Former Humboldt County resident Sandra Stosz has written a new book, “Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters” (Koehler Books).
“The book gives back leadership lessons learned over my 40 years serving with the U.S. Coast Guard, including three years in Eureka. … At the time, the U.S. Coast Guard had a ship, the cutter Clover, homeported in Eureka,” Stosz said.
Stosz — who has lectured widely on leadership and is a first-time author — entered the U.S. Coast Guard in 1978 as one of the first women to attend the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. She retired three years ago as a vice admiral.
“For most of my 40-year career, I was the only woman or one of the few women leading mostly all-male teams,” she said.
In the 318-page “Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass” — ranked a No. 1 New Release on Amazon — readers will learn how to find, and then become, an inspiring mentor; how to implement effective diversity, inclusion and equity programs; how to successfully lead in an ever-changing environment and much more, she said.
“I’m blessed to have been offered a lot of opportunities that led to accomplishments over my 40 years,” Stosz said. “I count the most important of those as my impact on developing the next generation of young Coast Guard men and women. I had the privilege of being the first Coast Guard officer, man or woman, to command both the Coast Guard’s enlisted boot camp at its Recruit Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey, and its officer training and education facilities, Officer Candidate School and the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Developing the next generation of leaders of character who will replace me one day was my passion.”
Stosz says the idea of writing a book on leadership came to her when she’d been serving in the Coast Guard for just six years.
“Upon being commissioned as an officer in the Coast Guard when I graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1982, I was assigned to serve on the 300-foot polar icebreaker Glacier in Long Beach. … We deployed to Antarctica for nearly five months — what an amazing adventure! From there, I was assigned to another polar icebreaker, the 400-foot Polar Star homeported in Seattle. … We deployed to both the Arctic and the Antarctic,” she said.
Following that assignment, Stosz received orders to serve as the operations officer onboard the 180-foot medium endurance cutter Clover. She was in Eureka from 1985 to 1988.
“It was only supposed to be a two-year tour of duty, but I loved Eureka so much I asked for an extension,” Stosz said. “I was the first and only woman ever assigned to the ship, which had a crew of about 50 men. My job was operations officer, which was third in command following the commanding officer (captain) and the executive officer. I was in charge of all the ship’s operations and missions, which included fisheries law enforcement, drug law enforcement, search and rescue and much more. Our operating area ranged from Canada to Mexico.”
She added: “Our most significant mission was enforcing U.S. fisheries laws with the foreign fishing fleets that came over to fish in our 200-mile exclusive economic zone. We were making sure they didn’t take more fish than they were allowed, thereby ensuring sustainment of the important Washington-Oregon-California fish stocks. It was an incredibly fun and intense job. As any fisherman or boater can attest, the weather in Northern California is incredibly rough and crossing the bar coming into Eureka is treacherous.”
Eureka is indeed mentioned in the new book, as Stosz discusses her time and experiences on the Clover.
“I loved the people, and made lifelong friends (in Eureka),” she said. “I loved the magnificent redwoods. I learned to respect and appreciate all that a small, friendly town has to offer. I found the joy in the smaller things, like a fashion show at the local hotel or a lumberjack breakfast after a bike ride through the gorgeous countryside. Eureka is one of my favorite duty assignments and I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to serve there for three wonderful years.”
In 1988, Stosz finished up six years of sea duty, and her assignment officer sent her ashore to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“From there, I was detailed up to serve as the Secretary of Transportation’s military aide,” she said. “The Coast Guard was in the Department of Transportation at that time. The service was moved to the Department of Homeland Security after the events of 9/11.
“In the secretary’s office, I felt incredibly fortunate to have the unique opportunity to see how the government worked at the highest level. What a privilege for a young officer,” she said.
About that time, Stosz said she was speaking with a colleague about how many amazing experiences she’d already had in her short career, and mentioned that she was planning to write a book.
“(My colleague) looked at me and said, ‘Sandy, you need to call that book ‘Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass.’ And 32 years later (June 1, 2021), I launched that book.”
These days, Stosz and her husband, Bob — who served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 27 years — live part time in Arlington, Virginia, and part time in Falmouth, Massachusetts, where they plan to eventually move full time to spend their retirement. That’s where Stosz’s mother lives and where she spent time during the summers as a young girl.
“Being near the sea at my grandparents’ home inspired me to want a career on the water,” she said. “I feel an affinity for Cape Cod.”
For more information about Stosz, go to https://sandrastosz.com. Her book is available through bookstores and via Amazon and other online outlets.
