Fortune – Linda Singh, who has gone from high school dropout, to management consultant, to leader of the National Guard, faces a new challenge: Stop the Baltimore riots.

This story was originally published on Aug. 19, 2013. We are republishing and updating it today as Linda Singh, now a Major General, leads the Maryland National Guard’s attempts to quell the Baltimore riots. The violence, which began on Monday, broke out after the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died in police custody in April.

Linda Singh has an extraordinary dual career. She has served as a managing director at consulting giant Accenture and a Major General in the U.S. Army. She also has a remarkable history: She’s a high-school dropout and onetime runaway who found a path to leadership. Singh, who took charge of the Maryland Army National Guard after two years of service in Afghanistan, shares her story and lessons in leadership here.

One day last year during my service in Afghanistan, I accompanied a group of Department of Defense civilians to a refugee camp. I stood in the middle of a garbage-strewn lot, handing out clothes to children. It was a zoo—kids grabbing shirts and pants no matter the size. Clearly, the kids would never wear this clothing. They would sell or barter it for food or fuel or other things they needed more.

Read more: http://fortune.com/2015/04/28/accenture-exec-once-homeless-is-a-general/