Our Staff

Executive

Besa Pinchotti

Besa Pinchotti

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Besa Pinchotti is Chief Executive Officer of the National Military Family Association (NMFA) where she leads the team in supporting and enhancing the quality of life for every military family. Drawn to NMFA’s mission to serve the families who stand beside the uniform, Besa has served in several leadership positions at the Association since 2013.

Besa is an award-winning journalist and marketer whose passion for our military began during her time as a reporter and television news anchor. From Jacksonville, North Carolina to Austin, Texas and Eastern Europe, her assignments opened her eyes to the military experience for service members and their families. She covered post-9/11 deployments, war casualties and highly contentious Congressional hearings about the unanticipated impacts of military life, including the lasting effects of toxic exposure on our military bases.

She has co-chaired The Military Coalition’s Communication Committee, representing 35 organizations advocating for service members, veterans, and their families. A nationally recognized champion of military families, she has spoken on behalf of military families at events and to the press around the country and internationally. Besa was named a Military Spouse Influencer to Watch by Military Spouse Magazine in 2021. Under her tenure, NMFA launched a Research and Insights department to better understand the military family experience, expanded our Operation Purple programming, and brought Bloom: Empowering the Military Teen into the NMFA family.

To amplify NMFA’s work for military families, she also met with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, who wanted to publicly thank America’s military families for their sacrifices in ensuring the country’s freedom and independence. While in Eastern Europe, Besa was also honored with the Elena Gjika award for her philanthropic work and the Madeline Albright award for her support of military families in the United States and freedom abroad.

During the five years Besa spent reporting on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she met her husband, a now-retired Marine Corps veteran and started their own military family.

Besa graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Journalism and a Business minor. She also received a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where she focused her degree on the social, scientific, and humanistic dimensions of today’s world.

Besa lives on Capitol Hill with her husband and their three children.

Jacqueline Raia

Jacqueline Raia

Director of Human Resources and Administration

Jacqueline joins NMFA after 20 years of public service with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, where she oversaw financial management, people operations, administration, and planning for three divisions.  She is a passionate champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Jacqueline chaired the Hispanic Employee Resource Group and also supported the establishment of the first Veteran’s Employee Resource Group while at the Fed.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Jacqueline comes from a family with a long and proud tradition of serving in the military, including her father who served in the Navy during the Korean War. She spent several years working with former military who were transitioning into the civilian job market and continues to support the community through the Veteran Mentor Network.

Jacqueline earned a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a Master’s Degree in Human Resources from University of Maryland Global Campus, and is a SHRM – Senior Certified Professional in Human Resources (SHRM-SCP).  She currently resides in Virginia with her husband and twin daughters.

Nakita Fowler

Nakita Fowler

Human Resources + Administration Coordinator

Nakita first joined NMFA during her final semester internship while studying at Penn State University. Now a graduate with a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, she is returning to NMFA to dedicate her career to supporting military families. She began her career in the Child Development Center on MCLB Barstow while earning her A.S in Child Development. After a PCS to San Diego, she opened her own Child Development Home and remained open to military families for six years. Another PCS allowed her the opportunity to further her degree and to include a whole family focus. Nakita strongly feels that family well-being is a key factor to consider in military readiness.

Nakita and her husband both grew up in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. They have two teen sons, and they enjoy hiking and exploring their current duty station on their time off.

Elena Ashburn

Elena Ashburn

Programs + Research Assistant

Elena Ashburn started working at NMFA in 2022 as a Programs and Research Assistant. An active-duty military brat, Elena co-founded Bloom: Empowering the Military Teen in 2020 with her best friend after a particularly difficult PCS. Bloom is a website for military teens, by military teens, and it has articles, videos, and art all about the life of a military-connected child. As outreach coordinator, she oversees and executes all the social media content for Bloom, and she also acts as an editor-in-chief for the blog of over 200 articles. Articles she wrote for Bloom have reached thousands of readers, including both the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Defense.

She has been featured in publications such as People Magazine and Military Times for her work, collaborated on research and projects with organizations like Blue Star Families and the National Military Family Association, and been contacted by government bodies such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Education concerning her advocacy and research.

She is also the 2022 Military Child of the Year of the Army and is a first-year at the University of Florida studying Political Science

Matthew Oh

Matthew Oh

Programs + Research Assistant

Matthew has held many random titles throughout his life, from Student Body President to Shakespeare Troupe videographer to Token Asian, but Programs & Research Assistant at the National Military Family Association is definitely one of his favorites. Matthew previously collaborated with NMFA as the co-founder and co-director of Bloom: Empowering the Military Teen, and helped facilitate the development of the joint NMFA-Bloom Military Teen Experience Report and the Field Guide to the Military Teen.

