ASMC Interviews--Ms. Mariam Morad.

Marathoner, triathlete, MBA, supermom, comptroller, and supervisor of 88 staff members. Meet Ms. Mariam Morad, Assistant Chief of Staff, Comptroller, Marine Corps Air Bases Western Area, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Mi Another First for Certification--A CDFM Earned in Iraq ramar in San Diego, California. She does it all, and she does it well! From the outset of our interview, Mariam communicated an enthusiasm and an energy that are contagious to those around her.

You may well wonder how this winner of 15 sustained superior performance awards has crafted her career, what advice she has for newer financial management professionals, and what her own future aspirations may hold. Well, read on!

When asked about her job, Mariam responded, "Some of my friends who don't work in the Department of Defense don't understand. They think I'm some kind of accountant. Actually, it's more like being a city manager. I have to know everyone's job in order to do mine: environmental, engineers, and meal services--all of them. I never ever have a boring day!" She also has had to respond to such military contingencies as Desert Storm and Desert Shield and operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the humanitarian relief mission in Somalia, an urban riot, and a number of natural disasters within the United States. "It's as exciting as a stock market, and the pace of change in our field is unbelievably fast. And I love it!" she enthused.

Mariam offered two key pieces of advice, both important to her and to which we should pay close attention. "First," she said, "you must realize that life is very much like a game of chess. You need to plan and to choose your moves carefully or you may not win. Second, you have to be ready to stay the course. I associate with a lot of world-class athletes, and I learn from them that you have to work hard at whatever you do every single day. They practice day after day after day and may see only very small improvements of a fraction of a second at a time, but they keep coming back. That is my advice for anyone coming into our career field. Be ready to make a commitment ... and stay the course! Work hard!"

Madam has indeed stayed the course. Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, she graduated with a major in management and a minor in finance from Iran Zamin College of Business in Tehran. She immigrated to the United States in August 1972 and subsequently earned an MBA from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. Because she had a deep love of the United States and the opportunities it offers, she chose a career in government when many of her friends were entering high-paying private sector jobs; she felt her talents and the military were a "really good fit." She began her career in 1985 as a GS-7 budget assistant, working for the Army in Grafenwoehr, Germany, as a budget assistant. Promotion to division chief came quickly.

Mariam then moved to the U.S. Marine Corps as fiscal officer in the Disbursing Office at MCAS El Toro in Orange County, California. In 1990 she became the supervisory budget analyst responsible for the formulation, defense, and execution of the station's operating budget. In 1992 she was promoted to assistant budget officer and shortly afterward to budget officer both for El Toro and for the Marine Corps Air Bases Western Area United States. After the 1993 base relocation and closure, Mariam relocated to MCAS Miramar in San Diego, where she first was deputy comptroller and then was promoted to comptroller, a GS-15 position.

She is a firm believer in professional development, both for herself and for her colleagues and employees. Today a Certified Defense Financial Manager, she attended the Professional Military Comptroller School (now the Defense Financial Management and Comptroller School) at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama; most recently, she completed the Navy's Advanced Management Program conducted by the Tench Francis School of Business in Athens, Georgia.

"Not only is the subject matter that you learn in these courses important, but the people you meet, the world-class professors, the interaction with your peers, and the lifelong friends you make are equally important, both professionally as key persons in your own network and as people you can turn to when you need advice." Mariam backs up her belief in professional development by budgeting money for training and education for each of her employees each fiscal year. "They may wish to attend a PDI [Professional Development Institute] or to take college courses or attend a DoD school. It's all fine with me as long as they are learning and developing professionally," she said.

Mariam also stressed the key role good mentors have had in her career development, first referring to Army Lieutenant Colonel Brown, who hired her: "He took a chance on me. I had only one thin piece of paper with my education on it, and he had stacks and stacks of other, experienced applicants. He really inspired me and I will never forget it."

Then she related an incident involving another mentor, Colonel Susan Sweatt, when she felt that she might not be able to handle the complexity and demands of a key promotion. Colonel Sweatt advised, "There is never going to be a time when everything is perfect. Take the job! Jump in and sink or swim." And Mariam did, and the results are apparent. Mariam herself has given the same advice to an undecided subordinate, with the same happy results.

Her longest-term mentor, however, is her previous boss, Don Angel, for whom she worked for 15 years. "He trusted me and gave me the opportunity and freedom to do things that no one else at my grade level had ever done, even things that I thought could not be done. He helped me to grow and become a good comptroller."

During her career, the hardest thing Mariam has had to do is fire an employee. "The human part of it is hard, and it's hard to make those tough decisions, but you have to do it. The best prevention is to be really careful in hiring. I really take a lot of time and energy in hiring."

Her best personal skill is negotiation, which she attributes to her cultural heritage. And her worst area is physical navigation. "Thank heaven for GPS [Global Positioning System] and Mapquest! I was always getting lost." Her recreational reading tends toward autobiographies, concentrating on life stories of successful women to whom she looks for inspiration. Her worst job experience came when she was discussing some funding off line with a headquarters colleague, thinking she was going to trade types of resources. Suddenly her money was gone. There were reverberations through the whole chain of command, and she was shocked. About mistakes, she advises, "Don't try to hide them. Tell your supervisor as soon as you can. Most are innocent mistakes and most of them we can fix. You get in trouble with me only if you try to cover up."

The following reveals an insight into the kind of personal drive Mariam has shown all her life. "I got into running casually because, as a commuter, I needed some time to let the traffic die down before I could get home (a 70-mile ride at that time). So I started jogging after work." This year she completed the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., and has competed in marathons in other major cities around the United States.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Mariam is the proud mother of three lovely daughters: Jasmine, an attorney in New York City; Olivia, a graphic design artist also in New York City; and Vida, a college student with aspirations to become a veterinarian. Mariam herself is looking forward to a possible entry into the Senior Executive Service and possible attendance at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her other goals this year are to qualify for and compete in the Boston Marathon and to do a Century (100-mile ride) on her bicycle. You will see her training with her Jack Russell terrier named Bandit, who, like Mariam, also runs 26 miles and still has lots of energy left.

Summing up the lessons that Mariam Morad, as a role model, has for other professionals is not difficult. At the core of her success are unlimited drive, unfailing energy, gaining and maintaining a first-class education, a sense of personal ethics, an amazing work ethic, the pursuit of continuing personal development, mobility, and reaching for ever more responsible positions. Achieving these qualities, however, is indeed difficult. She is truly a person to be admired and emulated.