MAJ (Retired) Pat Walker Locke is originally from Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Mumford High School in 1973. In 1974, she enlisted as an Army Communication Specialist at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In 1976, she was selected to attend the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, and then selected to attend West Point.
In 1980, Pat graduated from West Point with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. She was in the first class to graduate women. She was the first African-American woman to graduate from West Point by Order of Merit.
Pat served in many leadership positions worldwide before retiring from the Army in 1995. After retirement, she continued to serve as an Army Family Team Building Program Master Trainer and senior advisor to the Army Family Support Groups. Starting in 2008, she served as committee member and co-chair for the West Point Leadership and Ethics Conference at George Mason University. In 2011, she began working with the United States Military Academy as the liaison for the West Point Leadership Ethics and Diversity in STEM (LEADS) Program. Since 2007, she has served over 10,000 students and educators in cities and states across the nation, to include Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, NYC, San Antonio, Chicago, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indianapolis, Dallas, Jackson and Washington DC. Pat has had the privilege of presenting to audiences across the nation about life and leadership. She especially has a passion for coaching students not only in preparation for the SAT and ACT exams, but also achieving academic and professional excellence.
Pat has a Master’s of Science in Education from Loyola and a MSA from Central Michigan University.
Pat is Founder and President of the Seeds of Humanity Foundation, supporting under represented communities in leadership, ethics, STEM education and development. She is a 2013 recipient of the Golden Torch Award from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). She has been inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame; received the Key to the City of Detroit; and is the Co-Author of the book, The Power of Civility. She is the Ethics Chair for Rotary District 7610, is a Rotary Leadership Institute Instructor, Past President for the Rotary Club of Springfield, VA, and is currently the Rotary Club’s Youth Chairman. She was honored with the Wings To Succeed Award from the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA) on October 1, 2016 and on October 15, 2016, she received the Women of Color in STEM Visionary Award. Pat is also a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service (DACOWITS - March 22, 2017). Additionally, Pat was honored as a Detroit Woman of Excellence and received the Trailblazer Award from the Michigan Chronicle in April 2017.
Ms. Locke and her husband, a retired Army Colonel, reside in Springfield, Virginia. Their daughter is a 2015 graduate of the United States Military Academy.