Patrick Walsh is a retired career Navy pilot and commander and is the current president of strategic programs of the Dallas-based company Academic Partnerships. Within the last year, he has led the expansion of the company to bring more than 40 public and not-for-profit private university degree programs online. Important for Patrick, this means that 110 undergraduate and graduate degrees are now available to members of the active duty military.

In 2012, Patrick retired from his position as the 59th Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, after 35 years in service. In this last position, he led the U.S. military response to the 2011 earthquake in Japan, after which he was awarded the Grand Cordon – Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government. Prior to his command positions, Patrick was a Navy pilot with Carrier Air Wing One and flew with the Blue Angels. Patrick, whose ancestors come from Cork, values his Irish heritage as a source of shared pride with his wife, Andy, and their two children, Jennifer and Matthew.