As a lifelong Army brat, Matthew has lived in seven different states and most recently completed three years in South Korea, where he graduated from high school and became an expert (not really) on midnight video calls and wacky time zone conversions. In his free time, you can probably find him practicing percussion, reading a good book, composing scores on GarageBand, or editing a travel video. Matthew is excited to help out at NMFA for a short time before heading off to Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee) to study music education in the heart of Music City.

Development

Lyndy Rohe

Lyndy Rohe

Director of Development

Dubbing herself “a small town Minnesota girl, with big city dreams,” Lyndy finds herself on the National Military Family Association Development team checking off a few of her ‘big city dreams.’ A Political Science and Pre-Law graduate of North Dakota State University, she’s interned for Congress, was a real estate developer, and owned a restaurant. Her true passion for building community and connecting military families to resources and programs ignited when she married her high school sweetheart, an Air Force Officer. After a hard day’s work raising funds to support military and veteran families, she embraces the chaos of military life, while raising four awesome kids.

To support or become a sponsor, email Lyndy Rohe at lrohe@militaryfamily.org

Stephanie Shunda

Stephanie Shunda

Deputy Director of Development

Joining NMFA as the Foundation Relations Manager is a dream come true for Stephanie. This opportunity bridges her passion for supporting non-profits with part of her personal life as a military spouse. Stephanie has worked in various sectors of the non-profit field for more than 13 years, holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Monmouth University, and is committed to advocating for military families. In her non-existent free time, she enjoys reading all kinds of books, baking tasty treats, and spending time with her active duty Coast Guard husband and 2 children exploring their newest duty station location (state #5 in 12 years).

Shanna Gauvin

Shanna Gauvin

Grant Relations Officer

As the granddaughter of a Soldier and an Airman who met through a military pen pal program, and now the spouse of an Army Reservist, Shanna feels the fates aligned to bring her to NMFA. With a background in strategic development at the USO and Meals on Wheels America, her most gratifying professional achievement was expanding the What to Expect Project and USO’s Special Delivery baby shower program to celebrate growing military families at more than 30 installations worldwide.

Shanna earned her B.A. in Human Services and Social Justice from The George Washington University and is currently working toward an M.S. in Gerontology from Virginia Commonwealth University. She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband, their dogs Hoover and Glory, and shelves brimming with mystery novels.

Kristen Stoll

Kristen Stoll

Development Officer

Kristen proudly joins National Military Family Association with a desire to provide donors the opportunity to continue to create a strong impact on the lives of military families. For the past 13 years, Kristen has enjoyed creating meaningful connections with donors to raise essential funds that support the work of community-focused nonprofits and institutions of higher education. Her true passion, both personally and professionally, is engaging in work that truly makes a difference in the lives of others.

A native of a small town in Northern Wisconsin, Kristen holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse and a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Northeastern University. Returning to the Midwest after six years on the East coast where she began her career, Kristen was struck with the acute awareness that the Wisconsin accent is real, as is the warmth and generosity of its residents! She currently resides in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband, two children, and a cat. She enjoys traveling “up north” with her family, as often as possible, to enjoy the beautiful summers on the water.

Debbie Townsend

Debbie Townsend

Development and Database Coordinator

Debbie brings to NMFA many years of experience in nonprofit development, primarily in donor relations and database administration. She is proud to have been born in Annapolis, Maryland, while her Navy officer father served on the faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy. Debbie grew up in Oxford, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts. After college, she moved to Texas where she earned a Master of Arts in Communication while working at her first job in the nonprofit sector for an organization that produced inspirational radio and television programs. Aside from a three-year “detour” teaching high school speech and drama, Debbie’s career path has led her to development positions at various nonprofits advocating for missions and causes she personally could endorse. Debbie is delighted to support military families through her role at NMFA.

Outside of work, Debbie is active in her church where she sings in the choir. She enjoys walking scenic trails, exploring historic sites and museums, and planning trips and traveling. Debbie and her husband, David, live in Northern Virginia.

Government Relations

Kelly Hruska

Kelly Hruska

Government Relations Director

Kelly became the Government Relations Director of the National Military Family Association in 2015. In this role, she leads the Association’s advocacy for the families of the eight Uniformed Services and monitors the range of issues relevant to their quality of life. She began her work with the Association in 2007 as a Government Relations Deputy Director and served as Outreach Coordinator in 2014.

