Veteran, OC Businesswoman To Be Honored At White House Tuesday

ALISO VIEJO (CBSLA.com) — Martha Daniel is one of ten former female veterans being honored at the White House Tuesday.

Martha Daniel spoke to KCAL9's Adrianna Weingold about the honor.

Daniel is being hailed as a Champion of Change, for her work in the field of cyber security.

She started her career nearly four decades ago as a cryptologist in the US Navy, intercepting communications in highly classified projects.

"Especially the career that I was in there were very few women that were allowed back into that area of cryptology, so that made it a challenge for sure," says Daniel.

She now oversees more than 70 employees at four offices from Southern California to Mississippi and Washington DC as president and CEO of IMRI Technology and Engineering Solutions.

"I'm honored just by the fact that veterans in general are being recognized in this nation for the work that we've done to keep everybody safe," says Daniel.

On Tuesday comes another milestone. She's being honored by the White House for her work in business but also her work empowering and inspiring other women of all ages, some veterans, and even her own daughter, who's now the COO of her company.

"My mother is my greatest role model. And so for her to be recognized for others to be a part of what I already know about her is great," said Maronya Scharf, Daniel's daughter.

But despite her success, the mother of 9 has never lost her sense of community or purpose. She helps other female veterans find jobs when they come home.

"They have good standards, they have very very dedicated time, they're punctual, they're dedicated because they're trained to do that. They're not people who slack on their jobs, they show up and really take pride in it," she says of her fellow veterans.