Katie is an Army spouse who has spent the last decade working to serve the military community. During her first interview after becoming a military spouse, she faced the unfortunate reality of the challenge of securing employment as a military spouse. Since then, she has dedicated her life to connecting military families with their local civilian communities to highlight the importance and benefit of attracting, training, and retaining military spouse and veteran talent and preparing military job seekers to enter the business community.
She has held many roles such as serving as Co-Lead for the Fort Campbell Military Spouse Professional Network, Spouse Advisory Board member for the Fort Campbell AUSA Chapter, Chair of the Tampa Military Spouse Economic Empowerment Zone, Advisory Board member for the Tampa Mission United, and a volunteer for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. She designed and implemented the Military Spouse Leadership Program which was recognized by the Association of Defense Communities in 2017 as part of the Great American Defense Community award. Her efforts also helped the Tampa Bay community receive the Hiring Our Heroes Community Impact Award.
Katie met her husband during his time at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She wanted to engrain herself into the community and spent the first year of their marriage learning everything she could about the Army. As she began to amp up her role supporting fellow military families, she served in leadership roles within her unit’s Family Readiness Group and was recognized with the Artillery Order of Molly Pitcher for her volunteer efforts.
Her husband medically retired from the military in 2017 and prepared to follow Katie’s career in the Chamber of Commerce industry. Since this transition, they have been reminded that the transition from active duty to veteran is not a one-time event.
Katie remains passionate about supporting quality of life initiatives for military families, including military spouse and veteran employment, housing, transportation, education, and childcare. She serves as the Vice President of Member Engagement at the Tampa Bay Chamber, leading military programming.
In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, baking, reading, and traveling. Her dream vacation is a solo retreat to a remote cabin where she can make her way through her “must read” list.
