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What can be do to stop the spread of divisiveness? How can we understand one another and seek to empathize with people who don’t look like us, act like us, or even think like us?

I believe this understanding is vital. One amazing veteran has founded an organization that’s on the front lines of healing our fractured communities through coffee, conversation and advocacy.

Join us on the S.O.S. podcast as we kick off season 3 with what this show has always represented - our service to others by talking about our most pressing issues!

Jake Harriman graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy and served seven and a half years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Platoon Commander in both the Infantry and Force Recon.

During his military service, Jake led four operational deployments, including two combat tours in Iraq. Following his service, Jake enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business to gain the business acumen he would need to follow this new direction. While at Stanford, Jake founded Nuru International to eradicate extreme poverty in the world’s most unstable, vulnerable regions to help end violent extremism.

Due to the desperate condition of the U.S. political system, Jake has now turned his attention to helping protect the American Democratic experiment, which he fears is on the brink of failure—a failure that would have terrible global consequences. Jake is the Founder of More Perfect Union, a veteran-led movement to heal the divide in the nation by creating meaningful connections through civics, service, and leadership.

Jake has received several honors including the Unsung Hero of Compassion presented by The Dalai Lama (2014), White House Champion of Change (2014), Presidential Leadership Scholar (2015), and 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs presented by Goldman Sachs (2015). He is also a Council Member of NationSwell (2016), an Unusual VC Academy Partner (2018), and a Truman National Security Fellow (2018). Jake has been interviewed on ABC, BBC World Service, CNN, Fox Business and MSNBC’s Morning Joe and received coverage in the Christian Science Monitor, Devex, Forbes, Huffington Post, The New York Times, Stanford Magazine, Fox News, and others.

More Perfect Union - https://www.mpu.us/

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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There is nobody better out there who has the fortitude to push through change like Chris McGhee, Esq., LL.M.

His own experiences as an aircraft maintainer seeing an acute mental health crisis has pushed the United States Department of Defense to study suicide rates by job code, to which they did a “nice try” with an overdue study which contained partial information, but where clearly much more work must be done.

Tomorrow evening, Chris and I will chat live about where this important work stands and what needs to be done next.

Chris McGhee is an Air Force veteran, founder of Falcon Forward Law Group, and host of the "20 Years Done" podcast, where he raises awareness of organizational and cultural issues in the military.

Chris played a pivotal role in crafting legislation mandating military suicide data after repeated FOIA denials by the DoD.

He also led a Department of the Air Force working group tasked with developing a post-vention model to identify organizational factors influencing suicidality.

His advocacy recently led to Senator Angus King pressing the Secretary of Defense for accountability.

Falcon Forward Law Group - https://www.fafo-law.com/

More on Chris's fight - https://www.pressherald.com/2024/09/15/a-maine-man-helped-get-the-defense-department-to-release-detailed-suicide-data-hes-not-satisfied/

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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With a passion for giving back to the veteran community, today I am so honored to bring Melissa Washington to the S.O.S. podcast.

Melissa is an award-winning advocate, speaker, author, entrepreneur, CEO, publisher, Radio Show Host, and proud Navy veteran.

Woven throughout all of her diverse pursuits is a mission of service—and a passion to empower her fellow women veterans.

One of her most notable accomplishments founding the Women’s Veteran Alliance. This global organization seeks to empower and positively impact the lives of women veterans. The nonprofit wing of WVA, Women Veterans Giving gives women veterans opportunities to gain valuable career experience and successfully integrate back into civilian life. WVG also helps fund women veteran-owned businesses, which other organizations often overlook. To date, they have awarded over $20k to women in veteran-owned businesses. In 2016, created and produced the first "Women Veterans Unconference."

Join us as we discuss how she went from helping people with their LinkedIn profiles from her kitchen table to now running global business, writing several books, creating a magazine, and appearing in numerous international media outlets - all dedicated to empowering by helping them grow their companies.

More on Melissa - https://www.melissawashington.com/about

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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Today, I welcome Jenni Harmon. Nearly 30 years ago, we went through boot camp and Navy aircrew school together and have stayed in touch ever since.

You may recall that I hosted her on the second episode of the S.O.S. podcast three years ago. We discussed her taking up skateboarding and how her life unfolded after serving in the Navy as an avionics technician. Today, we’ll see where her life stands today, why she quit drinking alcohol (and encourages sobriety with her Unapologetic af Instagram channel), why she recently completed a social media detox, and lastly, how activities such as yoga, meditation, painting, writing, and skateboarding keep her healthy, happy and balanced.

Unapologetic AF Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/unapologetic_af_living?igsh=OXpuY3ljejBjMTZw

Meet Jenni - https://canvasrebel.com/meet-jenni-harmon/

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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You reach the top of your career but then walk away. Why? Is there something else out there driving you?

My next guest spent nearly her entire adult life in the corporate banking sector. Grueling hours. High stakes deals. A well-paid and prestigious position. After several decades, she turns her life in another direction: teaching the next generation.

