Col Maria "MJ" Pallotta, USMCR (Ret.), Ph.D.
ELD Director
- Phone: (410) 293-6017
- E-mail: pallotta@usna.edu
- Department of Leadership, Ethics, Law, Luce Hall (Mail Stop 7-B) 112 Cooper Road Annapolis, MD 21402-5022
Maria “MJ” Pallotta, Col, USMCR (Ret.) is a native of Cleveland, OH and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 as a Marine second lieutenant, where she rowed crew and studied English and Spanish. Originally a Motor Transport Officer, she transitioned to Logistics as a captain. Her assignments over her active duty career included Okinawa, Japan; Pasadena, CA; the USNA English Department; and Camp Lejeune, NC. She served two tours in Iraq, as a regimental operations officer and as Transportation Support Company Commander, running convoys in al Anbar Province in 2005-06. After becoming a reserve officer, Colonel Pallotta served in Okinawa, a Congressional Fellowship in the U.S. House of Representatives, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Corps University’s History Division, Talent Management at Headquarters Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab in Quantico. She retired in 2024 after 30 years of service.
MJ received her M.A. in English from California State University Los Angeles and her Ph.D. in Education at George Mason University. She currently works in the Naval Academy’s Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Division, where she teaches leadership and ethics and serves as the Director of the Center for Experiential Leadership Development (ELD). The current Class Secretary for the Class of 1994, she is also an active member and past VP of the USNAAA Women’s Shared Interest Group.
