Washington, DC Trip, just a few highlights: Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Women Veterans Breakfast in honor of Women's History Month. During this amazing listening session, we were honored to be in the room with the very welcoming U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, @Secretary Denis R. McDonough, Deputy Secretary Donald Remy, Chief of Staff Tanya Bradsher, Director for Center of Women Veterans, Lourdes Tiglao, MBA, and her amazing team (Elizabeth A. Estabrooks, MSW, Ana Claudio (she/her/ella), Michelle Terry, Missina Schallus) as well as a room full of women veteran advocates from across the nation (Robin Fortner, MA, RBLP-T, Ginger Miller, Melissa A. Washington, Jennifer Goodale, Tammy I. Barlet, Kayla Williams, Joy IIem, Cheryl Rawls, Kristen L. Rouse, Mary Beth Bruggeman, and Ashley Carothers) I had the pleasure of sitting next to Secretary McDonough, but he ensured everyone had his attention and his ear as we share a variety of challenges and overall successes for women veterans seen by the VA. It was a very candid conversation, which created a solid foundation for future community-based collaborations, and enhanced client experiences for our women veterans. I was honored to be able to share my perspective and firsthand experiences.