BTM197 – Melissa Washington – Women Veterans Alliance
About Today’s Guest
Melissa Washington, Navy Veteran, Founder & CEO: Award-winning advocate, speaker, author, entrepreneur, CEO, publisher, Radio Show Host, 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 veterans.
The daughter of a Bronze Star Army Vietnam War veteran, Melissa grew up in San Francisco’s East Bay. Fiercely independent as a child, she spent many afternoons in her family’s video store, developing an early sense of business acumen. That enterprising spirit continued into her teenage years when Melissa began training for a career in early childhood education while still in high school.
But something else sparked in Melissa just as she was finishing her certification. Seeking to expand her world and serve her country, the 18-year-old enlisted in the Navy, spending three years on active duty and five years in the reserve. She did a 6-month "Med Cruise" and a 6-month "West Pac" deployment during her active duty. That formative experience set her life on a completely new trajectory—not only taking her across the globe and teaching her vital lessons but also introducing Melissa to her husband and, ultimately, inspiring her to transform thousands of lives.
In the mid-nineties, she chose to leave the Navy early, having witnessed the burdens that come with a dual-service family. While her husband would remain in the Marine Corps for 21 years, Melissa embarked on a new path, earning her bachelor’s degree in business management. She followed with a decade-long career in corporate recruiting and human resources, working with such entities as Nissan, Oracle, Tickets.com, Randstad, and the 2002 Winter Olympics.
But in 2009, amid The Great Recession, Melissa was laid off. Despite the setback, she relied on her military training—which taught her to be adaptable and resourceful—and her innate sense of resilience. Above all, Melissa saw an opportunity to reinvent herself once again.
Initially, she held LinkedIn workshops from her dining room table, imparting her vital knowledge to others. Soon, she was hosting larger workshops, which eventually grew into speaking engagements with hundreds of attendees. In 2011, she established Melissa Washington, Inc., a consulting service catering to businesses and individuals that incorporates LinkedIn for research, recruiting, job seeking, and collaboration.
After four years at LinkedIn, where Melissa managed global meetings, she returned to her entrepreneurial roots. But this time, she focused on her fellow women veterans. A natural networker, Melissa initially sought to connect with her peers outside of traditional veterans’ organizations. Yet, the more meetups she planned, the more she realized the need for a dedicated support system for women veterans.
In 2015, what started as a local meetup turned into Women Veterans Alliance—a global organization that seeks to empower and positively impact the lives of women veterans. Three years later, she established the nonprofit wing of WVA, Women Veterans Giving. Both entities offer women veterans opportunities to gain valuable career experience and successfully integrate back into civilian life. WVG also helps fund women veteran-owned businesses, which other organizations often overlook. To date, they have awarded over $20k to women in veteran-owned businesses. In 2016, created and produced the first "Women Veterans Unconference." Developed The Beyond Call of Duty Award Honoring Sgt Nicole Gee to honor and recognize the women in our communities.
In 2021, Melissa expanded her role in the community by co-founding Women Veterans Magazine—the first publication of its kind to address the issues affecting women veterans and provide them with local and national resources.
Aside from serving as CEO of WVA and WVG and publisher of Women Veterans Magazine, Melissa stays busy as an in-demand public speaker whose topics range from Maximizing Impact to Unlocking the Power of Purpose. She speaks regularly at conferences and events around the country and has spoken at over 100 events—presenting for the likes of Marriott, the Urban League, Blue Diamond, and IMEX America. Melissa has also appeared on the Dr. Phil Show and the Lifetime Channel’s The Balancing Act, as well as on SiriusXM, iHeartRadio, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, among others.
Additionally, Melissa is the author of Get Back to Work: Smart & Savvy Real-World Strategies to Make Your Next Career Move (FriesenPress, 2014). And Unstoppable: Being Fierce, Fearless & Unf*ckwithable in Life and Business, based on her experiences with WVA, which offers practical advice on creating a meet-up group and becoming an influencer within one’s community (Brave Healer Productions, 2022).
A longtime resident of Northern California, Melissa was a 2011 recipient of the Sacramento Business Journal’s prestigious 40 Under 40 award and was among the Journal’s Women Who Mean Business honorees in 2017. She has also been recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners with an Outstanding Women Leader Visionary Award and received the 2016 Soroptimist Ruby Award, which recognizes women helping women. In 2019, she received the Center for Women Veterans’ Trailblazer Award. In 2022, she received her first Federal Appointment to the Small Business Administration Advisory Committee on Veteran Business Affairs (ACVBA).
In 2022, Thrive Causemetics Inc. featured a "Melissa" Warm Sienna Sheer Strength Hydrating Lip Tint to honor her infinite impact on the community. In 2023, she started Veteran.Events to provide event services to the veteran and military community.
Outside of work, Melissa enjoys spending quality time with her husband, Jarrod, and daughter, Maya. In addition to being an avid genealogist, Melissa loves vacationing with her family—particularly trips that involve a beach.
Her grandfather, a WWII Army Air Corps/Air Force Veteran who received the Bronze Star and Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters, served in the 509th Bomb Squad AC in the Eastern European Theater with 37 missions over Germany.
Her husband is a retired Marine who served in combat in Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
For this week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the PsychArmor course, Women Veterans Series. This four-part video series dives into their history, triumphs, and unique challenges from the Revolutionary War to present day. You can find the resource here: https://learn.psycharmor.org/courses/women-veterans-series.
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Links Mentioned In This Episode
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor, the premier education and learning ecosystem specializing in military culture content. PsychArmor offers an online e-learning laboratory with custom training options for organizations.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families. You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com
