State of the Military Family℠ Summit 2025: Together We’re Stronger®

Military spouses, advocates, leaders, and changemakers gathered for a full day of events in Washington, D.C. to celebrate Military Spouse Appreciation Day and discuss the most pressing issues facing military families. Powerhouse speakers addressed the current environment and its impact on the military community during our 2025 State of the Military Family Summit. Together, they committed to finding common ground and creating paths forward that strengthen America’s warfighters and their families. In the afternoon, NMFA unveiled its first-ever Operation Advocacy, a grassroots advocacy development program that brought 25 military spouses to the Hill and culminated in a bootcamp featuring personal storytelling and tactical workshops.

Setting the Stage

The day kicked off with a riveting keynote by The Honorable William R. Evanina, former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center and CEO of The Evanina Group. To level-set the Summit’s conversation, Evanina helped audience members understand today’s global threats, security concerns, and offered tactical solutions individual families and organizations can implement to remain strong. With Evanina’s insights, attendees were able to find solid ground in today’s dynamic environment from which they can build the solutions our military families and their supporters need.

Finding Common Ground

NMFA CEO Besa Pinchotti led military community leaders from across the political spectrum in a candid conversation about the issues military families need us to focus on now and where we can find common ground. Participants shared their own concerns and ideas, but all were united in addressing and supporting military family quality of life.

Healthcare Employment: Crisis Meets Opportunity

In a powerful panel moderated by NMFA’s MJ Boice, healthcare leaders and practitioners discussed how military spouses are uniquely positioned to help solve America’s healthcare labor shortage. Panelists included:

• Leslie Fautsch, Chief HR Officer at Leidos, NMFA Board member, and military spouse;

• Alex Ware, a leader in TRICARE delivery at Humana;

• Claire Buda, NMFA scholarship recipient, military spouse, and practicing nurse.

Together, they explored how career pipelines in nursing and mental health can uplift both military families and a strained healthcare system. The panel concluded with a surprise presentation: NMFA awarded a $5,000 Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship to military spouse nurse Claire Buda. NMFA’s scholarship program is sustained by long-time partner Fisher House, and Fisher House’s own Mary Consadine joined NMFA’s Becca Garrison, Director of Military Family Programs, in awarding Buda with these career advancing funds. It was a full-circle moment for Buda, who once stayed at a Fisher House while a loved one was receiving medical care.

Service Runs in the Family

We know military service often runs in the family, but how do today’s military families talk about service to their kids? NMFA partnered with Deloitte for over a year to better understand military families’ sentiments towards service.  Deloitte’s Rosemary Williams unveiled key findings from the study, which demonstrated that despite the unique challenges of military life, military families are still likely to recommend service to their children.

That insight was brought to life during the Summit’s final panel, Military Teens: Tomorrow’s Leaders Making Waves Today. Four military teens stole the show in a conversation moderated by Genevieve Oakley, one of the original founders of Bloom: Empowering the Military Teen, NMFA’s signature teen program. Together, they shared how service has shaped their identities, values, and aspirations throughout their young lives.

Their powerful stories earned a standing ovation and reminded everyone that service runs deep and continues to be a family legacy, but one in need of support. By investing in our military kids and teens today, we invest in our military and community leaders of tomorrow.

Operation Advocacy: Where Stories Spark Change

The afternoon’s Operation Advocacy was a three-hour bootcamp designed to inspire military spouses to become their own best advocates and match them with the skills they need to do so. Featuring some of the boldest voices in the military spouse community, Operation Advocacy combined personal stories with engaging presentations, workshops, and panels.

Longtime advocate, military spouse entrepreneur, and defense contracting superstar Lauren Weiner shared advice from Unruly, her new book. Lauren told the audience: “I don’t want to call my Congressperson. I want to be my Congressperson.”

That message was echoed by Maryland State Senator Dawn Gile, who traced her path from military spouse to elected office.

Reda Hicks led a rapid-fire Ignite session, in which participants had 5 minutes to deliver their personal advocacy stories through 15 auto-advancing slides. The format of Ignite presentations fostered creative, engaging storytelling and enabled three incredible community advocates to tell their stories:

• Heather Campbell shared her pivot from stay-at-home mom to fierce advocate for military family food insecurity.

• Isabel Garcia broke down how she and her business partner launched a moving company to meet the needs of military families during challenging PCS season and teaching military families how to navigate a PPM on their own.

• Ellen Gustafson, co-founder of the Military Family Building Coalition, took her own struggle with infertility into collaborative policy building. Thanks to her coalition’s bipartisan work and creative solutions, 18 babies were born in 2025 through supported fertility programs. “It’s not just personal,” she reminded the room. “It’s policy.”

How to Make a Pitch That Matters

NMFA’s Acting Director of Government Relations, Eileen Huck, moderated a panel of legislative professionals sharing insights on how to get lawmakers to listen. Congressional staffers including Ilka Regino (HASC), Phil Breuder (Sen. Cornyn’s office), Ben Donovan (Sen. Peters’ office), and NMFA board member Al Edwards pulled back the curtain on what makes a pitch resonate on Capitol Hill.

Their biggest takeaways? Data matters. Personal stories matter more. And persistence is everything. “Only about 100 out of 10,000 bills introduced become law,” Regino reminded the audience. “Make your issue undeniable.”

From Council Chambers to Courageous Campaigns

Military spouse and Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Kimberly Gold shared her journey into public office, describing how her campaign mirrored a pregnancy: full of vulnerability, growth, and transformation. Her advice for aspiring leaders: “Do it scared. Do it broke. Just do it.” Her experience was a resounding call to action: if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.

Building Your Advocacy Muscle

In a dynamic storytelling workshop led by the Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP), attendees learned how to transform their personal experiences into powerful advocacy tools. ASAP fosters a creative community where military families can thrive through the arts—empowering participants to find their voice and amplify their impact.

Later, NMFA’s own Joyce Wessel Raezer, legendary advocate and former Executive Director, energized the room with her candid and motivating session, “What to Do When You Hear ‘No’.” Drawing from decades of experience, Joyce walked attendees through the many forms of resistance advocates face—from “there’s no money” to “it’s just a local issue.” Her message was clear: every “no” is a chance to pivot, persist, and press forward without losing momentum.

Celebrating the Heart of Advocacy

The day closed with a Military Spouse Celebration, honoring the stories, strength, and success of the community. The message was clear from students to state senators: advocacy starts at the kitchen table—but it doesn’t end there.

Join NMFA in fighting for the change military families need. We need your voice and your story now more than ever. NMFA is working hard to have the Work Opportunity Tax Credit expanded to include military spouses, and we need your help.

We only have a few more days to tell elected officials that military spouses need jobs—and this legislation can help. Tell your members of Congress to support The Military Spouse Hiring Act and ask them to co-sponsor this bill. Your stories can be turned into meaningful solutions for the military families of today and tomorrow.

Together We’re Stronger®