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Groundbreaking soldier speaking in Bloomingdale

Not everyone can say they saved an American engineer from a Soviet kidnapping, or had a showdown with Saddam Hussein.

For U.S. Army Col. Jill Morgenthaler, those experiences were just a few of the numerous opportunities she had in her 30-year military career to hone her leadership skills.

Morgenthaler, known as "Colonel Jill," will share her leadership secrets and tales of her days in the service in "From the Battlefield to the Boardroom" at 7 p.m. Monday, May 21, at Bloomingdale Public Library, 101 Fairfield Way, Bloomingdale.

Morgenthaler was one of the first women to train alongside men in the U.S. Army ROTC. She was the first woman battalion commander in the 8th Regional Support Command Division and the first brigade commander in the 84th Division before rising to the rank of colonel and receiving both the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit awards for her leadership.

She also was the first woman to run Homeland Security for the state of Illinois.

Today, Morgenthaler is the best-selling author of "The Courage to Take Command: Powerful Leadership Lessons from a Trailblazing Female Colonel in the U.S. Army" and shares her leadership advice as a keynote speaker at events around the globe.

As president of the National Speakers Association-Illinois and a TEDx speaker whose talk has more than 41,000 views, her presentations are widely heralded as dynamic, motivating and immediately actionable.

"Colonel Jill speaks at large corporate events around the world, so as you can imagine, we're really excited to host her at the library," librarian and program coordinator Kristina Giovanni said.

"As we prepare to observe Memorial Day, her presentation is a great way for us to connect our community with one of our nation's most inspiring military leaders."

Morgenthaler's appearance is free. Register at mybpl.org or by calling (630) 924-2730.

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