Series of women Veteran chats to support the Whole Woman Veteran

Download the new Women Veterans Health Services Quick Start Guide.

VA Deputy Secretary Pamela Powers hosted new series of chats and live events, focusing on women Veterans and supporting the “Whole Woman Veteran.” The chats were closed with remarks by VA’s Chief Veterans Experience Officer, Dr. Lynda Davis.

Browse the top questions asked and answered during the series.

This four part series discusses:

• Mental Health & Suicide Prevention
• Military Sexual Trauma
• Reproductive Health
• Caregiver Support
• Survivor’s Assistance
• Whole Health and Community Care
• Benefits, Education, and Memorial Affairs
• Employment and Small Business
• Appeals
• Military Spouse Resources

Advice on Transitioning, Employment, and Building a Business 

WATCH

• Patty Horoho, Optum Serve
• Carol Eggert, Comcast
• Michelle Gardner, Director of VA Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiatives

Resources for Appeals, Mental Health, Military Sexual Trauma, and Supporting Military Spouse

WATCH

• Cheryl Mason, Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
• Susan McCutcheon, VA National Mental Health Director, Family/Women’s Mental Health/ Military Sexual Trauma

Women’s Reproductive and Whole Health Resources

WATCH

• Dr. Amanda Johnson, MD, VA Women’s Health Service
• Dr. Kavitha Reddy, Associate Director, Veterans Health Administration Office of Patient-Centered Care and Cultural Transformation

Q&A with Deputy Secretary Pamela Powers, VA leaders, and Women’s Health Resources on RallyPoint

September 30th 3-4 PM ET – ASK A QUESTION NOW

• Submit your questions to VA experts on Women Veteran services and benefits.

