Behind The Mission

Show Summary On today’s episode, we conclude our mini-series of four episodes on LGBTQIA+ Veterans with  returning guests, veterans Erika Hoover and Andrea Norton, as part of  public awareness campaign developed in partnership with the Michigan Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide among Service Members, Veterans and their Families  About Today’s Guests Erika Hoover has been working at the Michi...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with Dr. Alan Teo, a Psychiatrist and Researcher with the VA Portland Health Care System and Associate Professor at Oregon Health & Science University. We talk about a recent article that he and colleagues published on the effectiveness of online VA S.A.V.E. training for veteran families.  About Today’s Guest Alan is a psychiatrist and...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we continue the LGBTQIA+ Veteran Public Health Awareness series with a conversation about myths and misconceptions about members of the LGBTQIA+ community with veteran Ale Hernandez About Today’s Guest Alejandra Hernandez served in the United States Marine Corps for four years a Food Service Specialist with Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Headquarters and Marine Sup...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we have a conversation with Gold Star family member Lupe Urdaneta, surviving spouse of Sergeant First Class Dennis Urdaneta, and her journey with wear blue: run to remember, an organization that honors the service and sacrifice of the American military through active remembrance and programs to support all those who have lost a loved one while in the military. Abou...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with military spouse and family member Ellen Gustafson, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of We the Veterans and Military Families, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that empowers the veteran and military family community to strengthen democracy. We’re going to talk about their work supporting education around information integri...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with Army Veteran and Gold Star Family Member Jennifer Ballou, Chief of Staff of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, an organization that is guiding the development of a national memorial that honors the service and sacrifice of all who have contributed to global counterterrorism efforts since September 11th, 2001.   About Tod...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we feature Kate DeBartolo, a senior director for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the leader for the conversation project. IHI has public engagement initiative to help people share their wishes for care through the end of their life About Today’s Guest Kate DeBartolo is a Senior Director at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and leads The Co...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with Navy Veteran Erika Hoover and Air Force Veteran Andrea Norton about their experiences as both veterans and members of the LGBTQ+ Community, as well as a public awareness campaign being developed in partnership with the Michigan Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide among Service Members, Veterans and their Families  About Today’s Gu...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with Deputy Secretary for Women Veterans of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, Air Force Retiree Virginia Wimmer, in which we discuss the importance of supporting women veterans and the services available in California About Today’s Guest Virginia Wimmer was appointed on August 24, 2021, by Governor Gavin Newsom as Deputy Secre...

Show Summary On today’s episode, we feature a conversation with Navy Veteran Ronald Rutherford, the Lead for the Whole Health Outreach program for the Veterans Health Administration. Whole Health is VA’s approach to care that supports the health and well-being of veterans they serve, and focuses on self-care, skill building and support.   About Today’s Guest Ronald “Ron” Rutherford is the Lead for...

Show Summary On today’s episode, I’m having a conversation with Frederick Marx, an internationally acclaimed Oscar and Emmy nominated filmmaker with over 40 years in the film industry. We have a conversation about a recent project, a series of five films called Veterans Journey Home, which features the stories of veterans who are working to transition to post-military life and the insights of prof...

Show Summary On today’s episode, I’m having a conversation with Josie Beets, the Program Manager for the Department of Defense Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program, which provides education and career guidance to military spouses worldwide About Today’s Guest   Links Mentioned In This Episode BTM Episode 54 with Josie Beets – Connecting Military Families Through Reading Spouse Educati...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Dr. Jason A. Higgins, Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech University and author of the recently released book, Prisoners After War: Veterans in the Age of Mass Incarceration About Today’s Guest Dr. Jason A. Higgins is the Digital Scholarship Coordinator for Virginia Tech Publishing  and an assistant professor, jointly affiliated with VT...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation Tara Wright, Senior Manager of Content Design on the Research, Education, Data and Impact (REDI) team at Sesame Workshop, on newly developed resources for Military Families to address isolation, disconnectedness, and the impacts of family separation due to military duty About Today’s Guest Tara Wright serves as Senior Manager of Content Desig...

Show Summary In this episode, we feature a conversation with Dr Cameron McCoy, author of a recently released book on the first Black Marines called, Contested Valor: African American Marines in the Age of Power, Protest, and Tokenism. In this book, Dr. McCoy shares the stories of the Montford Point Marines, the first African American Marines that trained at Montford Point, North Carolina and serve...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Marine Corps veteran John Langford, Chief Executive Officer of Project Healing Waters. Project Healing Waters helps active military service personnel and Veterans in need through a dedicated, developed curriculum of fly fishing, fly casting, fly tying, and fly rod building. About Today’s Guest John served in the Marine Corps, as both enl...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation a conversation with Waco Hoover, an entrepreneur and investor with over 20 years of experience in venture capital, M&A, entertainment, media and live events. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1997-2001 as an infantry Marine, combat water survival instructor and infantry scout. He is currently Chair of the Be The One initiative for t...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Marine Corps Veteran Dennis Miller, a veteran advocate and entrepreneur in the greater Philadelphia area. Dennis and I are going to be having a conversation about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a multi-ethnic unit of predominantly black women who were assigned ot England and France to clear several years of backlogged mai...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Army Veteran and Executive Director of Workforce Development and Government Relations at FASTPORT, a company that focuses on workforce development and technology solutions with longstanding industry experience with the military community, transportation industry and apprenticeship programs.  About Today’s Guest Dave Harrison has extensiv...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with with Navy Veteran and Spouse Christina Slentz, Foundation Co-Chair of the League of Wives Memorial Project. This project honors the story of a group of military spouses who supported their husbands held captive as POWs in the Vietnam war with the establishment of a memorial in Coronado, California.  About Today’s Guest Christina Bagaglio...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Army Veteran Bill Leahy, an Engineering Team Leader, Maintenance Superintendent, Consultant, and Business Owner in the Manufacturing Industry. We discuss opportunities for Veterans in the manufacturing industry and Bill’s upcoming documentary, Unturning Steel About Today’s Guest William "Bill" Leahy is a multifaceted professional with a...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Dr. Sumitra Muralidhar, Program Director for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Million Veteran Program. Since launching in 2011, 1 million Veterans have joined MVP. It's the largest research effort at VA to improve health care for Veterans and one of the largest research programs in the world studying genes and health. About Today’s Gu...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Army Veteran Richard Fierro about his miltiary service, post-military career as an entrepreneur and his actions in November of 2022 in which he intervened in a mass shooting attack at an LGBTQ+ Nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO About Today’s Guest Richard Fierro was the Army ROTC distinguished military graduate in 1999 at San Diego State...