We are less than a week away from the 2025 Women in Defense National Conference, which will feature the leaders, innovators, and change-makers in the defense community.
WID Michigan Board Member Kim Bode is hosting a breakout workshop session at the conference, “Unforgettable: Building Your Reputation in National Security.”
She’ll speak on the importance of personal branding for women in the defense industry with a focus on building a brand statement around your uniqueness and expertise.
We sat down with Kim to learn more about her session and why she goes to the conference every year.
What is your favorite part about the WID National Conference?
“It’s seeing all these fearless women who are so d*mn smart, doing incredibly important work — I learn so much from them and it feeds my soul. There’s so much concentrated power and expertise in these rooms, and I get energized just being around it.”
What will people take away from your session?
“They’ll walk away understanding that personal branding isn’t about shameless self-promotion or being everywhere at once. I’m not asking you to become an influencer or go viral. It’s about being intentional in how people experience you, which is especially crucial within national security, where discretion is everything.
I’ll provide real-world tools for building trust and connection, even when you can’t always talk about what you do. They’ll learn how to shape their reputation in ways that open doors rather than close them, and why being just another name on the org chart isn’t enough anymore. You want to be the person people trust, recommend, and seek out for the next big opportunity.
The best part? You don’t have to change who you are, but if you want your work and your impact to stick with people long after the meeting ends, this session will show you exactly how to do that.”
Why is personal branding important, especially to those in the national security and defense industry?
“In defense and national security, your reputation is your career. When clearance requirements limit job mobility and discretion prevents you from showcasing your work publicly, how you’re known becomes everything. Your personal brand is the difference between being overlooked and being the first person leadership thinks of for critical assignments.
The challenge is most people in this space think personal branding means LinkedIn humble-bragging or compromising operational security. It doesn’t. It’s about consistently showing up as someone who delivers, someone who can be trusted under pressure, and someone whose judgment and expertise others value. When people can’t Google your portfolio or see client testimonials, they rely on reputation and relationships to make decisions about who to hire, promote, or recommend.
Plus, we desperately need more women in this industry, and visibility matters for recruitment and retention. When other people, especially young women considering defense careers, don’t see women in leadership roles or included in industry conversations, they assume these positions don’t exist for them.”
Anything else you would like to add?
“These women are solving problems I’ve never even thought of, and they’re doing it with a level of expertise and courage that honestly blows my mind. Being able to speak to how they can better market themselves and ultimately bring more talent into the industry is some of the most important work I do.
The future of defense depends on getting the best minds working on our biggest challenges. We can’t afford to have brilliant people sitting quietly in the background.
We need their voices, their ideas, and their leadership front and center.”
The 2025 Women in Defense National Conference is on September 23 in Arlington, Virginia. Kim’s breakout workshop session is from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Potomac Room II, IV, and VI. Save your spot in her session and register for the WID National Conference.