It’s hard to overstate just how dramatic a shift it can be going from enlisted military service to civilian life. From the moment they enlist, veterans live a highly regimented life with a clear purpose, direction, and specific orders from day to day. Then, suddenly, they face the very real challenge of finding jobs and building lives outside of the service — often while dealing with the lasting impacts that military service can have on one’s physical and mental health. For many, building meaningful connections with veterans who have already lived that transitional journey can be critical to navigating their post-enlistment identity, career, and purpose.
In this episode of Sustainability @ Work, we look at how organizations such as GallantFew are helping newly discharged veterans get crucial support during their transition into civilian life, and how we as individuals and organizations can do the same.
Key Quotes
00:20: “You have all these skill sets, you’re ready to take on the world, and then, all of a sudden, life steers you in a different direction.”
03:06: “Now that I’m out of the service, what am I all about? What do I stand for?”
04:30: “The military very clearly lays out what your purpose and mission is… when you leave the military and go out in the civilian world, nobody lays out a clear path to retirement for you.”
08:45: “Going from the military to trying to find a job in the civilian world was a blow to my self-esteem, and it caused me to not engage with people in the community I’d just come from.”
10:35: “I decided to set up a network of other ranger veterans… over time, that network grew to over 1,000 members.”
12:26: “[GallantFew] has adopted what we call the Three Cs methodology: Connecting, Coaching, and Counseling.”
16:45: “I could name at least 50 veterans now who are alive who would not be alive otherwise. That’s very rewarding. Stressful in the moment but rewarding long term.”
19:50: “Veterans have a lot to bring to the table. Some of the skills companies need to grow from the ground up, veterans already have.”
Guest Bios
Karl Monger, Executive Director, GallantFew
Karl Monger is a retired United States Army Major with 10 years active and 10 years reserve service prior to becoming the Executive Director of GallantFew. In his current role, he works to coach and mentor veterans across the country as they make the transition out of enlistment and into civilian life.
Willy Carrion, Business Analyst, Gerent
Willy’s career spans over 23 years of military experience, including 16 years in the infantry and eight active-duty deployments. A graduate of Gerent’s Launchpad program, Willy has successfully transitioned into the Salesforce ecosystem and his new role as a Business Analyst.
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It’s hard to overstate just how dramatic a shift it can be going from enlisted military service to civilian life. From the moment they enlist, veterans live a highly regimented life with a clear purpose, direction, and specific orders from day to day. Then, suddenly, they face the very real challenge of finding jobs and building lives outside of the service — often while dealing with the lasting impacts that military service can have on one’s physical and mental health. For many, building meaningful connections with veterans who have already lived that transitional journey can be critical to navigating their post-enlistment identity, career, and purpose.
In this episode of Sustainability @ Work, we look at how organizations such as GallantFew are helping newly discharged veterans get crucial support during their transition into civilian life, and how we as individuals and organizations can do the same.
Key Quotes
00:20: “You have all these skill sets, you’re ready to take on the world, and then, all of a sudden, life steers you in a different direction.”
03:06: “Now that I’m out of the service, what am I all about? What do I stand for?”
04:30: “The military very clearly lays out what your purpose and mission is… when you leave the military and go out in the civilian world, nobody lays out a clear path to retirement for you.”
08:45: “Going from the military to trying to find a job in the civilian world was a blow to my self-esteem, and it caused me to not engage with people in the community I’d just come from.”
10:35: “I decided to set up a network of other ranger veterans… over time, that network grew to over 1,000 members.”
12:26: “[GallantFew] has adopted what we call the Three Cs methodology: Connecting, Coaching, and Counseling.”
16:45: “I could name at least 50 veterans now who are alive who would not be alive otherwise. That’s very rewarding. Stressful in the moment but rewarding long term.”
19:50: “Veterans have a lot to bring to the table. Some of the skills companies need to grow from the ground up, veterans already have.”
Guest Bios
Karl Monger, Executive Director, GallantFew
Karl Monger is a retired United States Army Major with 10 years active and 10 years reserve service prior to becoming the Executive Director of GallantFew. In his current role, he works to coach and mentor veterans across the country as they make the transition out of enlistment and into civilian life.
Willy Carrion, Business Analyst, Gerent
Willy’s career spans over 23 years of military experience, including 16 years in the infantry and eight active-duty deployments. A graduate of Gerent’s Launchpad program, Willy has successfully transitioned into the Salesforce ecosystem and his new role as a Business Analyst.
S@W Episode 2 - Creating Communities of Support for Single Moms (Feat. the Judy Nelson Foundation)
Sustainability @ Work
24 minutes 7 seconds
3 years ago
S@W Episode 2 - Creating Communities of Support for Single Moms (Feat. the Judy Nelson Foundation)
Raising a child is no small feat; it takes an unbelievable amount of patience, commitment, love, and care. And being a single mother, doing it all on your own? It’s easy to see how that might feel absolutely impossible sometimes, especially when you factor in dueling priorities like paying the bills or going to work.
