About Today’s Guest Bill Braniff is an Army veteran and Director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) and a Professor of the Practice at the University of Maryland. He previously served as the director of practitioner education at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center and an instructor in the Department of Social Sciences, as a foreign affairs specialist within the National Nuclear Security Administration, and as an Armor Officer in the Unite...
Dec 14, 2021•34 min
About Today’s Guest Jen Wilson was born and raised in Louisiana, the product of a National Guard town and the proud granddaughter of a D-Day & Battle of the Bulge survivor. Like many Americans, Jen's worldview shifted dramatically after September 11, 2001. While sitting in her dorm room at LSU on that fateful day, even though she'd never been to New York and knew no one there, she made the decision to move to NYC. She quickly earned a position at NBC's corporate fitness facility as their Sen...
Dec 07, 2021•28 min
About Today’s Guest Thomas Brennan is the Founder of and Executive Director for The War Horse. Prior to studying journalism at Columbia University, he was a sergeant in the Marine Corps and served as an infantryman in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thomas is the co-author of Shooting Ghosts—A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War. His bylines have appeared in Vanity Fair, Center for Investigative Reporting, and The New York Times. Links Mentioned In This Episode Thomas Brenn...
Nov 30, 2021•25 min
About Today’s Guest Charles Tawiah is a United States Navy Veteran. He served from 2013-2017 as an Aviation Boatswain's Mate Crash and Salvage Firefighter on the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN75). Charles was deployed twice with the Harry S. Truman to the Mediterranean Arabian Gulf; Operation Enduring Freedom (JUL2013-APR2014) and Operation Inherent Resolve (NOV2015-JUL2016). Charles comes from a military family where his father, retired Senior Chief, served 26 years in the Navy and his mother, a 26 y...
Nov 23, 2021•34 min
About Today’s Guest Beth Conlin is the Senior Program Manager of Military Spouse Programs at Amazon. An Army spouse, Beth has been working to improve employment opportunities for military spouses since an overseas move in 2013 forced her to quit her job, putting both her professional development and family stability at risk. Initially, Beth started working on the unemployment crisis for military spouse alone from Germany. From educating employers, recruiting spouses, and directly placing spouses...
Nov 16, 2021•27 min
About Today’s Guest Michele Spires is ACE’s acting executive director for Learning Evaluations, the national leader in recognizing and validating learning and competencies to connect students, workforce, training providers, and universities. In this role, she provides leadership to innovate new and transformational opportunities for ACE and its membership. With more than 25 years of wide-ranging experience in post-traditional and workforce education, Spires is actively engaged in tackling critic...
Nov 09, 2021•29 min
About Today’s Guest Stephanie is a Population Health Strategy Lead for Humana’s Veteran Bold Goal, a population health strategy focused on both community and business integration to improve the clinical and social health outcomes of veterans and their families. Her career developed out of her passion to serve and invest in the military communities she has lived in for 20+ years as a military spouse. She navigated career progression while balancing the demands of wartime military life - including...
Nov 02, 2021•30 min
About Today’s Guest Chris Spencer – Director of Operations, Oracle Corporation, is a passionate servant leader focused on bringing people together to help develop people solutions that keep things moving. With 30 years of experience building and leading teams, Chris is driven to think critically about process efficiencies and how what we do affects the way we should be doing it. Chris’ current role is helping lead the global onboarding effort within Oracle. He also leads the planning team for a ...
Oct 26, 2021•31 min
About Today’s Guest Jonathan Crandall served eight years in the United States Marine Corps. Crandall served as a Team Leader for the Scout/Sniper Platoon of Third Battalion, Sixth Marines (3/6). Following his time with 3/6, Crandall was assigned to the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) training unit as their Chief Instructor for the Designated Marksman Course. After his 4th MEB assignment, Crandall returned home to Syracuse, NY where he served the remainder of his time with Echo Company, 4t...
Oct 19, 2021•28 min
About Today’s Guest Zack Baddorf is the executive director and founder of the non-profit organization Military Veterans in Journalism. Baddorf is a national security and foreign policy professional with more than 15 years experience on the frontlines of the world’s conflicts, including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central African Republic, Crimea, Kashmir and the West Bank. Baddorf works for the Department of Defense conducting public affairs on high profile mission. He also runs a small ...
