Military Family Advisory Network, SEED SPOT, and Booz Allen Hamilton Team Up to Support Military Spouse Entrepreneurs
October 22, 2018Military Family Advisory Network, SEED SPOT, and Booz Allen Hamilton Team Up to Support Military Spouse Entrepreneurs
Twenty military spouses will participate in entrepreneurship training program in Washington, DC.
Washington, DC: The Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN), SEED SPOT, and Booz Allen Hamilton have teamed up to send 20 military spouses to the SEED SPOT 2-Day Launch Camp on October 26 and 27 in Washington, DC. This initiative kicks off a coordinated effort, led by MFAN, to empower military spouses and caregivers to navigate employment challenges through entrepreneurship.
“Military life is incredibly transient. Frequent moves and deployments make it difficult for military spouses to find employment and even more challenging to develop careers,” said Shannon Razsadin, MFAN’s executive director. “Companies are stepping up to support military spouses through hiring and retention initiatives – MFAN is stepping in to help those who want to work for themselves and turn a passion into a paycheck.”
The recent MFAN Military Family Support Programming Survey showed that military spouses face challenges to gainful employment. Obstacles such as hiring biases, inconsistent work opportunities, and difficulty finding jobs in their new communities make career development a constant challenge in the ever-evolving needs of military life.
“Elevating the voices of diverse, impact-driven entrepreneurs is at the heart of SEED SPOT’s mission, and working with MFAN and Booz Allen Hamilton enables us to collaboratively empower military spouses,” said Courtney Klein, SEED SPOT Co-Founder and CEO. “We’re excited to equip military spouses and all entrepreneurs with the curriculum, resources, tools, and mentors to succeed in creating innovative solutions to local and global issues.”
SEED SPOT’s social entrepreneurship curriculum has helped launch 421 entrepreneurs over the past five years, 49% of which are female founders and 45% of which are minority founders. Through this collaborative effort, MFAN, SEED SPOT, and Booz Allen Hamilton will give military spouses the opportunity to learn the necessary skills, make meaningful connections, and work with mentors to allow them to turn an idea into reality.
Earlier this year, Booz Allen Hamilton signed on to the Hiring Our Heroes pledge to hire 100,000 military spouses by 2020. “Booz Allen Hamilton is committed to hiring, retaining, and growing military spouse talent, but we also recognize the need to foster entrepreneurship in the military spouse community,” said Laura Schmiegel, Booz Allen Hamilton’s Military Programs Lead. “Military spouses and caregivers are creative, driven, adaptable, and savvy, and Booz Allen Hamilton is thrilled to support this effort and give these individuals the tools they need to take their idea to the next level.”
To learn more about the SEED SPOT 2-Day Launch Camp for military spouses visit seedspot.org/communities/launch-camp-dc-oct2018.
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About The Military Family Advisory Network
The Military Family Advisory Network is a nonprofit dedicated to building a community of military and veteran families at home and abroad who are well-informed about the resources designed to serve them, equipped with tools for success, connected to leaders who serve the military family community and embraced by the public. To learn more about MFAN, visit www.militaryfamilyadvisorynetwork.org
About SEED SPOT
SEED SPOT is nationally ranked by Gust as one of the Top 20 Accelerators in the World and in 2015 was named by Cisco & UBI Global as one of the Top 3 Social Impact Incubators in the United States. SEED SPOT runs two impact areas: Communities and Schools. SEED SPOT Communities supports local ecosystems empowering adult entrepreneurs through two programs: the 2-Day Launch Camp and the Impact Accelerator. SEED SPOT Schools empowers high schools to teach social entrepreneurs with Explore: Intro to Impact-Driven Entrepreneurship and Build: Designing an Impact-Driven Business.
SEED SPOT also won a 2016 Emmy for their partnership with Univision supporting Latino entrepreneurs through Véndeme tu Sueño. With a mission to educate, accelerate, and invest in the dreams of social entrepreneurs, SEED SPOT supports entrepreneurs building products, services, and technologies that improve lives or communities. For more information, visit:www.seedspot.org.
About Booz Allen Hamilton
For more than 100 years, business, government, and military leaders have turned to Booz Allen Hamilton to solve their most complex problems. They trust us to bring together the right minds: those who devote themselves to the challenge at hand, who speak with relentless candor, and who act with courage and character. They expect original solutions where there are no roadmaps. They rely on us because they know that—together—we will find the answers and change the world.
We solve the most difficult management and technology problems through a combination of consulting, analytics, digital solutions, engineering, and cyber expertise. With global headquarters in McLean, Virginia, our firm employs approximately 24,600 people globally, and had revenue of $6.17 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2018. To learn more, visit www.boozallen.com. (NYSE: BAH)