We are excited to announce the 2015 cohort for SWAN’s Women Veteran Fellowship in Leadership and Public Policy. We received many applications from women veterans from across the country who are inspired leaders ready to make a difference for service women and women veterans. Nine participants have been selected this year. These are some of the most dynamic, courageous and gifted women veterans around.
Introducing the Cohort
The majority of this year’s cohort have master’s degrees and a few are PhD candidates. Their education and career goals range from social services, nonprofit and community leadership, law/litigation, advocacy and policy change for VA benefits, reproductive and family health care, rules that protect service women from sexual violence in the military, and increased pathways to women’s military leadership. All of the armed services are represented and the age range of the fellows is between 29 and 63. The cohort represents a mix of enlisted, officers and warrant officers, hailing from Virginia, New York, Michigan, Illinois and Colorado.
Meet the Fellows
Lucila Abarra
Current Career: Graduate Student
Service: Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel
Education: Masters of Gender Studies, Depaul University, Chicago IL
Focus: Toxic Leadership and Female Soldier Tours of Duty
SWAN Issue Area: Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program
Leadership/Policy Goal: Use theoretical and practical knowledge to impact policy and regulatory changes at the highest level of government
Chalisa Bracken
Current Career: President and Founder of Semper Fi Home Care, LLC
Service: Marine Sergeant
Education: MBA, University of Phoenix
Focus: Healthcare
SWAN Issue Area: Veterans Administration benefits
Leadership/Policy Goal: Social Services for Military Sexual Trauma
Mickelle Damassia
Current Career: Consultant
Service: Air Force Airman First Class
Education: BA in Business Management, MPA in Policy Analysis, currently law student
Focus: Assisting vulnerable veteran populations
SWAN Issue Area: Litigation as Advocacy
Leadership/Policy Goal: Work for veterans and service member’s rights to help with litigation and non-litigation issues
Cecelia W. Eareckson
Current Career: Retired
Service: Air Force Senior Airman
Education: BA in Writing Seminars, Johns Hopkins University
Focus: Healthcare for women outside of the VA
SWAN Issue Area: VA Disability Claims, MST and PTSD
Leadership/Policy Goal: To be a volunteer activist helping to improve healthcare for women who serve, and to increase awareness among civilian women of the degree to which VA affiliations skew medical teaching and research that affects their treatment as well as ours.
Janine Johnson
Current Career: Human Resources
Service: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class
Education: BS in Social Psychology, Park University; BS in Health Science, Touro University; MS in Human Relations, University of Oklahoma; PhD candidate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, North Central University
Focus: PTSD/MST and the impact it has on the record setting increase in suicide and suicide related incidents amongst the ranks of the military.
SWAN Issue Area: Military Sexual Trauma policy and procedure
Leadership/Policy Goal: To improve my voice of advocacy and change through the leadership course
Adanna K.C. Rudder
Current Career: Graduate Student, Non-profit and Leadership
Service: Army Chief Warrant Officer Two
Education: B.A. in Organizational Management from Ashford University
Focus: Nonprofit leadership, gender equality and PTSD
SWAN Issue Area: Sexaual Assault, reproductive health and MJIA
Leadership/Policy Goal: Establishing a nonprofit organization to empower young women to become future leaders
Cypriane Williams
Current Career: Retired
Service: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class
Education: B.A. in American Studies
Focus: Women in Combat and VA Disability Claims
SWAN Issue Area: VA Disability Claims process and Women in Combat
Leadership/Policy Goal: To lead, advocate, consult, guide, support, and develop policy. A SWAN Fellowship can teach me to be an implementer for change.
Sara Zak
Current Career: Retired
Service: Navy Commander
Education: BA in Mathematics, University of Rochester, MS in Anti-Submarine Warfare, Naval Postgraduate School
Focus: Military Social Work
SWAN Issue Area: Military Sexual Assault and the Military Justice Improvement Act.
Leadership/Policy Goal: Become advocate for Military Sexual Assault
Lauren Zapf
Current Career: Mental Health Clinician, Adjunct Professor
Service: Navy Lieutenant
Education: BS in Political Science United States Naval Academy; MA in clinical mental health counseling, James Madison University, doctoral candidate in counselor education and supervision
Focus: Service women assessment and wellness; reintegration and transitional issues
SWAN Issue Area: VA benefits, sexual trauma, reproductive health
Leadership/Policy Goal: Implement policy reform and assume future leadership role in an organization
Program At-a-glance
Each Fellow will learn tools and strategies for advocacy including how to impact regulations and the rulemaking process, influence decision makers, identify key stakeholders and understand how media advocacy works. The fellows will be able to reflect on their individual military experience and connect to the history of women in the military. They will gain a better understanding of how changing a culture through effective leadership happens and how to overcome obstacles. Over the course of 7 weeks, fellows will engage in informative dialogues and hear from nearly 50 legal, nonprofit, national security and veterans experts, and journalists from around the country. From military justice reform and combat integration to VA claims and sexual violence – each fellow will finish the program equipped with the knowledge and resources to be a voice for change in any area.
Look for complete biographies and photos of each fellow on our website in the coming weeks.
