Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF (Ret.) defies stereotypes. Yes, she was a jet fighter pilot, but if you think you know her based on that, you’d be wrong. A leader, a combat veteran, the first woman pilot on the Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron, a White House Fellow, and an inductee into both the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, Nicole’s distinguished 21-year Air Force career exceeded her wildest dreams.
But the dream came to an end when a devastating tick-borne illness left her struggling greatly to speak or walk for almost nine months. An indomitable spirit, Nicole fought back against overwhelming odds and prevailed. Drawing on stories from her career and personal life, Nicole inspires audiences to rethink the challenges they face every day. She urges them to go beyond resilience and become resurgent.
Nicole’s empowers people with three key beliefs: failure and risk is the price of entry for achieving something great; sometimes you need to yield to overcome; and her personal mantra – “nobody wants to lead a scripted life.”
Col. Nicole Malachowski brings her experience to the stage and holds audiences spellbound with an easygoing authenticity of someone who’s achieved greatness. She’s been a member and leader of exceptional teams. She has faced overwhelming challenges and adversity and has come out on top.
While other high school students were practicing for their driver’s license, Nicole was accumulating flight time. She was sixteen years old when she took her first solo flight and from that point on there was no stopping her. While in high school, she joined the Civil Air Patrol and participated in Air Force Junior ROTC.
Nicole’s professional story began when she earned her commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 1996. Following graduation, she attended Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) at Columbus AFB, MS and began her career as a pilot. Competitively selected to fly combat aircraft, she was among the first group of women to fly modern fighter aircraft.
As a career pilot, she served in combat as an F-15E Flight Commander, Evaluator, Instructor Pilot and Flight Lead. Over her 21-year career, Col. Nicole Malachowski achieved the rating of Command Pilot with over 2,300 flight hours in six different Air Force aircraft. She was also selected to fly as Thunderbird #3 with the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron – the first woman to fly on any Department of Defense military jet demonstration team.
Col. Nicole Malachowski has served as a mission ready fighter pilot in three operational F-15E fighter squadrons and has flown over 188 combat hours, including her proudest moment as a fighter pilot: leading the first fighter formation to provide security for Iraq’s historic democratic elections in 2005.
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Daniel Lubetzky is a Builder. Best known as the founder of KIND Snacks, Daniel is a social entrepreneur whose work spans industries, ideologies, and borders always rooted in the same mission: to equip people to think flexibly, solve problems creatively, and build lasting solutions to our world’s most difficult challenges. The son of a Holocaust […]
Tim Ferriss is a globally recognized thought leader in productivity, personal growth, and lifestyle design. As the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers including The 4-Hour Workweek, Tools of Titans, and Tribe of Mentors, his books have sold millions of copies and been translated into over 40 languages. Renowned […]
Steve Lerch is an award-winning international public speaker, consultant, and former Google Executive, and has become a highly respected voice in the world of digital strategy, marketing, consumer behavior, and innovation. While at Google, Steve served as a digital strategy advisor to prominent brands like GoPro and Roku, respected non-profits like the YMCA and Save the […]
Anthony Bourke “AB” is a highly experienced F-16 fighter pilot who has flown tactical missions in countries all over the world. He has accumulated more than 2,700 hours of flight time in numerous high performance aircraft and was one of the first pilots to fly his F-16 over New York City in the homeland defense […]
Sara Blakely is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of SPANX. She revolutionized the undergarment industry with just $5,000 and a “lucky” red backpack and turned it into a global brand known for inventing smarter, more comfortable solutions. Sara was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the world and was featured on […]
Elatia Abate is an entrepreneur with a mission to revolutionize leadership to empower humanity in the Age of AI. Named a Forbes leading female futurist, she is a globally recognized expert on the futures of work and strategy and currently serves as Futurist in Residence for Paylocity. Her Future-Led Leadership learning and development content has […]
Gautam Mukunda is an internationally recognized expert in leadership and innovation. He often jokes that his life’s ambition is to have the world’s most confusing resume and that he’s most of the way there. He is a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. He is also the host of Nasdaq’s […]
Wema Hoover is a trailblazer in the fields of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), organizational development, and authentic leadership. With a career spanning decades, she has become a trusted voice for driving meaningful transformation in corporate culture. Known for her ability to inspire leaders and teams alike, Wema’s thought-provoking insights and actionable strategies resonate on […]
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