Major MJ HEGAR is a force to be reckoned with. While piloting her third tour of Afghanistan, she was shot down. Injured, and under heavy fire, Hegar and her crew still flew their hobbled aircraft to safety, conducting a near-impossible landing. She received a Purple Heart and a Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, an honor awarded to only a handful of women. When her injuries barred her from flying, she fought a policy that excluded women from serving in ground combat—a historic victory for female milit
“She has outsize charm, crazy grit, a terrific story and a knack for telling it. Her memoir, Shoot Like a Girl , with a front-cover blurb by John McCain, is in Hollywood development.” — The New York Times
In 2018, Hegar ran for Congress in Texas, and struck a meaningful chord across the nation. Beautifully depicted in her moving and wildly-viral campaign video, “Doors”—which Lin-Manuel Miranda called “the best political ad anyone’s ever seen”—Hegar told her story “about opening, pushing, and sometimes kicking through every door in my way.” In electrifying keynotes, she discusses the importance of teamwork as well as individual advocacy, highlighting the doors that each of us have in our paths—and how to open