
TRAINING / FELLOWS

The DEPLOY (Diversify and Expand the Pipeline Of Leaders Of Your Military Community) Fellowship Program a key component of the Campaign for Inclusion. These racially-diverse leaders serve for one year in paid Blue Star Chapter-based or national roles at Blue Star Families while they receive training in military and Veteran service organization leadership curated by several key partners. Their fellowship work focuses on improving experiences and increasing representation of military families of color in community settings across the country. Upon graduating, they become a pipeline of talent for eventual positions of leadership within the military and Veteran service organization space.
THE 2021 DEPLOY FELLOWS

Leslie Wightman
Salesforce Technology DEPLOY Fellow

Nicole Rawlinson
Blue Star Outdoors DEPLOY Fellow

Anicia Myers
Robert R. McCormick Foundation DEPLOY Fellow, Chicagoland

Tonya Murphy
Lockheed Martin DEPLOY Fellow, National Capital Region

Kelley Klor
Amazon Food Insecurity DEPLOY Fellow

Adriene Engstrom
Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund DEPLOY Fellow, New York Tri-State

Charo Bates
USAA Policy & Social Impact DEPLOY Fellow

Brittney Aladetohun
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Financial Wellness DEPLOY Fellow

Quiana Abner
USAA National Chapter DEPLOY Fellow

Leslie Wightman
Salesforce Technology DEPLOY Fellow

Nicole Rawlinson
Blue Star Outdoors DEPLOY Fellow

Anicia Myers
Robert R. McCormick Foundation DEPLOY Fellow, Chicagoland

Tonya Murphy
Lockheed Martin DEPLOY Fellow, National Capital Region

Kelley Klor
Amazon Food Insecurity DEPLOY Fellow

Adriene Engstrom
Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund DEPLOY Fellow, New York Tri-State

Charo Bates
USAA Policy & Social Impact DEPLOY Fellow

Brittney Aladetohun
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Financial Wellness DEPLOY Fellow

Quiana Abner
USAA National Chapter DEPLOY Fellow
Meet The Fellows
DEPLOY At Work
Craig Newmark New York Tri-State DEPLOY Fellow Adriene Engstrom's primary objective is to be an advocate and example for military families. She spends a significant amount of time immersed in her surrounding communities, engaging with families, hosting inviting programs, and assisting partner organizations. This year, Adriene has had the privilege of working with the West Point Buffalo Soldier Association, participating in its inaugural Buffalo Soldier Parade, and supporting newcomers of the West Point community alongside Balfour Beatty. Adriene also hosted a series of events through the summer, including the two-part Grow Where You Go program and START reading program.




Amazon Food Insecurity DEPLOY Fellow Kelley Klor focuses on partnering with Blue Star Families’ staff to develop a comprehensive plan to increase awareness of food insecurity challenges based on research and outreach to partners and community members. She has been enhancing communication skills to destigmatize the issue of food insecurity, expanding knowledge and curating resources to share with Blue Star Families’ audience, and growing a deep understanding of the current pressure points facing military families nationwide. Kelley worked with Blue Star Families’ staff to activate and create content for the Food Insecurity Landing Page. She is also working with other DEPLOY Fellows to write future posts highlighting their areas of expertise. Throughout her efforts, she has made connections with other organizations working in the military food insecurity space and drafted MOUs to partner and share resources. Not to mention, she has assisted the Applied Research team with ideas of future survey fielding questions and supported data visualization for the Blue Star Families' Social Impact Research 2021: The Diverse Experiences of Military & Veteran Families of Color report.
USAA San Antonio / National Chapter DEPLOY Fellow Quiana Abner's racial equity and inclusion work involves amplifying the concerns of Veteran and military families of color by taking a bridge approach through connecting and collaborating with local thought leaders in the Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous communities of San Antonio. In alliance with the African American Chamber of Commerce, national entrepreneurship agencies, and local BIPOC military-connected business owners, Quiana is focused on conducting extensive outreach to develop culturally-relevant social and respite care solutions and entrepreneurship resources that are impactful for military families of color and their businesses. At the national level, Quiana works in partnership with the National Chapter Director to curate service projects that connect civilian neighbors and military families in non-Chapter communities through volunteerism.


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