Carry On

Chief Jerry Collins and Dr. Mariya Leyderman join Carry On from Louisville, KY to talk about the VALOR program (Veterans Aspiring to a Life Of Reform), a program at the Louisville Metro Correctional Department (LMDC) to help veterans reform their lives while in jail and position them for success upon release.

Our guest today, Mike Erwin has dedicated his life to serving the nation and empowering people to build positive relationships. A graduate of The U.S. Military Academy at West Point serving in three combat tours with the First Cavalry Division and 3rd Special Forces Group. His service includes deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Kandahar, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He earned two Bronze Star Medals from these tours. Following his third deployment, Mike attended the University of Michigan and while a graduate student, founded Team Red White & Blue (Team RWB), a non-profit health and wellness community for veterans. Mike led Team RWB until 2013 before stepping back to focus on his role as board chair. In November 2019, he returned to the Executive Director role where he currently leads the organization's 232,000 members. Mike continues to proudly serve the nation as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, assigned to the Pentagon in support of the Army Chief of Operations' office, led by Lieutenant General Jim Rainey.

Brad Long, Executive Director of the Veterans Housing Development Corporation (VHDC) joins us to talk about affordable housing for veterans. Different veterans have different needs, and some just need a little extra boost to be able to own a home, and ultimately pay less or the same as what they were paying for substandard rentals. Listen for more details about how veterans are finding affordable homes in California!

In this episode, Oscar Romero joins us to talk about art. He'll explain how he got involved with art, and how he found it can be used to help others and provide avenues of expression. Oscar was born in El Salvador and raised in California. He studied under David Hardy at the School of Classical Realism in Oakland, California. He served four years in the Navy, and 4.5 years in the Coast Guard. He provides Art Therapy events at our very own Mather Veterans Village, and his wife, Sabrina Romero, is a Housing locator for Nation's Finest under the Supportive Services for Veterans and Families program. The book Oscar Romero references in the podcast is Grand Central Winter: Stories form the street. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/63651.Grand_Central_Winter

National Ice Cream Day is around the corner on Sunday, July 17th. Local ice cream parlor, Let's Chill opened just a couple months ago in Coral Springs, Florida - owned by veterans Cristina & Ricardo Braga. Cristina is a registered nurse and Ricardo is a law enforcement offer. Cristina and Ricardo are both U.S. Army combat veterans, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They join us to talk about balancing business ownership with demanding jobs, and how their military experience helped them with the discipline to do just that.

Shelli Cramer has been a Nutrition Services Coordinator with Nation's Finest – Eureka for the last five years. She worked in catering prior to coming to Nation's Finest, and she's also a mom who loves to cook. People like Shelli make sure that veterans at our permanent supportive housing facilities have access to nutritious and balanced meals that meet the needs of each veteran while considering dietary restrictions and food allergies.

Jean Durham is a retired Marine Corps Officer who now coaches executive leaders. Jean first enlisted in 1999, starting her career as an aviation operations specialist. Among many duty locations in this role, she deployed to Al Assad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007. After that deployment, Jean was accepted to the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program at Savannah State University where she earned her bachelor's degree and her commission as a Marine Corps Officer. As a lieutenant, and eventually as a captain, Jean served as a public affairs officer in numerous locations such as Paris Island, Camp Lejeune, Norfolk, VA, and overseas duty in Libya. Jean now works as an executive leadership coach with Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching, and joins us to share her story of transition from the Marine Corps to the world of business.

Suzanne Gordon joins this episode to talk about how she encourages others to speak up with elected officials to ensure the VA is properly funded into the future. She also shares her advice for choosing the right charity to support when your goal is to help our military veterans.

In this episode, Clive Stephenson joins us to talk about how veterans can take better care of their health. Clive was the NCOIC of the Family Medicine Service at Brook Army Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, TX. He graduated the Interservice Physician Assistant Program in 2006 and went on to work as a Battalion Physician Assistant then as an Orthopedic Physician Assistant until retirement in 2015. He continued working in this role at WBAMC treating Active Duty, National Guard, Reservists, Veterans, and dependents in the Ft. Bliss area. PA Stephenson stresses three simple strategies to maintain your physical health: 1. Stay active, and keep moving 2. Watch your weight 3. See your primary care provider AT LEAST every 6 months (more frequently depending on age and medical conditions)

John Perales joins this episode to talk about mental health, both for the veterans we serve, and the mental health providers themselves. John has worked in various roles as he progressed from being a high school teacher, to principal, and eventually superintendent. He also taught as an adjunct at the college level - and has been a member of the team here at Nation's Finest since 2019. He is currently the Human Resources Director for Nation's Finest.