Speaker information not linked above

[accordion][accordion_section title=”Amanda Moore Johnson”]Amanda Moore Johnson, MD, FACOG, is an obstetrician/gynecologist and Director of Reproductive Health under Women’s Health Services for VA’s Central Office. She attended the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, Washington, and performed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she stayed on as faculty. After moving to Wyoming with her family, she continued to practice obstetrics and gynecology in private practice and joined the faculty at the University of Washington School of Medicine, teaching first and second year medical students. She also began caring for Veterans at the Cheyenne VA Medical Center, where she served as the Women’s Health Medical Director for nine years. Dr. Johnson is passionate about women Veterans care and has unique experience caring for rural women Veterans.[/accordion_section][/accordion] [accordion][accordion_section title=”Kavitha Reddy, M.D. FACEP ABOIM”]Dr. Kavitha Reddy trained at University of Missouri in Kansas City, receiving her BLA and MD from that institution in 2000. She completed her residency in emergency medicine at University of Illinois in Chicago in 2003 and is certified through the American Board of Emergency Medicine. She has practiced in several academic, community, and rural hospitals and is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. She graduated from the University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Fellowship in 2014 and is board certified through the American Board of Integrative Medicine. Kavitha Reddy is currently an emergency medicine physician at VA St. Louis Healthcare System in Missouri. She practiced at the Jesse Brown VAMC in Chicago as a patient-centered care coordinator and Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has received several awards for excellence in teaching medical students and residents. She served as the Whole Health System Clinical Director at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System, one of the flagship facilities for Whole Health deployment, and remains a consultant to the Whole Health team. In addition, she is an Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine. She is the Principal Investigator at the St. Louis enrollment site for the national multi-site NIH-funded wHOPE trial (Overall PIs: Karen Seal & Will Becker), led by the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS) and VA Connecticut Healthcare System (VACHS). She has worked closely with the Office of Patient-Centered Care and Cultural Transformation (VHA OPCC & CT) as a clinical champion for the Integrative Health Coordinating Center since 2011, helping with several projects such as policy, regulation, creating business infrastructure for delivery of complementary and integrative health, and whole health clinical care transformational efforts. She now takes on the role of Associate Director of Employee Whole Health for VHA OPCC & CT. Her personal interests include hiking, biking, travel, reading, music, and spending time with friends and family. [/accordion_section][/accordion] [accordion][accordion_section title=”Michelle G-I Gardner-Ince”]Director of Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative (WVOSBI) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). Gardner plays a significant role in ensuring that programs, services, and support resources reach the Veteran small business community. As the Director of Program Development and Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative, Ms. Gardner-Ince leads the Department’s efforts to develop programs that connect with and enable underrepresented target groups with VA and the federal and commercial marketplaces to increase educational, employment and economic opportunities. She is the architect of VA’s inaugural Women Veteran-Owned Small Business (WVOSB) Initiative. The program brings together like-minded female Veteran and non-Veteran entrepreneurs to remove obstacles that often stand in the way. The effort is known in the Veteran and small business community as “VetBizLady” or “VetBizLadies.” Gardner-Ince has successfully led several directorates within OSDBU. As the Director of National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE), she led the NVSBE is the Department’s premier event for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) to connect with Procurement Decision Makers and contracting experts from the federal and commercial marketplaces. She simultaneously served as operations director, where she led the management and delivery of services and products to OSDBU directorates, enabling 242 federal and contract staff to help Veteran businesses. She oversaw the human capital, financial, security, administrative, logistical, information technology, and support functions that are critical to its mission. Focusing always on “people, process, and technology,” her vision brings significant value to the federal government’s largest Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). Before being the director of operations, she was the director of the Center for Verification and Evaluation, formerly known as The Center for Veteran Enterprise (CVE), within the OSDBU. As principal of the only Federal Government program that audits and verifies ownership and control of Veteran-owned businesses for VA and other federal agency contract set-asides, CVE enabled $3.8B in contract set-asides making VA the leading supporter of Veteran small businesses. Under her leadership, CVE was certified as one of three ISO-9000-1 registered organizations in VA. The CVE program is known within the supplier diversity and Veteran small business communities as VetBiz.gov and is recognized as the “Gold Standard” for Veteran Small Business certifications. Gardner-Ince is a highly decorated Air Force Veteran and a retired Colonel, having served 27 years supporting Veterans, military troops, and their families. Before the creation of her own small business, G-I Strategic Solutions LLC., an advisory and consulting firm, she held numerous executive-level positions. Her experience spans customer-centric business operations, training, consulting, strategic collaboration, and directing award-winning complex global operations. She was also the commander (Senior Vice President) of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Pacific Region, where she led a $1.8 billion-dollar retail, food, and services business, with full profit-loss responsibility, that employed 7000+ associates who provided goods and services to over 350,000 military, U.S. government civilian and State Department patrons and their families. While in command, her leadership led to the top highest grossing military exchanges in the world two years in a row. AAFES is the U.S. military’s largest retail operation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama, and a master’s degree from Troy State University, Troy, Alabama. She is a Dale Carnegie and John Maxwell leadership coach/trainer. She resides in the Metro Washington, D.C., area and is married with two children. [/accordion_section][/accordion] [accordion][accordion_section title=”Carol Eggert “]Senior Vice President, Military and Veteran Affairs, U.S. Army Brigadier General (Retired) Brigadier General (Ret.) Carol Eggert is senior vice president, Military and Veteran Affairs at Comcast NBCUniversal. She leads an eight-person team and provides strategic leadership to all aspects of Comcast NBCUniversal’s programs and outreach to the military and Veteran community. Eggert completed her distinguished military career in 2014 as the Assistant Adjutant General for the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Deputy Commandant for the Army War College. She served in a variety of command and staff positions and completed numerous overseas deployments, including a 15-month combat tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as Chief of the Women’s Initiatives Division and Senior Liaison to the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad. She received numerous military awards and commendations, including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. In her role at Comcast NBCUniversal, Eggert serves on the Corporate Advisory Board for West Chester University, and the Boards of Directors for the Philly POPS and PsychArmor. Her leadership in the private sector has been recognized by We are the Mighty, who recognized her as one of the top 25 Influencers supporting the Military Community in 2018; by HillVets, who placed her on their 2017 list of the 100 most influential Veterans in America; and by the Philadelphia Business Journal, who named her one of their 2016 Veterans of Influence. Eggert holds masters degrees in instructional design and strategic international studies, and recently earned a doctorate in organizational leadership.[/accordion_section][/accordion]

 

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