Kelly has represented military families on several committees and task forces for offices and agencies of the Department of Defense (DoD) and military services. She is co-chair of The Military Coalition (TMC), an organization of 34 military-related associations. She is also co-chair of TMC’s Survivor Committee. In 2008-2011, she represented NMFA on the first DoD Military Family Readiness Council.

Prior to joining NMFA, Kelly worked to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs as the chief of staff of CONNECT and the chief of staff of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.

A Navy spouse for 27 years, Ms. Hruska has served in various volunteer leadership positions in civilian and military community organizations including COMPASS mentor, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, The Girl Scouts, and Navy Spouses Clubs.  She was also appointed to the City Commission on Children and Youth by the Corpus Christi City Council.

Kelly is a recipient of the Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Medal in recognition of her work on behalf of service members and their families at Navy Region Center Singapore.

A Pennsylvania native, Kelly earned her B.A. in Political Science from La Salle University and a Masters of Public Administration from Shippensburg University. Ms. Hruska and her husband, Captain Jim Hruska, USN (Ret) reside in Annandale, Virginia with their daughter, Emily.

Eileen Huck

Eileen Huck

Government Relations Senior Deputy Director

​Eileen Huck became Deputy Director in the Government Relations Department in October, 2012 after previously holding positions in the Youth Initiatives and Development Departments. In her role as Government Relations Deputy Director, Eileen monitors issues relevant to the quality of life of families of the uniformed services. Her primary area of focus is health care, to include the Military Health System, TRICARE, and behavioral health care. In this capacity, she serves as the co-chair of The Military Coalition’s (TMC) Health Care Committee and as the Association’s representative on the TRICARE for Kids Coalition. Eileen also handles issues related to wounded warriors and military caregivers. She is a former co-chair of the TMC Personnel Committee and Awards Committee and served as an ex officio member of the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3). She has been recognized for her work advocating on behalf of military-connected children by the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS) and the Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA).

Prior to joining the Association, Eileen volunteered as a case worker with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society in Mayport, Florida and served as adviser to the USS HALYBURTON Family Readiness Group. She earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Georgetown University and served two tours overseas as a Foreign Service officer. A Navy spouse, Eileen has lived in Virginia, California, Florida, and Rhode Island.  She currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, CAPT Michael Huck USN (ret) and their two children.

Caitlin Hamon

Caitlin Hamon

Government Relations Deputy Director

Caitlin joined the National Military Family Association as Deputy Director in 2022. She has a passion advocating for military families. Caitlin monitors issues relevant to the quality of life of families of the uniformed services.  Her focus is on children’s education, child care, youth/teens, defense resale, and voting. As an Army brat, she comes from a family with several generations of servicemembers dating back to the American Revolution.

Prior to working for NMFA, Caitlin served as Associate Director at the Military Officers Association of America covering issues pertaining to the Uniformed Services. She successfully advocated for legislation which expanded the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps and addressed several other needs to be on par with the other services. She has also served as Secretary of The Military Coalition (TMC) and volunteered with the World War I Centennial Commission, an organization dedicated to building a national monument in Washington, D.C. for servicemembers from the first world war.

Caitlin is a proud alum of George Mason University. She currently resides in Westminster, MD with her significant other. She has a variety of hobbies including gardening, Krav Maga self-defense, and is an avid reader of fiction books.

Meredith Smith

Meredith Smith

Government Relations Deputy Director

Meredith joined the Government Relations Department in 2023 as a Deputy Director. In this role, she monitors issues related to the financial readiness and stability of military families. 

Prior to joining NMFA, Meredith worked in several non-profits around the country as well as in executive and legislative branches of state government, all experiences that have helped her intentionally dedicate her career to work that ensures equitable access to economic and educational opportunities. 

While stationed in California, she was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown of California to work at the Health Professions Education Foundation, a non-profit that encourages persons from underrepresented communities to become health professionals and increase access to health providers in medically underserved areas. Meredith worked as the Director of Policy for Nevada Succeeds, a non-profit education policy organization dedicated to aligning the state of Nevada’s education policies with the highest global standards.

Meredith joined the staff of Hiring Our Heroes in 2019 to support and manage the Military Spouse Professional Network (MSPN), a professional community of military spouses, comprised of more than 60 locations in 6 countries around the world. 

