Meet Dr. Yira Muse

From the Air Force to the boardroom

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, Hope Builder, and founder of Waypowered Leadership.

Dr. Yira Muse being pinned on to the rank of Colonel (O-6)

Dr. Yira Muse served more than 25 years as a U.S. Air Force officer — from nuclear missile and space-launch operations to congressional liaison, Inspector General, and command of a recruiting squadron spanning 55,000 square miles.

It was in that command that she saw high-stress environments break good people who had no tools to fight back. Hope Science became her answer — first as doctoral research, now as her life's work.

  • Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel — 25+ yearsNuclear missile operations, space launch, squadron command, the Pentagon
  • Ph.D., Organizational Leadership, University of OklahomaDissertation on hope and burnout, advised by Dr. Chan Hellman of the OU Hope Research Center
  • Speaker, educator & authorSHRM 2026 · Vistage Worldwide · University of Oklahoma faculty · Hope Science at Work, arriving 2026
In the field

She led before she taught

Twenty-five years in uniform — on the podium, on the field, and in the rooms where it counts.

Dr. Muse swearing in new Air Force recruits on the field at a Syracuse University football game
Dr. Muse speaking at a podium
Dr. Muse in service dress in Times Square, New York
Grand reopening of the Times Square U.S. Military Recruiting Office
The road here
  1. 1997Commissioned from the U.S. Air Force Academy
  2. 2016Commander, 313th Recruiting Squadron — 55,000 square miles
  3. 2018Ph.D., Organizational Leadership — hope & burnout research
  4. 2020Military Deputy Director, U.S. Cyber Command
  5. 2023Principal Deputy, DoD Chief Digital & AI Office
  6. 2024Founder, Waypowered Leadership
“Hope is the belief the future can be better than today and you have the power to make it so.”
— Dr. Chan Hellman, founding director of the OU Hope Research Center
Past Audiences & Partners

Trusted in the rooms that matter

U.S. Air Force sealU.S. Air Force SHRM logoSHRM Vistage Worldwide logoVistage Worldwide University of Oklahoma logoUniversity of Oklahoma OWHOperation Welcome Home The Shine Hope Company logoThe Shine Hope Company WV Public Education Collaborative logoWV Public Education Collaborative

Dr. Muse’s forthcoming manager’s guide translates hope science into everyday leadership practice — building hope as a measurable skill to energize engagement, lift performance, and beat burnout.

Available Fall 2026

Cover of Hope Science at Work, by Yira Y. Muse, Ph.D.
Hope Science at Work A Manager's Guide to Energizing Engagement and Beating Burnout · arriving 2026

Hope Science for the people who carry teams — the science of hope as a leadership discipline.

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