Oct 12, 2021•26 min
About Today’s Guest Ms. Christensen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has spent her career supporting families in healthcare settings. Ms. Christensen began her career in pediatric oncology and palliative care, at Oregon Health & Sciences University and then at Stanford Children’s Health. Her career with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began when the Caregiver Support Program (CSP) was implemented in 2011. Since that time, she has been dedicated to carrying out the mission of ...
Oct 05, 2021•26 min
About Today’s Guests Dr. Matthew A. Miller, PhD, MPH, is the National Director, Suicide Prevention Program, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He leads a team dedicated to the implementation and reinforcement of evidence-based community and clinical interventions addressing suicide prevention. Previously, he served as the Director of the Veterans Crisis Line and under his leadership, the VCL became the world’s largest and most efficient suicide cr...
Sep 28, 2021•29 min
About Today’s Guests Nick Howland is CEO of The Fire Watch, Florida’s fight to end veteran suicide. Nick is a Navy veteran, defense industry executive, husband and father of two boys. After serving 4 years as a Naval Officer, Nick spent the next 20 years leading U.S. defense manufacturing businesses focused on protective products for soldiers, airmen and sailors, including body armor, life rafts and tactical boats. In late 2019, Nick helped found The Fire Watch. Having spent a career working to ...
Sep 21, 2021•28 min
About Today’s Guests Dr. Joseph Geraci, PhD, retired from the U.S. Army as an Infantry Lieutenant Colonel after serving for 20 years and deploying as a combat leader with elite Special Operations/Ranger, Airborne, and Infantry units to Afghanistan four different times since 9/11. While in uniform, he also served as an assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy in both the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership and the Department of Military Instruction. One of his last positions ...
Sep 14, 2021•32 min
About Today’s Guests Tina Atherall, DSW, LMSW , brings to PsychArmor her vast experience and leadership in the military non-profit community and academia. In 2006, she co-founded Hope For The Warriors, an organization dedicated to serving combat wounded servicemembers and their families. Scaling a grass-roots effort to a national platform, she worked extensively with various levels of military leadership, agencies, corporations, and communities educating and advocating for critical support for t...
Sep 10, 2021•33 min
About Today’s Guests Melissa Comeau is a Marine Corps spouse, director of the American Red Cross’ Military Veteran Caregiver Network, and a writer. She is known for her book “Sleeping with the War,” published in 2015 by the War Writers’ Campaign. The book offers a family and caregiver perspective on life after combat. She served as an Arizona Fellow for the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and in that role was honored to help bring to fruition the Hidden Heroes Congressional Caucus for Military and Vet...
Sep 07, 2021•27 min
About Today’s Guests JAKE DUKES: Jake joined the Camp Southern Ground team in March of 2018. He is a leadership coach, speaker and author who served for many years on executive teams of large churches focused on developing staff and overseeing campus operations. Now he uses his unique blend of business and ministry experience to develop future strategy for Camp Southern Ground and help facilitate a strong leadership culture among the staff. Jake brings his passion to every project and he’s not a...
Aug 31, 2021•29 min
About Today’s Guests Mary Beth Bruggeman spent 8 years as an active duty Marine combat engineer. After leaving active duty, Mary Beth worked for iRobot Corporation for 4 years, advancing their work on counter-IED robotics, spent time as a stay at home mom and Marine wife, and then started and grew a fitness and nutrition coaching business. Mary Beth joined the Mission Continues team in 2015 as the Executive Director for the Southeast Region. In 2019, Mary Beth assumed the role of President of Th...
Aug 24, 2021•37 min
About Today’s Guests Becky Scheusner is a multi-faceted professional leading with an altruistic mission to do the most good for the most people. Primarily Becky works in Business Development for WWC Global - a small, Women-owned government contracting firm based in Tampa that specializes in providing practical, innovative, and budget-conscious business solutions to the government. Becky has also served in several volunteer roles focused on the military-affiliated community including Lead for the...
Aug 17, 2021•29 min
About Today’s Guest A vocal advocate for the public support of our military community, Mr. Teravainen assumed his position as President and CEO in February 2014 after serving as a board chairman, director and volunteer since 2009. In this role, Tony oversees the positioning of STEP as a successful, trusted and viable partner to Southern California and Washington State’s military population. Under his guidance, STEP has assisted more than 5,100+ military and veteran families in financial crisis ...