As an active duty Air Force spouse of more than 12 years, Meredith has volunteered in many roles to support military families and the civilian communities in which she has lived, serving as a Key Spouse and a guardian ad litem. She maintained membership in the Junior League while living in Sacramento, Las Vegas, and Washington DC. 

Meredith holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies and Political Science from University of Tennessee and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She lives in Arlington, VA with her husband. 

Marketing

Kimberly Ryan-Edger

Kimberly Ryan-Edger

Director of Marketing

Kim has spent 21 years working with the National Military Family Association. She is passionate about educating and empowering military families to advocate for themselves and for their military communities. She proactively advances the mission and objectives of the National Military Family Association through campaign and project management, integrated marketing programs, donor engagement, and the promotion of programs and advocacy efforts.

Working for NMFA is not just a job; it is an opportunity to connect with military families at a higher level. Kim has worked in all facets of communication in her time with NMFA. She optimizes the use of digital communication, marketing strategy, web design, social media, video messaging, and translating analytics into opportunity.

Kim was a military spouse for 20 years which included 9 PCS moves. She now resides in North Carolina with her three children.

Shannon Prentice

Shannon Prentice

Deputy Director of Marketing

Shannon is a creative marketer who joined the NMFA team in 2013. As the Deputy Director of Marketing, her areas of focus are brand development, cause-oriented fundraising, storytelling, and the strategy that makes them successful. She launched NMFA’s video marketing efforts in 2018 and now leads the creative team responsible for all web, print, and digital projects.

Prior to joining NMFA, Shannon earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from Florida State University and worked as a paralegal in the criminal defense, health care, and social services fields before moving into traditional marketing.

She is the granddaughter of two Marines, both serving meritoriously in World War II. Their service inspired Shannon to spend the last 13 years working in the military sector. She has been recognized for her efforts supporting the service members, families, and leadership of the US Navy Blue Angels and Marine Helicopter Squadron One—the unit responsible for the helicopter transport of the President.

Outside of the office, Shannon is committed to getting you excited about whatever she’s excited about. Right now, that’s Burrata cheese and truffle olive oil. She is a Jeopardy loyalist, almost never missing an episode. According to her friends, she’s a bad, but enthusiastic dancer.

Bryan Siegel

Bryan Siegel

Website Developer

Bryan joins the NMFA team nearly two decades of web development experience. He built his first website when he was 16 and hasn’t looked back. Bryan has evolved from taking apart VCR’s to building large enterprise solutions, in fact, his favorite hobby is code! Bryan is a Green Bay Packers and Anaheim Angels fan who also loves camping, video games and watching movies. He is married with three wonderful kids who hate his dad jokes.

Enas Osman

Enas Osman

Graphic Designer

Enas is a lover of all things design! She joins NMFA with the hopes of using her design skills to impact military families in a meaningful way. Her design approach to all projects includes research, searching for inspiration, creating a template layout…and coffee! While she has lived in Gainesville, Florida for more than 10 years, she is originally Sudanese & was born in Shendi, Sudan. She received both an Associates of Art & Associates of Science degree from Santa Fe College, followed by a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Art & Technology from the University of Florida. Go Gators! 

Melissa Greer

Melissa Greer

Email Manager

On a mission to only work with entities that serve others, Melissa is excited to bring a vast professional background to NMFA and use her skills to help spread the word about NMFAs programs to military families in need. Melissa is also co-owner of an End of Life support business that helps the dying and grieving process loss and transition. When she’s not working, Melissa enjoys gaming with her husband, unnecessarily rearranging the house with her kiddo, playing her crystal singing bowls and sitting in sun beams.

Angela Sablan Tenorio

Angela Sablan Tenorio

Content Manager

Born on an island yet bred for the world. From a humble upbringing on the island of Guam to years of education, fundraising, legal and nonprofit work on the U.S. mainland, Angela has never stopped trying to do her bit of selfless service. She comes to NMFA with no shortage of military service men and women in her life. Her grandfather, father, husband, two brothers, brother-in-law, and numerous uncles and cousins have served or currently serve in every branch of our Armed Forces. Naturally, getting to use her degree in Journalism and Media Studies to forge relationships with military families is a no-brainer, and she is pleased to get to do it on the national stage with NMFA. If you don’t find Angela typing away on her MacBook, iMac, or iPad (she’s an Apple fangirl), you’ll find her exploring the outdoors with her active duty Army husband and two kids. She loves ice coffee, beach outings, traveling, and crime shows. Fun fact: She can go toe to toe on trivia related to pop culture, Downton Abbey, or Golden Girls.

