Staying true to our mission, our signature program HERstory explores the lived experiences of women veterans throughout American history. Each month, MWM Phyllis Wilson hosts a new episode with a new story.

Follow our YouTube channel to see the latest episode. Check our previous programs below. You can also see all of our programming on the Programs Calendar.

Do you know someone?

Do you know someone with a story to be told? Do you want to share your story? Nominate a servicewoman to participate in our HERstory series using the form.

Shannon Huffman Polson

January 2021

Shannon Huffman Polson sits down with Military Women’s Memorial President, Phyllis Wilson, to discuss her experience as a woman in the Military.

At graduation from Duke University, Shannon was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in Army Aviation where she became one of the first women to fly Apache helicopters, serving on three continents and leading two flight platoons and a line company. Following her service in the Army, Shannon joined the corporate world.

Today, she is the founder of The Grit Institute and author of the new book The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World where she tells the tales of trailblazing women who learned to lead at the highest levels and how they overcame adversity and learned from their experiences.

Get the book here.

Denise Rucker Krepp

February 2021

Denise discusses her time in the military as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Denise works for the Naval History and Heritage Command and is also a locally elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner representing the Hill East community in Washington, D.C. She began her career as an active-duty Coast Guard officer. After September 11, 2001, she helped create the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. She also served as Senior Counsel on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. During President Obama’s first term, she was the Maritime Administration Chief Counsel and Special Counsel to the U.S. Department of Transportation General Counsel. Krepp’s family has long served in the military, including her husband, mother, father, uncles, grandfather, great uncles, and the generations before them. Denise has also done extensive research on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and shares her insights and stories in this wide-ranging discussion. This conversation is part of a year-long partnership with the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tomb.

Dr. Betty Moseley Brown

March 2021

Dr. Betty Moseley Brown sits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Marines as well as her upcoming book Leadership Lessons: Personal Reflections From a Woman Marine.

In May 2018, Dr. Betty Moseley Brown joined the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) whose mission is to enable VA to be the leading customer service organization in government. Dr. Moseley Brown is currently the Designated Federal Official for the Veterans’ Family, Caregiver and Survivor Federal Advisory Committee. Prior to this position, she was the Associate Director, Center for Women Veterans since November 2004. Dr. Moseley Brown’s passion for Veterans began during her United States Marine Corps service from 1978 – 1992. Her VA career, spanning decades, began in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) in San Diego. She served in various positions, to include a Veterans Benefits Counselor, management analyst in Compensation and Pension Service, and later working for the Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Policy and Program Management in Washington, DC. Dr. Moseley Brown earned a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Sarasota. She is an avid Toastmaster, achieving the highest level in public speaking of Distinguished Toastmaster in January 2011. Dr. Moseley Brown is a 2004 Leadership VA (LVA) alumnus and 2009 graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. From September 2012 – September 2018, she served as the 19^th National President of the Women Marines Association (a non-profit charitable organization comprised of women who have served or are serving honorably in the United States Marine Corps regular or reserve components and Navy women meeting the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) designation and have earned the Warfare Device/Service Ribbon with the Marine Corps device. In September 2016, Dr. Moseley Brown was awarded the Dickey Chapelle Award; honoring the memory of the late Dickey Chapelle, an American foreign correspondent who first covered Marines in combat at the Battle of Iwo Jima and was killed while on patrol with a Marine Corps infantry unit engaged in combat operations against enemy forces during the Vietnam War. The award was established by the Marine Corps League to extend recognition to a woman who has contributed substantially to the morale, welfare and well-being of the officers and men and women of the United States Marine Corps.

Presenting Sponsor for The Color of Freedom: Honoring the Diversity of America’s Servicewomen is Comcast NBCUniversal, with additional support from GEICO Military, Northrop Grumman, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Cerner Corporation.

Melissa A. Washington

April 2021

Melissa A. Washington sits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Navy, her decision to leave the military, the challenges of balancing a civilian career and being a military spouse and the importance of community.

Award-winning advocate, speaker, author, entrepreneur, CEO, and proud Navy veteran Melissa A. Washington wears many hats. Yet woven throughout her diverse pursuits is a mission of service—and a passion to empower her fellow women. The founder and CEO of Women Veterans Alliance—a national organization that seeks to empower and positively impact the lives of women veterans. She also oversees WVA’s non-profit division, Women Veterans Giving.

Melissa serves as an advisor to the American Veteran Organization of Women’s AVOW Magazine. An in-demand speaker and author, who has appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, SiriusXM, ABC, NBC, and Fox, among others, Melissa was featured in VAntage Point—the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ official blog. She has also been recognized by a variety of organizations, including the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Center for Women Veterans, who honored her with the 2019 Trailblazer Award.

Dr. Mylène Huynh

May 2021

Dr. Mylène Huynh sits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Air Force, how her childhood in Vietnam during the war impacted her choice to join the Air Force, and how her early exposure to her parent’s medical background influenced her current medical practice.

