Over the past twenty years, the United States has been involved in a range of conflicts, placing significant demands on the individuals who are deployed, often multiple times. These individuals have borne the brunt of civilian decisions regarding when, how and where to use force, as well as what the goals of these conflicts should be. The challenges of war are not often well communicated to civilian policymakers. This series seeks to engage with military personnel and gain a broader perspective of the challenges they face.
Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth “Jordan” Marshall MPP '25 serves as a policy and program officer in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy (CG‑WWM) at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C, where she leads national‑level policy initiatives to modernize the Marine Transportation System and strengthen the safety, efficiency and resilience of U.S. ports and waterways. She brings over a decade of operational, interagency and policy experience to her current role, drawing on a career that spans afloat operations, environmental planning, vessel inspections and port‑level waterways management.
A 2012 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, LCDR Marshall began her career aboard the Cutter JUNIPER before serving in a series of increasingly complex assignments, including environmental and project planning spanning Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, military aide and executive assistant to a two‑star flag officer, marine inspections of foreign and domestic vessels for safety and security compliance in the Port of New Orleans and Chief of Waterways Management, overseeing all ship movements on the Delaware River and Bay and New Jersey coastline. In these roles, she oversaw major port operations, coordinated multi‑agency responses and partnered with industry and government stakeholders to support critical maritime operation and infrastructure projects. Projects examples include offshore wind development, dredging of federal ship channels and buoy modernization.
LCDR Marshall completed her Master of Public Policy at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, where she focused on a mix of trade policy, foreign policy and science and technology policy. She now applies her academic expertise to shaping national waterways policy and advancing modernization efforts across the Coast Guard enterprise.
She looks forward to engaging with students at the School of Public Policy and discussing the intersection of maritime operations, public policy and national economic security.
This event is generously sponsored by the Institute for Public Leadership.