Personal History: BG Adams-Ender, widow to Dr. Heinz Ender, was  commissioned a Second Lieutenant on 29 February 1961. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from NC Agricultural and Technical State University and a Master of Science in Nursing from University of Minnesota.   In addition, she is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College with a  Master of Military Art & Science Degree. Diploma (Graduate level program in Executive Level Management and International Relations), Yale University, Certificate in Executive Health Care Management, Center for Creative Leadership, Certificate in Executive Leader Development, and the National Defense University, Diploma in Executive Level Leadership and National Security.  Honors and publications include:  Published memoir entitled My Rise to the Stars: How a Sharecropper’s Daughter Became an Army General; Clara and Heinz have one adult son:  Dr. S. Ingo Ender of Annapolis, MD. 

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Duty Assignments:  Executive Director, Caring About People with Enthusiasm (CAPE) Legacy Fund, Inc.; President/CEO, Caring About People with Enthusiasm (CAPE) Associates, Inc.; Deputy Commanding General, Military District of Washington; Commanding General, Fort Belvoir, VA; Director, Personnel Directorate, Office of the Army Surgeon General, Washington, DC; Chief Nurse Executive, Army Nurse Corps, Office of the Surgeon General, Washington, DC; Chief Nurse, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC; Chief Army Nurse Recruiter, US Army Recruiting Command, Fort Sheridan, IL; Chief Nurse, Frankfurt Army Regional Medical Center, Frankfurt, Germany 

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Organization/Positions/Assignments in which you were a FIRST:   First female in US Army to be awarded the Expert Field Medical Badge; First African American nurse to graduate from Command and General Staff and War Colleges; First woman recognized as an outstanding graduate of the U.S. Army War College in 2014; First Army nurse to command a military base. 

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Deployments: 

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Awards: : Induction into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame, Washington, DC; Distinguished Chair, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Dr. Mary Starke Honoree of 2016, Hartford Center of Gerontological Excellence, NY, NY; Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender Distinguished Professorship in Nursing, NC Agricultural & Technical State University, Greensboro, NC; General Clara Adams-Ender Scholarship for Global Understanding—NC State University, Raleigh, NC; Awarded 15 honorary doctorate degrees in law, science, public service and humane  letters; Outstanding Achievement Award—University of Minnesota; National Black Nurses Association; Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Nursing Career--American Association of Critical Care Nurses; Julia S. Brooks Achievement Award of the NC Agricultural State University Alumni Association; Named and Honored as a Living Legend in Nursing by the American Academy of Nursing; Chairperson; Department of Navy Commendation for Meritorious Civilian Service; Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing;  General Jonas M. Platt Award of the U.S. Marine Corps for Outstanding Service and Leadership;  Washingtonian Magazine’s List of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, DC; Working Woman Magazine’s List of 350 Women Who Changed the World--1976-1996;  

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Other Professional Affiliations: : Chairperson, Board of Directors, THE ROCKS, INC.; Chairperson, The Global Victory Foundation, Victory Golf Tour; Member, Board of Advisors, General Hugh Shelton Center for Leader Development, NC State University, Raleigh, NC; Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender Distinguished Professorship in Nursing Chair established at NC Agricultural & Technical State University, Prince William County Office of Elections; Co-Chair, Board of Directors, Kennedy Center Circles Board; Member, Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC; Board of Visitors, NC Agricultural & Technical State University, Greensboro, NC; Election Official, Prince William County VA Electoral Board; Lifetime Achievement Award, TN State University; Life Member, Council on Foreign Relations, Washington Office; Board of Visitors, University of Minnesota; Citizen Member, Board of Medicine, Commonwealth of VA; Member, National Speakers Bureau; Member, Federal Nursing Services Panel, President’s Commission on Nursing; Association of Critical Care Nurses; Fellow, American Academy of Nursing; Member, Federal Nursing Services Panel, President’s Commission on Nursing; The ROCKS, Inc.; Chairperson, Board of Directors;  Member, Board of Advisors, General Hugh Shelton Center for Leader Development, NC State University, Raleigh, NC; Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender Distinguished Professorship in Nursing Chair established at NC Agricultural & Technical State University; Fellow, American Academy of Nursing; Member, National Speakers Bureau; Co-Chair, Board of Directors, Kennedy Center Circles Board;  Editorial Board, Journal of Professional Nursing; Citizen of the Month, Prince William, Stafford and Fredericksburg, VA; Virginia Women in History 2005—Virginia Foundation for Women; Gubernatorial Appointee—Board of Medicine, Commonwealth of VA; Gubernatorial Appointee—Military Aide-de-Camp to the Governor, Commonwealth of VA; Senior Fellow, Federation of State Medical Boards; Election Officer, Prince William County Office of Elections;  and Former member and officer  of several prestigious organizations