As 'Mayans' Season 4 is now in full swing, we re-visit this episode from October, when Vincent "Rocco" Vargas joined us to talk about overcoming the difficulty of military transition, substance abuse, and survivors guilt.

Brenda Bentley joins us for this episode to talk about finding purpose, the value in experiencing transition, and finding that “next level” thinking. Brenda has an MBA and a BA in Spanish and education. She has lived, studied, and worked in Spain, Mexico, Chile and the United States. She has facilitated courses at the award-winning Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, is a Certified Coach through Coach Training Alliance, and a Global Career Development Facilitator through the Center for Credentialing and Education.

Veterans from different eras often have very different transition experiences into civilian life. Chris Snell, US Marine Corps Veteran and a Veteran Service Officer for Brown County Government in Indiana, talks about bridging the gap between different veteran populations and making sure their needs are met. Chris joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school and deployed to Iraq twice during his first three years as an infantryman. He later joined the Foreign Military Training Unit (or FMTU) which later became the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion. He served in the Army Reserves for several years after leaving the Marine Corps, but is now focused on family life with his wife and five children and his work helping fellow veterans both in an official capacity and through active membership with various veteran service organizations.

Current events in Ukraine can take on a different meaning to recently separated veterans who were working close to the region prior to leaving the military. Josh Peterson joined the Army in 2014 and served as an infantryman on active duty until just last year. He was assigned to Ft. Bliss, Texas and Vilseck, Germany with deployments to Iraq for Operation Inherent Resolve, and Eastern Europe to show support to Allies while deterring Russian aggression.

Today, we talk with Steve White, a Navy AND Army veteran who served from 1970-1983. He also worked as a commercial airline pilot after being honorably discharged, but struggled with civilian life and ended up with legal issues, no job, and very little money. He came to Nation's Finest – Carson City, Nevada for help. That's when Steve met Wylie Mandeville, Air Force Veteran, and Mobile Outreach Specialist for Nation's Finest – Carson City. Wylie helped Steve with housing, and got him connected to the resources he needed for help in other areas. We chat with both of them today to learn more.

We have discussed the transition from military to civilian life many times on this podcast but today, we talk with an officer beginning her transition, providing a different perspective. Maj. Elle Covington talks with us about what it's like preparing to retire while still actively serving in her position as the Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the 1st Armored Division at Ft. Bliss, Texas.

Dr. Abhi Chandra joins this episode to share his knowledge about the resources, benefits, and drawbacks of the emergency room. He provides insightful advice about when to visit the ER, and when to call 911. Dr. Chandra has been practicing Emergency Medicine for over 25 years. He trained in the specialties of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. For the first half of Dr. Chandra's career he practiced Emergency Medicine, taught medical students and residents, held educational seminars for National meetings, conducted and published research, and at the same time was a medical director for some aspects of the Emergency Department. The second half of his career, he focused on helping patients by working in the ER. Dr. Chandra still occasionally gives educational lectures and teaches residents but is focused mostly on ER work.

In this episode, we discuss some of the services Nation's Finest provides and a bit about our veteran clients with our Residential Services Coordinator from Mather Veterans Village, Jenna Yoast. Jenna joined the team at Nation's Finest in August of 2020 after earning her bachelor's degree in psychology. She has a special place in her heart for veterans, as her grandfather is a purple heart recipient from the Vietnam era. Jenna calls being a part of the Nation's Finest team a rewarding experience as she continues to serve veterans every day.

Nation's Finest will be hosting a cornhole tournament in multiple locations across California, Arizona, and Nevada on March 26th called GAME OF THROWS. Jesse Woolf is the Site Director for Nation's Finest Monterey and Santa Cruz locations. She is helping to organize the tournament at those two sites and our Menlo Park. Ben Budhu is the CEO of Scoreholio, created in 2018 as a first-of-its-kind live scoring tournament software which strives to innovate and enhance the art of running Cornhole tournaments. Since 2015, he's been running fundraisers and corporate events through the sport of cornhole and is now working with Nation's Finest to put together Game of Throws on March 26th!

Our guest today is dog trainer Steve Moore. Steve spent four and a half years in the United States Army during operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. After getting out of the Army in 2006 Steve spent some time trying to find his place in society. A graduate of Bergin University for Canine Studies, he found his place, happily with the dogs. Steve runs a business offering dog training and other related services. He also teaches dog training classes to military veterans, including the residents at our own Windsor Veterans Village.