Find out what made her make such a drastic career decision, what she learned through this remarkable journey, her advice for others wishing to jump ship at their current job, and what endeavors give her joy now.

Zeynep Holmes is currently a secondary school teacher in London. Prior to that, she was an international investment banker for over 20 years and spent the last 10 years of that career in a senior leadership position at a multinational institution. She soon realized her true calling was helping a rising generation of young professionals be successful and decided to retrain as a teacher.

She is an Economics and Business teacher and has a special interest in teaching her students real life skills such as conflict management, debating skills and the importance of authenticity in leadership and different professional and personal relationships.

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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What’s your next mission when the military ends? How do you find your tribe, your purpose, and that way to support yourself while a part of a growing community? Would you make a go at it by forming a military podcast?

Roger and Dan, hosts of the Tracer Burnout podcast, join the S.O.S. podcast to tell the deeply personal story of how, as they left the uniform behind, they picked up microphones to ensure that other veterans' stories were never forgotten.

Join us on this “collab” episode (I consider us a tight-knit community of military creators) with two incredible hosts bridging the civilian-military divide and humanizing serving people. We’ll also share tips for others interested in sharing their stories or thinking of starting their podcast.

An Army brat, Roger grew up in exotic locales such as El Paso, Texas; West Germany; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Fayetteville, North Carolina. He entered the Army in 2004 as a Field Artilleryman, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Roger’s career consisted of traveling to many countries and enjoying his overseas adventures. Still, he would die happy if he never had to experience another Hindu Kush or Manchurian winter.

After growing up in an Army family, Dan spent over 20 years in the US Army from the late 1990s into the 2020s. Stationed in both the US and Europe, he’s held positions ranging from infantry rifleman to Platoon Sergeant and from Drill Sergeant to Observer/Controller. A lover of history, travel, and food, Dan has been assigned to Fort Irwin, California, Fort Drum, and New York.

After spending several years in Afghanistan, Dan swore that upon retirement, he would never be clean-shaven again and never, ever take a hot shower for granted. Now happily retired, Dan greatly enjoys sitting by the fireplace, enjoying the fine distilled exports of Scotland, and turning the pages of an actual book.

Tracer burnout podcast - https://tracerburnout.com/

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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What was it like running the country’s largest and most extensive health care delivery system during a global pandemic that stressed every government sector?

On this episode of the S.O.S. podcast, meet Dr. Richard Stone, a physician, a combat veteran, and former head of the Veterans Health Administration. Starting in December 2019, his team was tasked to perform the near impossible to care for those who served and take on an unprecedented natural disaster response mission that tested every leader and resource available.

Learn Dr. Stone’s best practices for calm leadership under fire and what he suggests for future pandemic responses. What best practices and lessons learned did he take from this crisis?

Dr. Richard Stone served as the Acting Undersecretary for Health at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), where he directed a health care system with an annual budget of approximately $68 billion, overseeing the delivery of care to more than 9 million enrolled veterans. Dr. Stone chronicled leadership challenges in crisis in his book, Save Every Life You Can: A Reflection on Leadership and Saving Lives During the COVID-19 Pandemic, published in 2022. In the book he discusses the serious organizational and decision-making challenges he faced while leading the nation’s largest health care system through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Stone is retired from the U.S. Army where he served as the Army’s Deputy Surgeon General and the Deputy Commanding General of Support for U.S. Army MEDCOM.

With extensive experience in civilian health care, Dr. Stone served multiple non-profit regional health care systems and has owned multiple businesses. Currently a practicing dermatologist, he obtained his training from Wayne State Affiliated programs in Detroit and the VA Health system and is a Board Certified fellow in the American Academy of Dermatology.

Book Save Every Life You Can

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

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No better person to explain the benefits you earned by serving than a former Undersecretary for Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs!

In this episode, learn about the overlooked, misunderstood, and underutilized service benefits that often confuse veterans and prevent them from accessing support services. There are many ways we can get smarter about these processes. Let’s use the power of community to ensure we understand all the resources.

This conversation will go one step further than a traditional TAPS class, discussing how the VA works, how to access care, and what to do when faced with roadblocks.

As the former Undersecretary for Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Paul Lawrence oversaw veterans benefits programs impacting nearly 3.9 million veterans and talked personally with thousands of veterans attending virtual townhalls during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help his fellow veterans better access the benefits that they are entitled to, after leaving the VA Dr. Lawrence wrote a book, “Veterans Benefits for You: Get what You Deserve,” which was published in 2023. It’s a commonsense guide to help veterans and their families access a wide range of benefits.

Dr. Lawrence has 30 years of experience working closely with government leaders and was twice selected by Federal Computer Week as one of the top 100 public service business leaders. Paul R. Lawrence was a Public Sector Vice President with Kaiser Associates. He was a Partner at Ernst & Young, a Vice President with Accenture, an Executive Director with the MITRE Corporation, a Vice President with IBM Business Consulting Services, and a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Lawrence earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Economics from Virginia Tech. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Lawrence served in the U.S. Army attaining the rank of Captain. He graduated from the Army's Airborne School and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

Find Dr. Lawrence

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76