In 2010, Rear Admiral Eleanor V. Valentin, U.S. Navy Retired, was named Technologist of the Year. She had a groundbreaking military career, achieving several firsts.
In 2009, she became the 16th director of the Medical Service Corps, making her the first female Medical Service Corps officer to reach the rank of flag officer and the first female to serve as Navy Medical Service Corps director.
She was also the second Filipino-American woman to attain the rank of Rear Admiral.
Admiral Gary Roughead, the then-chief of Naval Operations, supported her nomination for the 2010 Women of Color Technologist of the Year Award, emphasizing her passion, dedication, and commitment to the health and welfare of Sailors and Marines worldwide.
Valentin received her Bachelor of Science degrees in zoology and psychology from the University of Washington and completed master's degrees in public health (health policy and planning) and biostatistics at the University of Hawaii.
She was commissioned as a lieutenant junior grade in the Medical Service Corps, United States Navy, in 1982. Over the next decade, she held various department head and administrative officer positions at different medical facilities.
In subsequent years, she served in roles such as director for administration at Naval Medical Clinic in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and as branch head for TRICARE Marketing and Communications at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
She also served as regional operations director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) TRICARE Management Activity, where she led teams in developing plans and strategies for delivering healthcare services to eligible beneficiaries worldwide.
Her later assignments included executive officer at Naval Hospital Corpus Christi, Texas; commanding officer at Naval Hospital/Health Clinic Cherry Point, North Carolina; and chief of staff at Navy Medicine National Capital Area.
From September 2009 to July 2012, she served as commander of the Navy Medicine Support Command and concurrently as the director of the Medical Service Corps.
She retired in 2014 as the director of the Military Health System (MHS) Governance Implementation Planning Executive Secretariat, where she supported plans to establish a new governance model for the MHS.
Valentin achieved fellow status in the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Academy of Healthcare Management.