Aug 10, 2021•28 min
About Today’s Guest Rocio Galarza serves as the Vice President in the U.S. Social Impact department at Sesame Workshop. In this role, she manages the development of educational content and research for a wide range of multimedia projects. As an expert in early childhood educational development and the needs of young children, she works with advisors to ensure that the content of Sesame Street’s outreach initiatives is age-appropriate, appealing and effective in motivating families to use their e...
Aug 03, 2021•26 min
About Today’s Guest Michael McDowell currently serves as the President/CEO for Valor Club USA developing a comprehensive living and learning community built to support the unique needs of transitioning service members around the country. McDowell served as the Executive Director of The Soldiers Project, a national organization offering free, confidential, and unlimited mental and behavioral health for post 9/11 veterans and their loved ones, and Director of Operations for the Cohen Military Fami...
Jul 27, 2021•31 min
About Today’s Guest Mark Casper is the President and Executive Director of Tech For Troops (T4T) a non partisan, non profit based in Richmond, VA. Tech For Troops Mission is dedicated to empowering Veterans with computers, skills, and Information Technology (IT) work force training. While located in Richmond, Tech For Troops has National reach. He believes that working computers can provide a new life to struggling veterans rather than being discarded. Many veterans face two significant barriers...
Jul 20, 2021•28 min
About Today’s Guest Elizabeth O’Brien was appointed CEO of the Freedom Learning Group in April 2020. In the last six years, O’Brien has served in significant leadership roles as a Senior Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program, and as Chairwoman for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs, the first military spouse to be appointed to that role. As Senior Director at HOH, O’Brien evolved the military spouse p...
Jul 13, 2021•25 min
About Today’s Guest Danielle Applegate is the Director of Veteran and Military Engagement for Cerner Government Services. Prior to joining Cerner, she served as the Vice President of VetsFirst at the United Spinal Association, a VA-certified Veteran Service Organization. She was the first National Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Women Veterans, where she created and led groundbreaking women Veteran initiatives and nationwide VA programming. Ms. Applegate a...
Jun 29, 2021•28 min
About Today’s Guest Shauna ‘Doc’ Springer is a best-selling author, frequently requested keynote speaker, and one of the world's leading experts on psychological trauma, military transition, suicide prevention, and close relationships. She is the author of WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect Us and the co-author of BEYOND THE MILITARY: A Leader’s Handbook for Warrior Reintegration . A Harvard graduate who has become a trusted Doc to our nation’s military warfighters, she navigates differen...
Jun 22, 2021•26 min
About Today’s Guests Isa Marie McIntyre Isa Marie served in the Army for 8 ½ years as a Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Repairer, completing two tours to Iraq and serving a total of 27 months in combat. During her first deployment, she conducted convoys in Ramadi, Fallujah, and Baghdad, receiving a combat action badge after coming under direct enemy fire. In 2012, she became caregiver to her husband Alejandro Jauregui after he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on deployment in Afgha...
Jun 15, 2021•26 min
About Today’s Guests Michelle Magee Michelle Magee serves as the Private Grant & Development Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region. In her role, Magee manages a portfolio of more than 60 grants annually that help support the organization’s $27 million budget. Prior to joining Habitat Charlotte Region, Magee spent nearly a decade in the nonprofit sector working with local organizations and served in various capacities, including program management, volunteer coordination...
Jun 08, 2021•27 min
About Today’s Guest Dr. Kratzer is the Regional Education Coordinator for the University of Charleston, West Virginia, in the School of Business and Leadership. He represents the Leadership Department through building and maintaining relationships with students and strategic partners, identifies opportunities for program growth and coordinates recruitment events to attract prospective military-connected students and other constituents. Additionally, he is a professor in the graduate program for ...
Jun 01, 2021•29 min
About Today’s Guest Jennifer Dane is a veteran of the United States Air Force who served as an intelligence analyst focused on geopolitical relations, terrorism, and threat vulnerability issues. Jennifer currently serves as the Executive Director of the Modern Military Association of America - the nation’s largest non-profit organization working to advance fairness and equality for the LGBTQ military and veteran community. She currently serves as a founding board member of Partners in PROMISE an...
May 25, 2021•27 min
