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Conversations about the challenges military-connected kids face as they navigate multiple education systems from birth through high school.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Description: Understanding Ambiguous Loss and how it relates to our military children.
Show Notes:
https://www.ambiguousloss.com/
https://www.ambiguousloss.com/resources/
This episode was made possible thanks to the generous support from the
Scott Spouses Club.
https://www.scottspouseclub.com/
Bio: Dr. Pauline Boss
Pauline Boss, PhD, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and a former president of the National Council on Family Relations. She practiced family therapy for over 40 years. With her groundbreaking work in research and practice, Dr. Boss coined the term ambiguous loss in the 1970s and since then, developed and tested the theory of ambiguous loss, a guide for working with families of the missing, physically or psychologically. She summarized this research and clinical work in her widely acclaimed book Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief (Harvard University Press, 2000). In addition to over 100 peer reviewed academic articles and chapters, her other books include Loss, Trauma, and Resilience: Therapeutic Work with Ambiguous Loss (W. W. Norton, 2006) and Loving Someone Who Has Dementia: How to Find Hope While Coping with Stress and Grief (Jossey-Bass, 2011). Her most recent book is The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change (W. W. Norton, 2022). Her work is known around the world wherever ambiguous losses occur, and thus her books are now available in 18 different languages. For more information about Dr. Boss, her writings, and the ambiguous loss online training program, see www.ambiguousloss.com.
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
Description: Dr. Leskin discusses the topic of suicide and our military children.
This podcast has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Naval Officers’ Spouses’ Club of Washington D.C
Show Notes:
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline:
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988
The Military Child Wellness Kit
https://www.militarychild.org/wellbeingtoolkit
Military One Source
Webinar Link:
https://www.militarychild.org/webinars
Bio:
Dr. Gregory Leskin
Dr. Gregory Leskin is a licensed clinical psychologist and serves as Director, NCTSN Military and Veteran Families and Children Program and the Academy on Child Traumatic Stress at the UCLA/Duke University’s National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.
Dr. Leskin directs the NCTSN/DoD Academy on Child Trauma, an online training and social media platform developed to train DoD Family Advocacy Program staff clinical skills related to child trauma and behavioral health prevention for military families and children.
Previously, Dr. Leskin has worked as a Clinical Researcher and Director of Clinical Training at the National Center for PTSD, Stanford University, and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. He completed a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) post-doctoral fellowship at the National Center for PTSD at the Boston VA Medical Center.
Dr. Leskin has written, consulted, and lectured on a number of clinical topics, including risk factors facing military-connected children, combat-related PTSD, impact of deployment on families and children, and promoting psychological resilience and well-being.
He is the primary developer for the MiTi Kids program bringing together Military Informed and Trauma informed Principles for organizations to serve the needs of military and Veteran Families. Dr. Leskin is also a member of MCEC’s Science Advisory Board.
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Description: A candid look at the life of a military caregiver teen.
This program is powered in part by Wounded Warrior Project® to honor and empower post-9/11 injured service members, veterans, and their families.
https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
Show Notes:
Hidden Heroes: https://hiddenheroes.org/resources/hiddenhelpers/
Bio:
Kris Rotenberry is an 18-year-old from Baltimore, Maryland. While his father Chuck was active- duty U.S. Marine Corps, the family moved 11 times over the course of Chuck’s 12-year career, followed by two more in the reserve at Quantico, Virginia. While deployed to Afghanistan, he was injured by an IED, causing a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which was not diagnosed until after his symptoms and behaviors began to impact his marriage to high school sweetheart, Liz, and their family’s well-being. As the oldest son of four kids, Liz relies on Kris to help care for his younger siblings so she could leave the house to run errands. The responsibilities of caregiving cause Kris to become anxious and hypersensitive to his father’s moods, and he has developed secondary post-traumatic stress disorder. Liz could see the changes in her son’s mood as he would often become distant. She said he shared the same traumatic stare as her husband during bad memories of war. One day, Liz found Kris in his room, shortly after he attempted to take his own life by hanging. Kris has entered therapy, which has greatly helped his wellbeing.
Kris shares that being a military caregiver kid is an entirely unique experience compared to children who do not live the sort of life caregiving entails. It requires mental and emotional strength to overcome daily challenges. He believes it has taught him lessons and skills he can use in his future and has shaped him into recognizing the needs of others. Kris recently graduated from high school and is interested in pursuing a career in trade. He has a real talent for working with his hands and loves mechanical design. He has made health a priority, and the gym is his safe space to release any emotional or mental weight. Kris has grown into an incredible young man, and he’d tell you that his past has made him into a stronger person.