Strategic Initiatives

Raleigh Smith Duttweiler

Raleigh Smith Duttweiler

Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives

Once upon a time, Raleigh was a journalist… but then she logged into Facebook, got distracted, and became a social media geek. She’s passionate about public relations, social media, and the power of social technologies to build authentic relationships that lift up a community. Raleigh holds a B.A. from Barnard College and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. She and her husband, a Marine Corps Officer, have three small children, a dog, and more moving stickers stuck on their furniture than they can count.

Military Family Programs

Becca Garrison

Becca Garrison

Director of Military Family Programs

Becca began her career teaching in the South Bronx and has spent the last thirteen years channeling her passion for transformational learning and growth into action for schools, nonprofits, and social impact startups across the country. She is honored to support the incredible NMFA program staff in developing, implementing, and delivering programming serving military children, spouses, and families.

Becca is a proud daughter of a Marine, and gratefully celebrates the service of her brother and father (both USMC), her sister-in-law (Army), her cousin (Air Force) and every family member that has supported them in their service and many deployments and moves. Becca is consistently amazed at the courage, resourcefulness, and determination of military spouses, like her mother, Ann. Known by her wonderful niblings as “Auntie Becca,” she lives in Connecticut, and supports disaster preparedness with the local Community Emergency Response Team.

Natalie Mizell

Natalie Mizell

Program Manager, Operation Purple Program

Natalie was born at Fort Meade Hospital to military parents, so she says marrying a military man was inevitable. They have a college-bound daughter and a dog that will never leave home. Natalie’s position involves researching questions from and providing information to military members and their dependents. Friends and family always ask her to research things for them because she enjoys learning new things and educating others. Natalie loves being a part of our Association because of our passion for military families.

Chelsea Grout

Chelsea Grout

Program Manager, Operation Purple Program

Growing up in a military community, Chelsea has seen first hand the daily sacrifices and dedication each military family makes to support their loved one in uniform. She is honored to serve military families and give back respite and love through our Operation Purple camps. Chelsea lives in Seattle, WA with her husband Mack. Together, they own a jazz piano school where they teach the rich history and technique of jazz piano to adults around the country! When she isn’t supporting military families and the arts, Chelsea can be found in the mountains with friends or cuddled up with a good book.

Christy Brown

Christy Brown

Program Manager, Operation Purple Program

While taking time off from her career to raise her children, Christy found fulfillment volunteering—particularly supporting military families. After volunteering for NMFA for the past six years, Christy is excited to transition to staff member! She loves traveling and all outdoor activities. She hold a Bachelor’s in Anthropology from Mary Washington College and is married to an active duty Coast Guardsman. Together, they have PCS’d five times!

Julie Falls

Julie Falls

Program Manager, Scholarships

Julie joins the team with tons of military life experience. She’s the daughter of a Marine and the spouse of a retired Airman. During their 27 years in the Air Force, her military family moved 11 times, even spending 4.5 years in Germany. Despite her many moves, she remains committed to volunteering—giving her time to Girl Scouts troops, swim teams, Air Force Spouse Clubs, even recruiting others to volunteer their time, too. Julie hails from North Carolina, graduated from NC State University, is a proud Carolina Panthers fan, and enjoys kayaking, snorkeling, bike riding, swimming, and traveling.

JAIMEE Miller

JAIMEE Miller

Military Family Programs Coordinator

With 25 years as a military kid and counting, Jaimee brings her diverse array of experiences to the Military Family Programs team. She has lived all over the world, including Japan, the Netherlands, and every submariner kid’s favorite, Groton. Throughout the years, Jaimee has been steadfast in her dedication to service of others, and is delighted to take that dedication to the next level with NMFA. When she isn’t working, she enjoys powerlifting, teaching her dog Misty silly tricks, gardening, and studying meteorology.

Research + Insights

Aspen Bergmann

Aspen Bergmann

Strategic Impact

Aspen loves science and military families. She says science fills her brain, but supporting military families fills her heart. She’s an Army spouse of 15 years, mom of two kids, and loves supporting and empowering other women in the military community to promote family readiness. Aspen earned bachelor’s degrees in both Biology and Health Sciences and was a molecular biology researcher and a licensed Clinical Laboratory Scientist before joining the NMFA team. Fun fact: Aspen is a self-proclaimed “knower of random facts.” Anyone need a trivia teammate?

Contact

National Military Family Association
2800 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 250
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.931.6632

info@MilitaryFamily.org

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