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Colonel Athens is the Director of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership. He has a diverse background spanning the military, higher education, and the non-profit sector. Colonel Athens has served as the Naval Academy’s first Distinguished Military Professor of Leadership; Commandant of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; the Executive Director of OCF, a worldwide non-profit organization helping military personnel integrate their faith and profession; a White House Fellow under President Ronald Reagan; the Special Assistant to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator following the Space Shuttle Challenger accident; and a U.S. Marine Corps Officer who retired in July 2008 with over 30 years of combined active duty and reserve service in significant command, staff, and instructional positions. In 2005, while fulfilling his other professional responsibilities, Colonel Athens volunteered to coach the Northern High School boy’s lacrosse team and led the team to their first regional championship and a third place finish in the Maryland state championships. The Washington Post selected him as their Coach of the Year. Colonel Athens holds a
bachelor’s degree in operations research from the Naval Academy
where he lettered in lacrosse, served as the Brigade Commander, the
senior ranking midshipman at the Academy, and received the Alumni
Award for overall academic, athletic, and leadership achievement.
He also earned masters’ degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School,
where he stood first in his graduating class, and the Army’s School
of Advanced Military Studies. He is married to the former Mistina
Root of Williamsburg, Virginia and they have ten children.
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