Bio:
Elizabeth Rotenberry, Liz, is a military caregiver for her husband, a USMC Wounded Warrior of Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran. As an Elizabeth Dole Fellow Alumna, Liz works to advocate not only for herself and her family, but for all Military and Veteran Caregivers. Liz joined the Elizabeth Dole Foundation as their Caregiver Community Program Coordinator and is now the Foundation’s Fellows Program Manager.
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Description: Dr. Ruth Van Reken discusses when military children understand their story they can connect on a global scale.
Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd edition
Letters Never Sent, updated, 2012, by Summertime Publishing
https://www.expatbookshop.com/book/letters-never-sent/
Understanding Third Culture Kids:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-third-culture-kids/id1386801038?i=1000568728491
Purple Up: Meet Alana a Third Culture Kid
This episode was made possible thanks to the generous support from the Keesler Spouses Club.
http://www.keeslerspousesclub.org/
Bio: Dr. Ruth Van Reken
Vice-Chair, Governing Board, Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN), co-founder, Families in Global Transition (FIGT)
Ruth Van Reken is a second generation Third Culture Kid* (TCK) and mother of three adult TCKs. She is co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd ed., author of Letters Never Sent, and multiple other writings. For more than thirty-five years Ruth has traveled extensively speaking about issues related to the impact of global mobility on individuals, families, and societies. She is co-founder and past chairperson of Families in Global Transition. In 2019 she received an Hon. Litt.D for her life's work.
Bio:
Ashley Brooke Schlicht, MCEC State Coordinator for South Carolina. Ashley is a proud Alumna of the University of South Carolina’s College of Social Work, My Carolina Veteran’s Alumni Council founding board member and former director of community engagement, prior servicemember, and former Active-Duty Military Spouse. She has a background in non-profit work, macro level advocacy, and child welfare, holding numerous positions and chairs in various national and local organizations, while moving and traveling frequently. Ashley and her husband, Rob, share three daughters.
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Description: Tutor.com discusses why students struggle with setting achievable goals and provides strategies to find academic success.
Today's episode was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Cannon Spouses' Club.
https://www.cannonspousesclub.org/
Show Notes:
Book from Podcast: Atomic Habits by James Clear
Planner ideas from the Podcast:
Happiness Planner: https://thehappinessplanner.com/
Legend Planner: https://legendplanner.com/
MCEC's Goal Setting with Tutor.com Webinar Link:
Bio:
Evelyn Sullivan
Evelyn Sullivan is the Director of Onboarding at Tutor.com, responsible for staffing over 3000 expert online tutors annually in 100 on-demand subjects to meet the demands of Tutor.com’s 24/7 service. Outside of Tutor.com, Evelyn is a MAC-award winning performer in the NY Cabaret scene. She is the acting coach for Get Your Shine On where, alongside vocal coach/musical director Sarah Glassman, she encourages New Yorkers to take the stage for the first time following a 6-week acting and singing intensive. She has served as adjunct faculty at Suffolk County Community College, helping Radio/TV & Film majors learn Adobe Premiere. She also taught Intro to Graphic Design at Briarcliffe College. Her passions are fostering human connection, improving efficiency, and spreading joy through creativity.
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Description: Mil-kid, Austin, shares how explaining Autism to others helps him to fit in with other students.
This podcast has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Luke Spouses’ Club.
https://www.lukespousesclub.org/
Bio:
Austin is an active-duty Army military child of 13 years. He started the seventh grade this year, which is the fifth school he has attended so far. His family is currently stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he lives with his parents and younger sister. Austin enjoys playing the piano, running track, and entering academic competitions. As a student who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, he has developed a passion for self-advocacy and helping other students find their voice to have a seat at their own table with the adults who support them.
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Description: Life can be hard no matter the age. Kimberly McCarthy and Terri Rudy from Clearinghouse for Military Families at Penn State, discuss life scenarios that parents may encounter with their elementary students as well as provide strategies to help children to flourish and grow.
This podcast was made possible thanks to the generous support from the Naval Officers’ Spouses’ Club of San Diego
Show Notes:
Thrive Initiative
https://thrive.psu.edu/about/what-is-thrive/
MCEC Webinar:
Bio:
Kimberly J. McCarthy Research Project Manager
Kimberly J. McCarthy is a Research Project Manager at the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State. In this role, she has advanced education, outreach, and evaluation efforts related to parenting, veteran well-being, and programming for children, youth, and families. As a member of the Thrive Initiative team, Kimberly serves as a master trainer and curriculum writer. Kimberly graduated with a bachelor’s degree with high distinction in Health Policy and Administration and Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University. She has also been certified as a health education specialist, a coach, and as a trainer for a variety of evidence-based youth development, parenting, and community mobilization programs. In addition, Kimberly is a Leadership Center County graduate. In previous roles, Kimberly coordinated coaching, technical assistance, and education efforts for federal and state initiatives aimed at the following: improving outcomes for low-resource populations, increasing the utilization of evidence-based strategies for positive youth development, and promoting medical and dental access for underserved populations. Kimberly has also contributed to large-scale evaluation efforts, including a randomized control trial funded by the National Institutes of Health. Her journal publications focus on topics such as veterans’ well-being during the military-to-civilian transition, coach-based technical assistance models, and obesity prevention.
