Behind The Mission

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...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Ashley Hammond and Stacey Lewis from the VA’s Pathfinder Program, part of the Department of Veterans Affairs Innovation Ecosystem. Pathfinder is a website and digital tool designed to facilitate designed to facilitate connections between external innovators, vendors, and VA employees in order to improve health care delivery for Veterans....

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Dr. Christina Armstrong, a clinical psychologist at the Office of Connected Care in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ central office. The Office of Connected Care focuses on improving health care through technology; Connected Care’s programs include My HealtheVet, VA Telehealth Services, and VA Mobile, and more.  About Today’s Guests C...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Corie Weathers, a military spouse and Licensed Professional Counselor. We discuss the importance of cultural responsivity in mental health and Corie's latest book, Military Culture Shift About Today’s Guest Corie Weathers, licensed professional counselor (LPC), is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and award-winning author. Corie has fo...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Dr. Tanya Hess, a Licensed Psychologist and Training Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs Coaching Into Care Family Call Center, a national telephone-based support service for family emmbers and others who want to help reluctant veterans access their VA health care benefits, particularly for mental health concerns.  About Toda...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with The Honorable Cheryl L. Mason, who served for nearly five years as the fourth Senate-confirmed Presidential appointee and first woman and military spouse Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  About Today’s Guests The Honorable Cheryl L. Mason served for nearly five years as the...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Bruce Townshend, the Chief of Employer Engagement with Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an office of the Department of Defense that promotes understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers About Today’s Guest   Bruce Townshend, Chief, Employer Engagement, Employer Support of the Guar...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Betsey Mercado, the CEO of the Objective Zero Foundation, , a wellness technology organization that is Connecting the military community to mental health and wellness resources and to a network of peer and civilian supporters to prevent suicide through the Objective Zero App. About Today’s Guests Betsey Mercado became involved in Objecti...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Lacey Lanford, a financial coach, veteran, and military spouse, about supporting service members, veterans, and their families with financial wellness.  About Today’s Guest Lacey Langford, AFC ®, is a financial coach, veteran, and military spouse who changes people’s mindset from being fearful of money to having control and confidence wi...

Show Summary On this episode, we feature a conversation with Marine Corps Veteran and Veteran Advocate Dean Dauphinais. Dean is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and is focused on supporting his fellow Native and Tribal veterans.  About Today’s Guests Dean Dauphinais served in the United States Marine Corps from 1995 to 1999 with 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Ma...