Tee Marie Hanible

Tee Marie Hanible is a Southside Chicago native and enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1996. In 2003, she deployed as the only woman in one of the first units to Iraq. During her time in the Marine Corps, she served as a Military Recruiter, Legal Chief, Operations Chief, and as the Marine Corps Diversity Chief.

In August 2011, Hanible founded Operation Heroes Connect, an organization that pairs veterans as full-time mentors for at-risk youth. The group runs an annual summer sleep-away camp, offering 75-100 young people from the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area a free week-long enrichment experience. In addition to its youth programs, Operation Heroes Connect provides meals for the homeless and runs adopt-a-family initiatives to support local families in need.

In 2012, President Barack Obama recognized Hanible at the White House for both her distinguished military service and her extensive volunteer work in the community. That same year, she was highlighted in Newsweek's “Heroes Edition” and featured by the Daily Beast as part of its Heroes Summit.

Hanible played a key role in creating and organizing the Marine Corps’ first “Marine Week” Youth Academy, which engaged 250 young people from the Cleveland, Ohio area and earned recognition from the city’s mayor. She also made history as the first military service member to receive the prestigious “Washingtonian of the Year” award, an honor typically reserved for doctors and other prominent humanitarians.

After retiring from the Marine Corps, Hanible co-starred on FOX’s "American Grit" alongside John Cena, where she stood out as the show’s only female military expert and became the first woman of color from the military to be prominently featured in a national television role. She also appeared in the Lifetime documentary "What I Signed Up For" and founded Gritty Apparel, a clothing company dedicated to empowering others through bold graphic designs and messages.

Hanible’s commitment to service continued well beyond her military career. She served as the National Veterans Chair for the Women’s March on D.C., which brought over 250,000 people to Washington and has been recognized as the largest protest since the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, with an estimated 3.3 to 5.6 million participants nationwide and 5 million globally. Hanible later joined the board of Women’s March D.C. and founded the national “Veterans For Kaepernick” movement, advocating against racism and racial injustice. In recognition of her work, she was honored with the 2025 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden before he left office.

Hanible is also the author of the bestseller "The Warrior Code: 11 Principles to Unleash The Badass Inside of You," and the mother to two daughters, Destiny and Jasmine.