Terri L. Rudy Research Project Manager
Terri L. Rudy, M.P.A., is a Research Project Manager at the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) and serves as the Project Manager of the Resource Center for Improving Family Health Behaviors and the Thrive Initiative. In this role, she provides oversight of and contributes to the curriculum and content development, implementation and dissemination, and evaluation of universal and secondary prevention parent-education programming that focuses on child and family well-being. Through her responsibilities managing the outreach and communication efforts for Clearinghouse projects and programs, she helps to advance existing and future work funded through the Department of Defense and community partnerships that aim to promote health among military families. Terri received a Bachelor of Psychology and a Master of Public Administration from the Pennsylvania State University.
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Description: Pinecrest High School S2S members chat about the student lead program and how its about creating connection for all students.
This podcast was made possible, thanks to the generous support from the Spouses of JBMDL Organization and the Belvoir Spouses Charitable Association.
https://www.belvoirspousesclub.org/
Show Notes:
Student to Student Program:
Friday Aug 12, 2022
Friday Aug 12, 2022
Description: Nine-year-old, Quinn talks about how her love of dance kept her connected with her deployed father and created conversations about military life with her classmates.
This episode was made possible thanks to the support of the Spouses’ Club of Lewis- McChord.
https://www.spousesclublm.org/
Show Notes:
Title: Spotlighting Artistic Expression and the Military Child featuring Dr. Jill Biden and Quinn
Description: Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, joined the 2022 MCEC Global Summit to share about raising the voices of military-connected children through artistic expression. Dr. Biden introduced the MCEC Call for the Arts artist spotlight, nine-year-old Quinn, who shared her gift of interpretive dance titled “For Our Soldier” set to the music “Soldier’s Light” by Rylee Preston. This piece was choreographed by Quinn and her mom, which brought comfort during her father’s most recent deployment and was a creative outlet for the family as they were experiencing the separation.
MCEC Youtube link: https://youtu.be/0bNEzHhIYtk
Bio:
Quinn is a vibrant nine-year-old entering 4th grade this fall. She currently lives in Northern California with her parents, younger sister, and dog Rudy. As a resilient military child, she has lived in four states, and will be starting her third 'new school' this year. She loves reading, dance, soccer, and exploring the outdoors with family and friends. During a tough deployment, Quinn and her mom sought comfort in the art of dance. They came up with the idea to choreograph a piece together that would honor Dad while he was gone. The song, "Soldier's Light" by Rylee Preston was a favorite on Quinn's Spotify Playlist. Over the next two months, Quinn and her mom found an outlet of support and release as they created this dance together. Upon Dad's homecoming, Quinn was excited to present him with the surprise gift of a dance dedicated to him. Quinn is the daughter of Major Matt LeCraw, active duty Air Force. Major LeCraw is currently a U-2 Pilot at Beale Air Force Base.
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Description: Navigating a military move can be hectic, and there may be an added layer when special education is involved. Karen Terry from the Office of Special Needs shares some tips and resources that support military families before, during and after their move.
We'd like to thank the West Point Spouses Club for making today's podcast possible.
https://westpointspousesclub.org/
Show Notes:
EFMP and Me:
https://efmpandme.militaryonesource.mil/
Advanced EFMP registration:
https://efmpeducationdirectory.militaryonesource.mil/
MCEC's Webinar Transitions with Exceptional Needs-
Bio: Karen Terry
Karen Terry is Program analyst in the Office of Special Needs, Office of Family Readiness Policy, Military Community and Family Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) for Personnel and Readiness.
Ms. Terry is a retired service member with 21 years in the Air Force where she served both on active duty and in the reserves. Upon retiring, Ms Terry was part of the Headquarters Air Force Airman and Family Services team where she managed programs such as Relocation, School Liaisons, and the Exceptional Family Member Program.
Before joining OUSD, Ms. Terry was employed as the Family Support Specialist for a Virginia county public school Department of Special Education. It this position, she worked extensively with parents as they learned and navigated special education on behalf of their child and with the students to increase their access to education through appropriate accommodations and/or modifications.
Ms. Terry is married with three sons. Her middle son has autism spectrum disorder and was the reason she turned her professional focus to working with people with special needs.