Marianne Waldrop is the youngest of four children from a U.S. Marine Corps family. Her father served nearly 30 years as a Marine infantry officer and her mother remained a dedicated homemaker and a valuable supporter of her husband and the Marine Corps. During Marianne’s first ten years, she lived in a variety of places between Maryland and South Carolina, until her father retired and the family moved to Charleston, SC. After eight years and one more relocation, Marianne graduated from high school in Morehead City, NC and immediately embarked on her collegiate career.

Marianne graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics, supported by a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (Marine Corps option) scholarship. Upon graduation, she was commissioned as a Marine Corps second lieutenant. In 1989, she became qualified as a signals intelligence officer and received assignments worldwide, including: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Misawa, Japan; Tampa, Florida; Camp Pendleton, California; and finally Miramar, California. Mid-career, Marianne was selected to attend Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where she would earn a Master of Science in Computer Science. Subsequent to graduation, she served as a project manager for Marine Corps signals intelligence systems. Throughout her career, she led hundreds of Marines in a variety of environments; however, the most challenging were those leadership assignments while deployed in support of four combat operations in Saudi Arabia, Africa, and Iraq. Marianne's military career spanned over 24 years, serving from 1987-2011, when she retired in San Diego, California.

Marianne then attended the University of San Diego and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Leadership Studies in May, 2016. She now seeks to be of service to youth and young adults, promoting their development as emerging and effective leaders. She is single and currently lives in Emerald Isle, North Carolina with her two felines.