When the Military.com team of active-duty and veteran military spouses hatched the idea for the Military.com Spouse Changemaker of the Year recognition, it was with a single purpose: Identify a spouse or community supporter who has worked quietly and tirelessly for the community on a single issue, and elevate him or her for everyone to see.
We knew the community doesn't need another spouse of the year award -- Armed Forces Insurance already puts on an incredible program under that banner. But what about an award that recognizes the quiet, hard work of one person on one issue? What about telling that story? Using our position as the top online military publication for such an effort just made sense.
So our internal panel selected three finalists -- Herrick Ross, for his work in spouse and veteran recruiting at Starbucks; Ashley Broadway-Mack, for her advocacy for LGBTQ military families; and Libby Jamison, for her continual push for military spouse employment. We gave ourselves the chance to tell the stories of all three on the pages of Military.com.
And then we put our heads together and identified from those three our 2019 Changemaker of the Year awardee: Libby Jamison.
Military.com recognizes Jamison as the 2019 Changemaker of the Year for her quiet, relentless work on behalf of career-minded military spouses.
Jamison has advocated for herself and others like her through her work with the Military Spouse JD Network, a bar association for military spouses of which she was president. She has advocated for military spouses in other careers through her volunteer work with San Diego's Chamber of Commerce, where she pushed for the area to become a military spouse empowerment zone, dedicated to hiring spouses.
She has started a consulting firm, Mission License, with another military spouse, through which she plans to help both spouses and non-spouses navigate the challenges of relocating with a professional license. And she has led the charge with the states of California and Washington, successfully lobbying for changes to their attorney licensing rules.
"I'm incredibly grateful for this recognition from Military.com and the opportunity to highlight the hard work being done by so many amazing organizations to improve outcomes for career-minded military spouses," she told us.
Jamison is the very definition of the type of person we at Military.com sought to elevate through the Changemaker award. Congratulations on your recognition!
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