“There is no reason women should be making the same mistakes that I did. Let them stand on my shoulders and make their way from there.”                         -Carol

Carol Curtiss spent 30 years sailing various cargo ships, such as Tankers, Container ships and Car Carriers, around the world in multiple Officer Capacities in the Navigation Department and the Engineering Department aboard ship, underway.

She is the first woman, and one of only three people to ever have earned the highest licenses available aboard Merchant Cargo ships, that is, United States Coast Guard (USCG) issued licenses to operate vessels as both an Master’s license for unlimited tons, upon any Ocean, and an unlimited Chief Engineer’s license, for propulsion plants of Steam, Diesel, or Gas Turbines rated at any Horse Power. 

This means that Carol can command any ship of any size, on any ocean as either a Captain or a Chief Engineer. She is literally the one in a Million among U.S. Merchant Marine officers, earning her an acknowledgement in the U.S. Congressional Record in 2002.

Currently, Carol is speaking on the “Myths, Facts & Fantasies About Working with Women in the Maritime Industry.”  A pioneering woman graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1980, the third year that women graduated, set Carol’s footsteps on the decks of huge ships that had never been tread on before by women officers.  After a decade of harassment and challenges, she survived to arrive amongst the ranks of well respected and honored merchant mariners.

Presentations:

"Myths, Facts and Fantasies About Women Working in the Maritime Industry"

"Five Fatal Errors Women Make in a Male Dominated Job"

"How To Thrive as a Woman in a Male Dominated Job"

Her audiences include both men and women. By sharing her experiences with them, they learn the challenges they each face and how to communicate and work more effectively together.