Brad Snyder is a Navy veteran, six-time Paralympic gold medalist and two-time Paralympic silver medalist. In 2023, Military Families Magazine was honored to share his story along with two other American veteran Para-athletes. But ever the leader, Snyder continues to pave the way for others.
Snyder’s fortitude and dedication to our country has been well established. During a 2011 deployment to Afghanistan, the veteran survived a harrowing and horrific IED incident but was blinded, never regaining his ability to see. Without sight but not one to back down from challenges, the former U.S. Naval Academy swimmer jumped back in the pool as a Paralympian, collecting multiple accolades and medals. This summer, he was selected by President Joe Biden as the Presidential Delegate for the Paris 2024 Olympics. But perhaps his most important role is his time back at the U.S. Naval Academy, shaping tomorrow’s military leaders.
“They have a lot of guest speakers and a lot of extracurricular leadership development activities that I routinely participate in in a variety of ways,” Snyder said. “Most commonly, as sort of a guest speaker, or auxiliary contributor to the classroom environment.”
The morning we talked, Snyder had just finished speaking to a Naval Academy elective stoicism class where he articulated how various principles of ancient Greek Stoic philosophy helped him throughout his unique journey, while providing practical approaches to problem-solving, prioritization and goal setting. “But with an angle on, ‘How would Marcus Aurelius have thought about it, and how has that empowered me?’” he added.
His role with the Naval Academy is informal, though Snyder is a fellow at the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership. While joking he has no office at the academy, the world-class para-athlete is attempting to formalize his employment, recently applying for the deputy director position at the Stockdale Center. “I’m trying to take what I do on a volunteer basis and make that my full-time employment, [as] part of this idea of my impact or influence on the world …my legacy,” he said.
However, imparting experiences, ideas and wisdom isn’t a solo undertaking; Snyder said partnerships help communicate the messages. “And to some extent, the ability to do that is dependent on not only my ability to deliver that story in a way that means something to somebody else but also partnering with you or a corporate body who wants to bring me in and speak to their audience because I don’t have the platform by myself,” he said.
Snyder has a robust relationship with Citibank (Citi), which has sponsored his athletic pursuits for several years because its ideals and principles align with his. “The reason that our partnership has gone on that long is I think there’s a resonance between our core values,” he said.
Snyder believes that establishing strong partnerships while ensuring the congruency of stakeholders is critical to effectual leadership. He mentions the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee as an example, where he has been a board member since 2019.
“Any action or decision or policy made by any organization in that ecosystem is not going to work unless there’s some degree of stakeholder buy-in,” he said. “That’s how I’ve seen the movement succeed. It’s when we’re all rowing in the same direction, that’s what real success looks like. That’s what leadership is to me. It’s …finding a way to get everybody to row in the same direction.”
As far as his Paralympic status, Snyder isn’t currently competing; however, he has yet to close the door on that chapter of his life. “I took a step back, and that was somewhat intentional,” Snyder explained. “I really thought I could keep all these balls in the air between grad school, sports, my [newborn] daughter, speaking, and all these other things.” Though he’s on a self-imposed hiatus, he plans to return to the athletic domain in the near future, hopeful for one more shot at the four-year Paralympic cycle.
”I have every intention to get back to it as soon as possible,” he said. “Hopefully, [I will] get back up on that podium one more time[to] put a nice bow on what’s been an awesome career.”
