Lt. Col. Karon Uzzell-Baggett, USAF (Ret), earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Pogue Scholar. She was a Distinguished Graduate from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) program and commissioned in 1986. She would go on to earn a master’s degree in human resources from the University of Maryland-University College and a doctorate in occupational therapy (OT) from Belmont University.

During her military career, she served in various administrative, personnel, and command and control assignments before assuming successive command positions. She served in numerous statewide and overseas assignments and was deployed twice to the Afghanistan theater of operations. She concluded her military career as an AFROTC detachment commander at Tennessee State University (TSU).

Following retirement, she served as a TSU student services director before pursuing her doctorate. She is a licensed and certified OT and resides in Nashville, Tenn., where she continues to support MOAA chapter-level and veteran causes.