LT Jo-Anne Dao, NSCC
LT Jo-Anne Dao, NSCC
Commanding Officer, US Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Band of the West Division
Jo-Anne is an officer in the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) for the past 10 years and now serving as Commanding Officer of the Band of the West Division, the nation’s ONLY sea cadet band whose mission is to honor our veterans, military personnel and their families with our music. She is a plank owner and was selected as NSCC Officer of the Year in 2015.
In her prior professional life she was Director of International Sales and Marketing for Marriott Hotels in both New York City and San Francisco, specializing in Japanese and Asian markets.
She is a lifelong animal protector, volunteering for the past 30 years in animal care in local rescue and rehab centers such the Marine Mammal Center, the Wild Care Center for wildlife in Burlingame and most recently working with rescued farm animals as Sweet Farm in Half Moon Bay. She is also an accomplished mosaic artist specializing in glass. Jo-Anne lives in San Mateo and is married to her best friend, Jeffrey Dao who is Regional Director for the Sea Cadets. She is most proud of her only son, James, who is a junior at Loyola University in Chicago, a nursing major and midshipman in the Northwestern Battalion.
BOTW is a unit of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a national youth program which develops skills in leadership, basic seamanship, courage, self-reliance, and discipline. Sea cadets have opportunities to attend trainings conducted nation-wide during the winter and summer breaks—they can learn about career fields (e.g., cyber warfare, aviation, medicine, law, engineering, photo journalism, culinary arts to name a few) to gain a better perspective for possible career interests they may want to pursue into adulthood.