Join us for a conversation with LCDR Art Trejo as he speaks of his own experiences in the Navy, succeeding in his profession as a Latino American. Enlisting as a young Sailor, Art has seen his Navy transform in response to changing policies and has lived the ground-level consequences (good and bad) of those changes. He will soon become the executive officer of a U.S. Destroyer, followed by taking command the following year. This assignment is the pinnacle of achievement in the Navy. Join us in hearing his story of how he has gotten there as a minority member, and how he has overcome the challenges he has faced along the way.
 

A native of El Monte, California, Art was commissioned in 2005 as a Navy nuclear surface warfare officer. He is a Lieutenant Commander and has deployed on a variety of warships including aircraft carriers, a guided missile destroyer, and an amphibious assault ship. Additionally, he has served on two overseas tours; forward-deployed out of Sasebo, Japan and embedded with the Canadian Navy under an exchange program where he was their representative to NATO. He has been selected to be a captain of a Navy warship and looks forward to command-at-sea of the USS Bulkeley (DDG 106) following his MPP studies at Princeton. Prior to enrolling at Princeton, he worked for two years as a nuclear reactor safety inspector for the U.S. Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He holds a B.S. degree in Astrophysics from UCLA.  His wife Amanda and him are proud parents to three great kids, Remi, Phoenix, and Gia.