Lessons Learned for Vets

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, we bring you a Q&A session with Air Force transitioning service member, Nicholas Perez. Like most service members, Nicholas has held a variety of positions in the Air Force. In his current role as Director of Technical Training, Nick equips 1,300+ maintenance technicians with the most current knowledge and skills to meet their customer needs. With plans to ret...

Send us Fan Mail Mark Twain said, “If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably the worst thing that’s going to happen to you all day long.” You might be wondering what that quote has to do with the military transition. On this episode, we dive into the “Eat the Frog” concept.  Your “frog” is a task or...

Send us Fan Mail We welcome back Chris McGhee to give us an update on his career and advocacy work. After retiring from the United States Air Force in 2018, Chris moved to Maine and enrolled in law school. After earning his Juris Doctor in 2022, Chris began working as an attorney for Jackson & MacNicol. He is on track to earn his Master of Law degree by the end of the year. Chris is the host o...

Send us Fan Mail After serving 21 years as a soldier in the Army, Army National Guard and Active Guard Reserve, Matthew Langseth retired in 2019. His first post-military role was working for 3 years as a Knowledge Manager for an organization that supports the Army. He is currently the Military Veteran Programs Coordinator for the City of Tucson and is the Marketing and Events Director for Vets2Ind...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, we welcome a dual military married couple that have both retired from the Air Force. Oneika Brown retired first, after working in aviation maintenance and intel. Since leaving the military in 2018, she has been working for a government contractor using her administrative skills. In addition, she uses her creative skills in sewing and launched an alterations and cu...

Send us Fan Mail After a 24-year career serving as a fighter pilot and senior military leader, Kim “KC” Campbell retired from the United States Air Force and is now the Managing Director of Victory Strategies, a leadership development firm, and serves on the board for Special Operators Transition Foundation. While serving in the military, Kim flew more than 100 combat missions in both Iraq and Afg...

Send us Fan Mail After serving as a commanding officer, aviator and leader at the US Naval Academy, Chris Bailey retired from the US Navy. Even with the added challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris was able to utilize several transition programs that helped him to articulate what he wanted for his next career. When a role opened up with the Washington Commanders NFL team to lead their SALUTE ve...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Brown joined the Army right out of high school because he knew he wasn’t ready for college. After serving 4 years as an infantryman, Michael separated and used his GI Bill to attend Northern Michigan University. Earning a degree in political science and applied ethics, he went on to work for then Congressman-elect, Patrick Murphy, the first Iraq War Veteran ever elected to...

Send us Fan Mail We are excited to welcome back Misty Moreno. On Season 1, Misty talked about how to leverage LinkedIn to build a solid network. Today, she shares new perspectives on the military transition. In 2020, Misty retired from the USAF and landed a role in HR with Continental. After 2 years, she transitioned from HR to a Lean Manufacturing Coach. Misty created and teaches the Associate Pr...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, we welcome transitioning service member Ioannis Kiriazis, who goes by John to make pronouncing his name easier. John is a US Army Lieutenant Colonel who is retiring in March of 2024 and recently started his transition leave. During his service, John served in many roles including Professor of Military Science at Marquette University. He is scheduled to begin a Ski...

Send us Fan Mail We continue with Part 2 of our miniseries sharing previously LIVE LinkedIn events that showcase trusted advisors and their top lessons for the military transition. On this episode we feature Marina Rabinek, who is the Founder and President of the Military Women’s Collective while serving as the West Coast Regional Director for Four Block. The Military Women’s Collective not only p...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, we are sharing a LIVE LinkedIn event we did a few months ago. Over the past 3 seasons, our podcasts have helped thousands of transitioning service members successfully navigate the unknown. During this event, we spoke with Charlie Martinez and Donald Thompson. Charlie’s career in the Air Force included human resources and op...

Send us Fan Mail Serving as the 12th Sergeant Major of the US Army from 2000 until his retirement in 2004, Jack Tilley shares wisdom gained from a 36-year Army career and the successful career he’s had since hanging up the uniform. While in the US Army, he held a variety of leadership roles including tank commander, drill sergeant and Command Sergeant Major. After his retirement, he founded the Am...

Send us Fan Mail Mary Polanco served 23 years in the United States Air Force in multiple high-level leadership roles. As her final assignment, Mary was the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Air Force Resilience Directorate at the Pentagon. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Live and Lead Well, LLC, an author, leadership trainer, transformational speaker and curriculum developer. Her focus is helpin...

Send us Fan Mail Knowing how to effectively use your veteran benefits is a key part of post-military success. On this episode, we uncover how to navigate your benefits with help from Dr. Paul Lawrence. As a businessman, author and passionate veteran advocate, Dr. Lawrence served as the Under Secretary for Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs where he was in charge of the Veterans Be...

Send us Fan Mail After serving 24 years in the Marine Corps and the Army, Eric Brew started his post-military career working for Still Serving Veterans. His most recent role has been Manager of Military Engagement at American Corporate Partners. He continues to serve and honor the military community by assisting them in building meaningful lives through connections to fulfilling careers and proact...

Send us Fan Mail From a Division 1 college athlete to a US Army officer to cybersecurity company founder to now a partner at a Top 20 CPA firm, AJ Yawn has experienced as many setbacks as successes. AJ has been recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice in regard to mental health and is joining us today to talk about taking care of your mental health, lessons he’s learned from founding a start-up company...

Send us Fan Mail Retiring from the Army in 2021, Kevin Greene started his transition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Kevin spent the first 8 years of his military career as an infantryman, the bulk of his career was spent as a recruiter. Thanks to a mentor who taught him how to translate his army recruiting skills and experience, he was able to pivot from a business development role to a ca...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, we continue our conversation with Marisol Maloney. On the previous episode, Marisol discussed her transition and her insights as a recruiter. While working with veterans and transitioning service members during the recruiting process, Marisol realized the military community could benefit from her wisdom as a recruiter. She i...

Send us Fan Mail Marisol Maloney is a retired Navy veteran, military spouse, recruiter for a defense contracting company and an entrepreneur. During her military career, Marisol experienced many pivots. Starting as an enlisted sailor in the logistics field, she transitioned to become an officer and nurse. After 10 years in nursing, she became an intel officer before retiring in 2019. She is the fo...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, we have the privilege of speaking with Bruce Thompson. In the military transition space, Bruce is one of the most prolific veteran advocates and volunteers. Retiring from the Marine Corps 7 years ago, Bruce is now the Executive Director of The ASCEND Collective, the nonprofit arm of Talents ASCEND. This organization not only...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, we conclude our 2-part series with Ken Davenport. Author of The Stoic Transition, a Guide to How Veterans can Thrive in their Next Adventure , Ken brings a fresh, civilian perspective to the military transition process.  Ken encourages transitioning service members to start the process at least 18 months out. While this is c...

Send us Fan Mail We are pleased to welcome Ken Davenport to the microphone on this episode of the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast. For more than a decade, Ken has provided mentorship to military veterans in their transition to the civilian world as a board member for the Travis Manion Foundation, instructor for Boots to Business at the Institute of Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse Unive...

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, we are pausing our traditional format to bring you an episode focused solely on nonverbal communication. Did you know that only 7% of how you communicate with the world is from the words that come out of your mouth? This means that 93% of how you engage with the world is through nonverbal communication. This term incl...

Send us Fan Mail Having served in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry officer, Jesse Gemberling-Johnson uses skills he developed in the military as the Director of Talent Recruitment and Development for MCFA, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business and consulting firm. With 15 years of project leadership and human capital strategy experience, he works with both public and private...