Each year, WISTA honors an individual in the maritime community for their professional excellence and outstanding achievements. Captain Viggiano is the first woman in the Argentine Coast Guard to receive command of a patrol boat, having served in the Coast Guard since 2003 and working her way up the ranks. In 2013, she received her Master’s degree in Maritime Safety and Environmental Administration from WMU and received the Chancellor’s Medal for Academic Excellence as well as the Pierre Léonard Prize for the Best Female Student. Captain Viggiano has credited WMU as the place where she began to fully appreciate the value of diversity in all its many forms.

Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, WMU President stated, “As a member of WISTA and as President of the WMU, which places a high value on advancing women in the maritime professions, it is an honor for the University to see our graduate, Captain Analia Soledad Viggiano, named as a WISTA Personality of the Year for 2016. Captain Viggiano is serving as a role model for female maritime professionals in her home country of Argentina as well as women across the globe who remain underrepresented in the maritime profession. We wish her well in her continued success and reiterate WMU’s commitment to UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, goal 5 focused on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.”