“I lead by trying to put my authentic and best self forward; by learning more about the talent and dreams of those around me and working to connect them to others and opportunities that help them grow and move the organization forward; by realizing the power of a team and leveraging it for the greater good.”
Helicopters sounded overhead as Maryalice Morro prayed for two things: strength and stamina. The year was 2003 and Maryalice was a Naval nurse on board the USNS COMFORT during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The ship had been streaming in the Persian Gulf when the Iraq war started, and casualties were quick to arrive. At that time, Maryalice had been working in the Navy for over two decades in different hospitals overseas and domestic, but Iraqi Freedom was her first direct experience dealing with the casualties of war. Young Marines were brought to the ship with horrific injuries. Alongside them, Iraqi soldiers (enemy prisoners of war) and civilian casualties. Maryalice and her team helped all comers.
Suddenly, the two devotions of her life, her country and her patients, were partly at odds with one another.
Maryalice Morro got to work.
“We had to pivot from taking care of our own people to taking care of the people who hurt our people and that was hard to do.” Maryalice recounted. Placing herself in harm’s way, Maryalice had to choose to help all who boarded the ship. Making that decision without a second thought came from her intrinsic strength as a nurse and naval officer.
“It’s the duty of care, it really doesn’t come in red white and blue.”
Serving in the United States Navy as a nurse for 29 years, Maryalice has dealt with both intense and immensely rewarding situations. “It shapes you,” Maryalice says. From countless expeditions to hospitals abroad and at home, Maryalice spent years cultivating her leadership skills and rising up through the ranks.

There were many moments during her career when Maryalice faced challenges and had to rise to the occasion. From personally attending to a deployed soldier whose wife unexpectedly passed away, to coordinating 1500 healthcare professionals as CEO of the Naval Hospital of Pensacola, Maryalice has demonstrated leadership in every situation.
One of the most difficult components of her job as a senior officer was coordinating service members’ deployments. “You send corpsmen and young nurses and doctors into the battlefront. It changes you forever. You have to live with that fear of deploying as well as sending others into harm’s way. Those are experiences that are very hard to adjust from.” The most important aspect of her job during Maryalice´s last tour was keeping a caring eye on those who fought for our country.
Over the course of years of service, Maryalice came to understand that no one is a perfect leader. She remarks, “you learn and you mature and you grow and you take those lessons and incorporate them into your leadership style.” From entering the Navy directly after completing her undergraduate degree to earning the rank of Naval Captain and later CEO of two major medical centers, her maturation comes from multitudes of experience. Moments in the military molded Maryalice, forming her into the strong leader she is today.
“When you’re in a leadership position, everybody watches you.” Therefore, she chose to lead by example. “You are responsible for people all along the way.” Maryalice discovered even though the military has an inherent hierarchical system, holding a high position does not always indicate higher quality leaders. It is that understanding that motivates her to give her all to her team.
When recalling all those who she has worked with over her long career, Maryalice could not help but smile. The choices she made in her career always put the patient, the staff, and the student first. Her devotion was clear in the way she speaks about inspiring the next generation of nurses, “to me one of the most rewarding parts of that job was watching them gain confidence in very short periods of time, and fly.”

As Maryalice puts it, her success has come from continual learning, risk-taking and being willing to try and fail; from having great mentors and role models; from being given a chance. Throughout her career, Maryalice has served, trained, mentored and helped shape the next generation of healthcare leaders: in the military, at VA hospitals, and presently at the Citadel and Villanova University as an adjunct professor.
The United States Navy has been the calling of a lifetime for Maryalice Morro. After a long career as a leader, she found purpose in helping others cultivate their own leadership skills. Maryalice serves as the program coordinator for the Women’s Leadership Development Certificate at Villanova University where she is also serves on multiple boards including the Board of Advisors for the McNulty Institute. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor for the University of Pennsylvania’s inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice-Executive Leadership program. Maybe her selflessness is innate, an inherent skill for many who work in healthcare, but it’s the moments like on board the USNS COMFORT that define her career, her dedication, and her leadership.

“You have to take risks and you have to be willing to make mistakes, what’s important is not that you made a mistake but what you do about it afterwards…What do you learn from it and how do you use that to help improve yourself along the way.”
Leadership Inspirations: “Certainly [former] Dean [M. Louise} Fitzpatrick of the Villanova nursing school. I wouldn’t be doing the work with the College of Nursing or with the McNulty Institute or even the alumni board had it not been for her. She was always a staunch supporter of my career, my service and always [encouraging me to come] back to Villanova to help the next generation.”
Captured Fall 2019.
Images curtesy of Maryalice Morro.