Respect for other people should exist and be earned on an individual level, but that doesn’t mean differences of opinion and perspective based on things like appearance and gender don’t continue to present challenges. In this interview, new Veteran Voices host Mary Kate Soliva welcomes Mary Bell, the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for Team Themis and…
tag Archives:
Adventure Can be Hard – Mentally & Physically
The experience each person has in the military varies by branch, unit, and whether they served in wartime or peacetime. But there are also differences between fully enlisting and serving in the National Guard, or – as the British Army calls it – the Territorial Army. In this interview, host Scott Luton speaks with two Royal Engineer veterans from the British…
You Can’t Manufacture Valor with Rob Tiffany
On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush went on TV to announce the beginning of the war in Iraq. At the time, Rob Tiffany was working his way through college and he immediately felt called to go. He wanted to fly the latest planes with stealth technology. There was a waiting list to enter the Air Force, so he enlisted in the Navy. After all, it worked for Tom Cruise…
Reimagine, Reassess, Reinvigorate: Becoming The First Black Female Combat Pilot
Some barriers are harder to break than others – at least until the right person comes along. Vernice “Flygirl” had to fight to get into the Marine Corps, but once she got in, she was determined to rise to the top and seize every opportunity. Vernice is a retired United States Marine Corps Officer and holds the distinction of being the first black female combat pilot in the…
Life Is a Battle and Life Is a Journey with Kevin Potts
Many people join the military to have life experiences that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else – some of those experiences are formative and other ones just leave veterans grateful that what could have happened didn’t. Kevin Potts is a Software Product and Marketing Executive, but his buttoned-up professionalism and polished LinkedIn persona are laid on top of…
Taking a Unique Journey on a Crowded Road with JB Jaso
Most people spent a certain amount of time during the height of the pandemic locked down, just trying to get by under extraordinary circumstances. JB Jaso found himself near Fort Bragg in North Carolina, having time to take care of himself for the first time in nearly 20 years. That’s when he knew it was time to retire from the military and move on with his life…
Networking Should Not be a Dirty Word with Kristina Rodriguez
Kristina Rodriguez is the Regional Operations Manager for The Brokerage for Virginia and North Carolina, and the co-manager of the employee resource group for Colliers North American diversity equity and inclusion program. She comes from a big military family, with her older brother (Marines), uncle (Vietnam war), and great aunt (Army) all entering the service…
Veterans Day 2021: Showcasing Veteran Leadership, Innovation & Entrepreneurism
Today Veterans represent just 1% of the population of the United States, and yet they have an outsized impact on society as a whole as well as the private industry roles they go on to. And so what better topic to discuss on Veterans’ Day 2021, than leadership. In this special Veteran’s Day livestream, produced in partnership with Vets2Industry, Host…
Empowering & Investing In the Veteran Community: Monica Fullerton with Spouse-ly
The military spouse unemployment rate has been at 24% for nearly a decade – but Monica Fullerton is on a mission to change all that. On this episode of Veteran Voices, host Scott Luton chats with Monica about Spouse-ly, a marketplace of goods and services she founded to create more flexible career opportunities for military spouses. A cross between…
Proper Patriots are Leaders, not Shouters with Justin C. Pearson
Some people ‘jump’ into everything they do in life with both feet, whether that is jumping into corporate America as an entrepreneur or jumping out of a plane with the 82nd Airborne. Justin Pearson is a perfect example. He even transitioned out of the military with a jump, running headfirst into a LinkedIn environment that wasn’t well suited to help veterans find…
How to Succeed by Focusing on What’s in Front of You with Brendan Krasinski, United States Army Veteran
The tougher the experience someone has in the military, the more they take away from it – and the more bonded they remain to the people who people who persevered beside them. Attending West Point and Army Ranger school provide plenty of opportunities to be tough and to learn to work as a team…
Leading a High Speed, Low Drag Life with Eric Gates, USMC (Ret.)
Compressing any life’s journey into a single conversation is hard under normal circumstances and becomes much more difficult when the person has worn so many different ‘hats’ or uniforms. Each of those roles shapes who the person is, and the reason for making each choice is a wonderful way to learn more about them…