ICYMI: At JFK Library, Kelly Speaks on Public Service, Courage, and Lessons in Leadership

In case you missed it, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly joined author Rye Barcott for a conversation at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston to talk about his upbringing and living a life of service in the Navy, at NASA, and now in the U.S. Senate. Kelly shared the courage and leadership he’s seen in others over the course of his life, from his mom becoming the first female police officer in West Orange to his 39-year-old commanding officer during Operation Desert Storm and the Capitol Police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6 th . He also reflected on the example of courage of his wife, Gabby, who never backed down after she was injured and who continues to live a life of service. Sen. Kelly speaks to Rye Barcott at the JFK Presidential Library. Credit: Jill Person Photography. Watch the full interview here . See key excerpts below: On watching his mother break barriers… “A lot of my inspiration comes from my mom…She was five foot nothing. When I was a young kid, she had two jobs at the same time. She was a secretary and a waitress. Neither of them paid well…She decided to become a police officer like my dad, but this was New Jersey in the 1970s. For a woman to become a cop, it was very difficult. She had to pass a test, including a physical fitness test that was clearly designed for men. I’d watch my mom out there for months practice in the backyard. She had to get over the seven foot, two-inch wall. My dad built one in our backyard to help her between two trees. Made it an inch higher. When she finally took this test, she got over in a faster time than all of the men and became the first female police officer in New Jersey. “So, I saw, from my mom, the power of having a goal, a strategic goal, and then having the right plan. And if you execute that plan, you could actually achieve something. So, I learned that from my mother, and it’s something I carried to through my life all the way to today.” On true leadership… “I learned that the most effective teams are ones that will work together, where people can make the effort to make an input, and you’ve got a boss that will listen to you. “I used to tell my crew members, my shuttle crew members, when I got assigned as the Commander of two shuttle missions. One of the first things I would do, first meeting I would have with them, I’d sit them down and I would say, ‘You are required to question my decisions, not optional…But if you think we should be doing something differently at either safety or mission success, you have to tell me about it and we’re going to figure it out together.’ I don’t have such an ego that it’s going to bother me to have to change my mind and say to one of my crew members, ‘Yeah, you’re right, we shouldn’t be doing this this way. I’m wrong on this issue.’ “When you see leaders in our government who don’t take the input and think they know more than everyone about everything, that is a problem and it’s dangerous. And it’s what has gotten into the situation where we find ourselves in today. We’re in a at war with Iran, there was no strategic goal, there was no plan, there was no timeline, there was no exit strategy, and now we’re stuck…That’s what happens when you have a leader who believes they know better than everybody else.” On why Gabby is his greatest example of courage… “Gabby was, I think, one of the hardest working members of Congress, and I thought her future was unlimited in service to the country…Just watching the courage that she displayed after she was injured, that’s what taught me so much about resilience. Never giving up, never backing down, never going away. “Even today, she continues to go to PT and speech therapy. She travels the country half of the time trying to solve this issue of gun violence that makes this nation stand out in the worst of ways. And I just see that in her. So, when it comes to me, when something gets hard, like if anything gets hard, all I got to do is think about my wife and there’s no room for me to complain in my house, about anything. And I think she’s such a great example of really somebody I consider a hero.” On the insult of Trump pardoning January 6 th rioters… “The president of the United States sent a mob for one branch of government to attack the other branch of government because he didn’t like the outcome of an election. Think about that for a second. I mean, he sent an army at us to try to convince Mike Pence not to do his job. “The courage that day was, in my view, certainly, it was the Capitol Police officers who fought for our democracy and some of them gave their lives… And for this government, then, this President, we have now, to pardon those criminals? It’s so insulting to every police officer in our country. As the son of two cops, I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so insulting from a leader. To pardon thousands of individuals, many of which assaulted police officers.” On his advice for young people trying to find courage… “Find good people to be around, stick up for the folks that are struggling out there. I always encourage young people to stick up for the people that are really struggling. And I think it’s courageous to do that. Push back against when the when the mob is walking off in some direction, you don’t have to go with the mob. You don’t have to be with the crowd. You can stand out on your own. And it’s sometimes very hard to do, but you’ll probably be glad you did it.”