Creating a Future where no service member feels alone

The first few days after my precious grandson Noah’s death are a bit of a blur, but I do remember that amid bottomless grief I felt intense anger at a system and individuals to whom we entrusted our healthy in body and mind boy; a system and individuals who eroded our boy’s ability to see beyond another tomorrow.  In his book Finding Meaning: the sixth stage of grief, David Kessler says, “The search for meaning after loss will lead each of us along divergent paths.”  I came to realize that finding meaning does not mean “making sense” or “accepting” or “moving on”; rather, it is about turning grief and anger into a vehicle for good.  My vehicle is led along a path illuminated by Noah’s spirit of trying to right wrongs, reveal truths, and help others.

My decades-long career as an educator as well as a Union advocate and negotiator provide the knowledge and experience, and my deep, unending love for Noah gives me the courage, fortitude, and motivation to fulfill the mission and vision of our organization.

On November 8, 2021, I lost my beautiful son, Noah, to suicide at the age of 19.  He was serving in the Army, stationed in South Korea.  Before this devastating event I was unaware that suicides in the military had risen to crisis levels.  I also learned that the practices our military branches employ are painfully ineffective in dealing with suicide among their ranks. Indeed, they had already identified some recommended practices that were left unimplemented, allowing the suicide rate to continue to rise. I am passionate about this cause because Noah’s suicide was preventable, and we need our military leaders to take action and create an experience in our military where all of our service members have lives worth living.

As Vice President of our GGMS Board of Directors, I bring my strategic planning and operations experience gained over the past 25 years spent in the field of education.  Having been a teacher, a non-profit leader, and now the Chief Operating Officer for a Brooklyn-based charter school, I have spent my career serving students, families, and communities.

Noah was truly one of a kind. It’s impossible to picture him without a smile on his face. He had the ability to make everyone around him feel comfortable and welcome, whether you knew him his whole life or you had just met him. He had the exact sort of kindness that is in short supply in the world today. It was heartbreaking to lose him.

While we cannot control what we lost, we can control what comes from our loss. With Noah in our hearts, we are determined to create positive change. Noah’s death illuminated the urgency of preventing suicide. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that men and women like Noah receive the support they need, both during their service and as they transition back to civilian life.

As a member of the GGMS Board of Directors, I bring my technical expertise as a computer programmer to create and support technology driven solutions.

When you, and the people around you, are hurting, it is easy to throw up your hands and wonder what you can possibly do to make the pain go away. While the pain of loss never truly leaves us, using our talents and skills to help others can help to channel the pain in a productive way.

I am honored and humbled to bring my 25+ of corporate communications and marketing experience to the Board of GGMS, where my role is to help drive awareness and understanding of the epidemic of active duty suicide, and to drive change. I do this in honor of Noah’s memory, and in gratitude for all of the other active duty soldiers who need our love and protection.