So how can we support the single mothers in our life, and help them not just navigate the daily responsibilities of parenthood, but also achieve their hopes and dreams — whether that’s an education, a career, or even just a good night’s sleep? It doesn’t need to be anything big; offering to babysit, drive kids back from school, or even just pick up dinner can make a world of difference for busy moms.
In this episode of Sustainability @ Work, we’re talking about building communities of support and what we can do to help the single mothers in our lives.
Key Quotes
00:00: “The feeling that a lot of I think single moms, or any single parent, fully feels is it's all on you.”
01:21: “When I look back and I think about some of their earlier childhood days, I don't even know how I did it.”
03:07: “As a young kid, you know, you're not always witnessing the challenges that your parents are going through in their pursuits of everyday life.”
07:36: “When I was trying to pay tuition and pay daycare, you're trying to decide: do you pay that? Or do you pay the electric bill?”
09:04: “ I can't forecast that my kid’s going to be sick tomorrow morning on a Monday when I have to wake up.”
12:54: “[The Judy Nelson Foundation’s] mission is to provide single mothers the opportunity to further their education without financial or practical barriers.”
15:39: “We're even looking into how we take care of [single mothers] being able to get meals while they're on campus, because they may be doing after school programs – there's dinner, there's all these kinds of barriers.”
19:22: “What the Judy Nelson Foundation is trying to do in terms of creating the space, making it okay and helping these women actually get an education and fulfill those things so that they don't have to feel forever behind.”
22:55: “That feeling of who you become together after whatever it is that you're going through is better than anything you could have imagined if you just summed it up as individual events.”
Guest Bios
Josh & Colleen Nelson, Board Members, The Judy Nelson Foundation
Founded in 2021 by Josh Nelson and his mother, Colleen Nelson, the Judy Nelson Foundation works to eliminate the financial and practical barriers single mothers face when balancing childcare and pursuing their educational goals. The Foundation is named for Judy Nelson, Colleen’s mother and a lifelong advocate for women’s rights, educational access, and community support.
Anandhi Narayanan, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Transformation in Manufacturing, Gerent
In addition to being a professional consultant with over 17 years of experience in manufacturing, digitalization, and technology, Anandhi is a working single mother who spent years balancing her career goals with the needs of her family. During her tenure in IT, she led digital transformations for finance, supply chain, operations, and sales operations. For the past 4 years as a consultant, she has directed cross-cloud implementations, driving strategy and thought leadership for supply chain organizations across the Salesforce ecosystem.
References
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-work-mothers/moms-feel-overwhelmed-by-responsibilities-poll-idUSTRE75E45K20110615
https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/C460_Single-Mothers-Briefing-Paper-8.21.17-final.pdf
Sustainability @ Work
It’s hard to overstate just how dramatic a shift it can be going from enlisted military service to civilian life. From the moment they enlist, veterans live a highly regimented life with a clear purpose, direction, and specific orders from day to day. Then, suddenly, they face the very real challenge of finding jobs and building lives outside of the service — often while dealing with the lasting impacts that military service can have on one’s physical and mental health. For many, building meaningful connections with veterans who have already lived that transitional journey can be critical to navigating their post-enlistment identity, career, and purpose.
In this episode of Sustainability @ Work, we look at how organizations such as GallantFew are helping newly discharged veterans get crucial support during their transition into civilian life, and how we as individuals and organizations can do the same.
Key Quotes
00:20: “You have all these skill sets, you’re ready to take on the world, and then, all of a sudden, life steers you in a different direction.”
03:06: “Now that I’m out of the service, what am I all about? What do I stand for?”
04:30: “The military very clearly lays out what your purpose and mission is… when you leave the military and go out in the civilian world, nobody lays out a clear path to retirement for you.”
08:45: “Going from the military to trying to find a job in the civilian world was a blow to my self-esteem, and it caused me to not engage with people in the community I’d just come from.”
10:35: “I decided to set up a network of other ranger veterans… over time, that network grew to over 1,000 members.”
12:26: “[GallantFew] has adopted what we call the Three Cs methodology: Connecting, Coaching, and Counseling.”
16:45: “I could name at least 50 veterans now who are alive who would not be alive otherwise. That’s very rewarding. Stressful in the moment but rewarding long term.”
19:50: “Veterans have a lot to bring to the table. Some of the skills companies need to grow from the ground up, veterans already have.”
Guest Bios
Karl Monger, Executive Director, GallantFew
Karl Monger is a retired United States Army Major with 10 years active and 10 years reserve service prior to becoming the Executive Director of GallantFew. In his current role, he works to coach and mentor veterans across the country as they make the transition out of enlistment and into civilian life.
Willy Carrion, Business Analyst, Gerent
Willy’s career spans over 23 years of military experience, including 16 years in the infantry and eight active-duty deployments. A graduate of Gerent’s Launchpad program, Willy has successfully transitioned into the Salesforce ecosystem and his new role as a Business Analyst.
