UNITED STATES ARMY VETERAN
I served in the U.S. Army from 1998-2004, both as an enlisted reservist and an active-duty commissioned officer.
My advocacy and activism efforts have focused on raising awareness of the challenges veterans face when transitioning from military to civilian life, while ensuring veterans and their families have access to resources and support during the transition. I have served as a consultant on a broad range of projects and have various leadership experiences in the public, corporate, and non-profit sectors. These experiences and my passion for community development and adult education inspired me to pursue a Masters of Psychology in Organization Development from Sonoma State University (2006). My Master’s thesis, “The Transition of the Military Leader into the Civilian Workforce,” addressed the enablers and barriers that veterans face upon reintegration into the civilian workforce.
I am currently pursuing my PhD in Social Work and Social Research at Portland State University, and am focusing my research on how gender identity and inequalities contribute to the continued persistence of sexual harassment and sexual assault (military sexual trauma/MST) in the military and how an understanding of that might improve the effectiveness of the military’s response.
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