for the 1,400-person wing.

Prior to her current role, Captain Krolicki led a team of intelligence analysts providing in-depth kinetic, cyber, and counterintelligence threat analysis for worldwide airlift missions. Her team advised the 89th AW Commander and senior staff on significant geopolitical developments and events affecting diplomatic operations.

Captain Krolicki entered the Air Force in May 2020 through ROTC from Harvard University, where she studied Government and Economics. As an undergraduate, she was active in the Institute of Politics, serving as the Fellows and Study Groups Co-Chair. She completed her Intelligence Technical Training in August 2021 and has since held various positions within the 89th Airlift Wing. In 2022, she deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as Deputy A2 and served as an Intelligence Liaison Officer to the Qatari Air Force during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. She recently received her Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University through their Monthly Executive Program.

Captain Rye Barcott: 
Rye Barcott is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a national nonprofit and political action committee that fights polarization in Congress by recruiting, electing, and supporting principled veterans who pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage across party lines. Previously, he co-founded and led the solar power investment firm Double Time Capital and co-founded the youth leadership and public health non-profit CFK Africa in the Kibera informal settlement of Nairobi, Kenya. His memoir, It Happened on the Way to War, juxtaposes military service in the U.S. Marine Corps and social entrepreneurship. Dartmouth College awarded him an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters. He is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Center for Public Leadership Fellow. He chairs the Board of CFK Africa and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Institute for Peace, Power the Polls, and Veterans Bridge Home.