Voices of Service, an inspiring vocal quartet includes retired Master Sgt. Caleb Green, retired staff Sgt. Ron Henry, Sgt. Maj. Christal Rheams and Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hanna. Voices of service uses their platform to increase awareness of what music can do for service men and women who are coping with post-traumatic stress and other invisible/visible wounds. They have been singing together for six years. Their journey and purpose have now reached a new dimension. After their successful competition in Season 14 of America's Got Talent where they placed 5th, they've been able to create national awareness about the struggles our service members, veterans, and their families go through when dealing with visible and invisible injuries. Voices of Service recently released their debut EP Album “Rise” which is now available for purchase.

In today's episode, we unpack the emotional side of transition from an academic perspective. Emily Knitter is a U.S. Army veteran and third-year Counseling Psychology Ph.D. student at the University at Buffalo. After being medically retired from service, Emily struggled with the transition. She found her footing at St. Bonaventure University while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. There she served as Student Veterans of America (SVA) chapter president. Through her current program at UB, and in partnership with Veteran Affairs Mental Illness Research, she is working to help improve the transition out of the military for other service members. It is her goal to ignite conversation around the “emotional” side of the veteran transition journey.

The transition from military to civilian employment can be overwhelming. Have you asked yourself what you do not want to do in addition to what you would like to do? Have you identified the skills and knowledge you want to build to fit new career goals? Navy Veteran Josh Duntz joins us today to talk about transition and how companies like Shift are available to guide veterans through that process.

Many large corporations have teams assigned to help veterans apply for employment, and also to help veterans succeed after being hired. Retired Marine Colonel Beau Higgins is a Senior Manager on Amazon's Military Affairs team. Beau is responsible for elevating the strategic impact of the considerable investment Amazon has made in the US Military veteran community. The Military Affairs team is responsible for creating scalable veteran programs, developing policies and strategic planning for military recruiting and outreach efforts, and focusing on hiring, developing and retaining the best and the brightest military talent available for positions within Amazon. Listen now to hear about what Amazon is doing to employ veterans and sage advice for those looking for a new position. The webinars Beau discusses in this episode can be found here: https://amazonmilitarywebinarseries.splashthat.com/

When people ask us at Nation's Finest, "What do you do?" it's easy to start listing programs and services. In reality, what we do goes deeper than a list of services. We help veterans when they need it most, and assist them in becoming self-sufficient again. One veteran shares his story today, and explains how Nation's Finest helped him. Andre Jones is a U.S. Army Veteran who has lived in the Yuba County, CA area for 12 years. After getting an education and serving in the military, Mr. Jones became a pillar in his community by coaching football and softball for local high school and college students. He was also a limo driver for 30 years. This past year, Mr. Jones found himself homeless for the first time in his life. When he lost his house, it was a struggle to find housing due to the recent fires in Northern California. Thankfully, he ended up getting connected with a Case Manager from Nation's Finest, who arrived just in time to help him find a place to live. That Case Manager is Shelly Forbes, also here with us for this episode. She works at the Nation's Finest-Chico location for our SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) program, which provides case management to veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Shelly befriended Mr. Jones, encouraged him, and helped him get approved for his own apartment that he is now living in.

This is our first episode of 2022, and also the beginning of our 50th anniversary at Nation's Finest! We have two of our long-standing board members on the program today, along with our President and CEO. Together we plan to talk about what has changed over the years, and what hasn't changed so much. Long-time board member Jim Larson is a US Army Veteran and retired CEO of California State Central Credit Union. Fellow long-serving board member Larry Connolly is a Marine Corps Veteran and retired philanthropist. Our CEO, Chris Johnson has been with Nation's Finest for almost three years, and has been in the nonprofit sector for nearly thirty years. We hope you enjoy this discussion with all three of them, sharing how Nation's Finest has, and will continue to help veterans find their way home. THEN, NOW, ALWAYS.

In our final episode of 2021, our guest, Army Veteran Bobby Herrera talks about turning struggle into opportunity. He encourages everyone to ask "Why is this happening for me" instead of "Why is this happening to me" regarding hardship in our lives.

This week, we speak with Crystal Ellington about some of the challenges minority servicemembers and veterans face. We also talk about military response to sexual assault and the changes Crystal advocates for her in her work.

Co-found of Women Veterans Magazine, Melissa Washington talks with us today about empowering female veterans.

