About Me:
Navy veteran turned advocate, passionate writer, and author with big dreams. Proud wife and mom to two amazing boys, and dog mom to a lovable Labrador mix. When I’m not hiking trails or chasing sunsets, I’m off traveling. Life is an adventure and I’m living it to the fullest!
What is your role and how long have you been at StoryCorps?
I’m the Military Voices Initiatives (MVI) Manager and I’ve been at StoryCorps just over three months.
What does your job entail?
My role involves managing a grant for MVI. This initiative aims to uplift, preserve the legacy, and honor the military and veteran community by visiting new cities annually to record conversations with active duty military, their spouses, and veterans. In each city, we collaborate with key veteran stakeholder groups and local radio stations to broadcast these stories, ensuring they reach a wider audience and foster a deeper understanding of the military experience. I also have the privilege of developing partnerships, which is something I love, and listening to a lot of amazing stories!
I used to be in the Navy, on the U.S.S. Chancellorsville in Japan, where I met my husband before following him to Italy. I’m also the proud sister of a Coast Guard member who will be retiring this year after twenty-five years of service. As an advocate for veterans, military families and service members for more than 14 years, my focus was primarily on transition and employment. My experience in the military and veteran space brings new insights and partnerships to MVI, which is super exciting to me.
What are the rewards of your job?
So far, it’s been the testimonials that I hear after people share their stories: how they’ve connected and how the conversations have transformed them. I also really enjoy building partnerships with those in veteran’s space and telling them about StoryCorps and MVI. It’s especially gratifying to listen to people’s stories and hear sides of them they typically don’t share.
My favorite perk of the job is being surrounded by extremely talented colleagues who share the same passion for seeing the good in humanity and the importance of storytelling.
What are the challenges of your job?
I’ve only had this job a short time, so you don’t know what you don’t know. Every day I find out something new and I’ve just been jumping in and learning as I go. I’m excited about this opportunity and to see what else I can do, once I have more context and experience.
Why should everyone record a conversation with StoryCorps?
The experience can surprise you and you don’t have an agenda for what you’re sharing. It’s just an organic moment for a deep and meaningful conversation and an opportunity to be heard and listened to in a deeper way. Unfortunately, I don’t think most people get that level of connection in their everyday lives, even though it’s what we all need and yearn for. It’s also important to leave our legacy and a recording that our loved ones and others can listen to.
What’s your favorite StoryCorps story?
Peter the Wolf. It’s about a powerful relationship between a veteran and a wolf—it’s very poignant because he wasn’t capable of having a relationship with his kids, but the veteran could connect with an animal. It definitely left me in tears.