Dr. Mylène (“Mee-lenn”) Huynh (“Winn”) is board certified in Family Practice and Preventive Medicine with over 20 years experience in integrative health and medical acupuncture. Dr. Huynh’s passion is health and healing with a life mission to promote healthier communities. She is a functional medicine practitioner with special interest and training in clinical nutrition, lifestyle medicine, mindfulness meditation and evidence-based approaches to reversing chronic diseases.

Dr. Huynh obtained both her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She completed a 21-year US Air Force career as a flight surgeon, family medicine academic faculty, clinic director, consultant to the USAF Surgeon General on preventive medicine and global health. In addition to TruPoint Health, she serves as an integrative health physician at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Dr. Huynh holds appointment as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.

LTG (Ret) Patricia Horoho

June 2021

LTG (Retired) Patricia Horoho sits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Army and her time as the 43rd U.S.Army Surgeon General. She will also talk about the upcoming Women Veteran appreSHEation Day on June 12.

LTG Patricia (Patty) D. Horoho, Retired, is the Chief Executive Officer of OptumServe, the end-to-end federal business of Optum and UnitedHealth Group. Since forming OptumServe in 2017, Patty has grown the business by nearly 90%, resulting in an annual growth rate of 25%. This growth includes securing the $55 billion Veterans Affairs Community Care Network Third Party Administrator contract. Patty is a values-based servant leader whose life’s calling is to improve the U.S. health care system, focused in the areas of health care delivery and health disparities.

Under Patty’s leadership, OptumServe emerged as a nationally recognized thought leader for its expertise in the management of COVID-19 testing; and now serves as the operational arm for UnitedHealth Group’s philanthropic support to citizens living in vulnerable communities.

In addition to its COVID-19 services, OptumServe continues to grow and expand its support of technology, health services, data analytics and consulting initiatives for customers that include the Defense Health Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies.

Patty’s distinguished professional career includes 33 years with the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant General, the 43rd Army Surgeon General and Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command. She made history being the first woman, first nurse and non-physician to hold these posts. In these roles, Patty led the third largest health care system in the world, a global logistics, research and care network across five continents, with a multibillion-dollar budget and staff of more than 156,000. An expert in health care transformation, Patty moved the entire Army Medicine organization from a disease model of care to a system for health. She implemented groundbreaking and long-lasting initiatives around behavioral health, while improving health care considerations and force protection measures for military women. Patty has been humbled to serve and lead during pivotal moments in Army Medicine and in defense of the nation, including serving in the emergency room during the Green Ramp Disaster in 1994; standing up triage at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001; transforming care at the Walter Reed Health Care System from 2007 to 2008; and serving as the Special Assistant to the Commander, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, Afghanistan.

Prior to joining Optum, Patty led Accenture’s military health business as the client account lead and managing director for military health.

Currently, Patty holds positions on the UnitedHealth Group Equity Advancement Board, Schultz Family Foundation Board of Trustees, University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Home Base Honorary Board and Leadership Council, CLF Veterans Advisory Board, and CADA. Patty is also a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Women of Impact and a member of the international Women’s Forum.

Patty is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her Master of Science degree as a clinical trauma nurse specialist from the University of Pittsburgh. Patty has served as a Distinguished Professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Graduate School of Nursing, and holds a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Patty holds five honorary doctorates and has received numerous recognitions from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina, including a distinguished alumni and fellow award and a scholarship in her name.

Patty’s military awards and citations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, France’s National Order of the Legion of Honour Chevalier (Knight), Japan’s Defense Cooperation Award Second Class, and the President’s Lifetime Achievement award.

Summer With The Arts

As part of our Summer With The Arts series, this month’s HERstory highlights two women, both featured in the current exhibit created in partnership with UnitingUS. Military Women’s Memorial Collections Manager Amy Poe sits down with Gail Belmont and April Goodwin-Gill. Gail and April discuss how their military service played a central role in shaping who they are and how it has influenced their work as artists. Gail and April have found healing and comfort in their art and use it to inspire other veterans, service members, and their communities. Listen to the powerful stories of these veteran artists and learn about the meaning and creative process behind their art.

April Goodwin-Gill is an Army veteran who worked as an Ammunition Weapons Specialist in the 1980s. April served in Colorado, Italy, Texas and Alabama. She has turned to art as a therapeutic way to express herself.

Gail Belmont is a former WAC (Women’s Army Corp) who played trumpet in the WAC band during the Vietnam War. She served both on active duty and in the reserves in the late 60s and 70s, and then spent 25 years working as an Army civilian for the Department of Defense as a data administrator. In her role in the WAC band, she performed Taps at military funerals which was an emotionally taxing responsibility. In turn, she turned to quilting as a form of art therapy to help her manager her PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).

Summer With The Arts was created in partnership with UnitingUS and the presenting sponsor is OptumServe.