Army veteran Patrick Nelson joins us to talk about PTSD, survivor's guilt, and living a life of purpose and meaning.

Thank you to all of you who listen and follow Carry On and Nation's Finest. We wish you a happy Thanksgiving with your family and loved ones. Have a great weekend!

J.R. Smith is the Vice President/COO of The Veteran's Ranch and his wife is the President/CEO. The Veteran's Ranch is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit veteran horse retreat located in Lakeland, FL whose mission is to “help those individuals lay down their heavy coat of burden, leave it there and move forward.” The ranch pairs horses with veterans to help them in their healing journey through basic caregiving, trail rides, and healing workshops. They also assist service members and veterans with basic needs such as gas and electric, high-speed internet, television, health care, etc. J.R. helped found The Veterans Ranch in 2017 so veterans and their families can get the assistance they need, lay down their heavy coat of burden, and walk forward as a new and improved version of themselves.

This special episode of Carry On spotlights the work Nation's Finest is doing on Veterans Day. We've partnered with Raley's supermarket chain to help veterans find meaningful employment. Don't take our word for it, listen to the calls we took from our proud Nation's Finest team in the field!

Today, we talk about the transition from military to civilian life… Moving from homelessness and suicide prevention, to talking about how veterans can live their best lives working for what they truly desire. Chris Albert shares how.

Have you ever heard of veterans playing video games as a means to stay connected with friends and family, or as a coping mechanism? It turns out, that's a real thing! Trevor Thomson, assistant site director at Nation's Finest - Santa Rosa joins us to explain more about how gaming can be more than just a hobby.

Vincent "Rocco" Vargas joins us in today's episode to talk about overcoming the difficulty of military transition, substance abuse, and survivors guilt.

As we approach National Veteran Small Business Week, Scott Jensen, Executive Director of the National Veteran Small Business Coalition provides advice for veterans thinking about starting a business. Having started his own small business after retiring from the Marine Corps, Jensen shares his three keys to success in business ownership.

Amanda Huffman joins us today to talk about her experience serving in combat and her transition to life as a military spouse while maintaining her own veteran identity.

In this week's episode of "Carry On" Melissa Ferrari and Wylie Mandeville discuss Nation's Finest Mobile Service Units and how they help veterans.

Stephen Hernandez, site director for Nation's Finest in Sacramento talks with us today about what it was like to serve during and after the Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policy. He also shares valuable information about potential upgrades to discharge status for veterans who were separated from service based on their sexual orientation.

Today, Doug Smith is here to talk with us about suicide prevention, as we continue this informational theme during September, recognized as suicide prevention month. Doug is a US Navy Veteran. He is the Peer Program Manager, and Crisis Intervention Training Coordinator for the local Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness - NAMI Sacramento.

Re-visiting this episode for suicide prevention month, we hear from Nation's Finest Clinical Director, James Luper about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, and what we do at Nation's Finest to help veterans suffering from this disorder.

September is National Service Dog month, so our guest Raymond Allbright talks with us about when he realized a service dog might be helpful to him, what the process was like to get one, and how life is different now with his service dog.

In today's episode, Captain Mike Durham talks with us about his experience in Afghanistan, sharing his thoughts and emotions considering the news over the past weeks.

In today's episode of Carry On, we discuss the COVID-19 vaccines and some of the concerns surrounding them with Dr. Lindsay Jones. Today's episode should not be considered medical advice and is designed to be an informative scientific discussion. You should always seek advice on your own medical care from your primary care provider or other licensed medical professional.

In this week's episode of Carry On our President and CEO, Chris Johnson talks about the impact this week's events in Afghanistan is having on veterans. He will also discuss how the services we provide at Nation's Finest can help veterans in this difficult time.

Taking a look back at our very first episode (first aired on April 28th, 2021), we explain how Nation's Finest helps veterans in need, and how that mission has evolved over the years. Burt McChesney, a long-time member of our Board of Directors provides context as we dive into our mission and purpose.

We continue our international Olympic themed coverage this week, with Capt. Mark Ruban of the Canadian Armed Forces joining us to talk about the importance of alliances and international working relationships.

Jake Kemnec, Site Director for Nation's Finest in Menlo Park, CA joins us today to talk about how veterans can see the Olympic games differently, having established relationships with members of other nations' militaries during his career.

This week, retired Army officer and Veterans Affairs employee Steven Miller talks about navigating employment options as a veteran, and finding your fit in a civilian career.

Dr. Ryan Attar talks about finding the right employment, education, and path forward for his life after leaving the military.