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The DEPLOY Fellowship Program

The DEPLOY (Develop and Expand the Pipeline of Leaders Of Your military community) Fellowship Program is a key component of the United Military Families Campaign. It is a one-year, task-oriented, paid fellowship designed to build a pipeline of talented leaders within military and veteran service organizations. We want our future leaders of the MSO and VSO community to be experts in the issue areas impacting our families, as well as cross-functionally trained ‘doers’ who can identify a problem and work quickly, smartly, and collaboratively to create targeted and appropriate solutions. The DEPLOY Fellowship empowers its fellows through mentorship, professional development, and one-on-one coaching, enabling them to expand and acquire new skills. This directly supports the fellowship's mission of connecting talent with opportunity and strengthening the MSO and VSO sectors.

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About The DEPLOY Fellowship Program

The Role of a Fellow

What to Expect

Fellowship Goals

Frequently Asked Questions

The Role of a Fellow

DEPLOY Fellows is pivotal in enhancing specific functions or program areas within Blue Star Families. Their responsibilities may vary across several key domains, including Technology, Marketing, Applied Research, Government Affairs, Development, Chapters, and Operations. Fellows focus on critical social issues such as cybersecurity, food insecurity, housing instability, financial wellness, military spouse unemployment, childcare challenges, and other research initiatives.

What to Expect

One year of on-the-job cross-functional training
Three-day executive leadership training at Georgetown University - McDonough School of Business
Four professional advancement opportunities
One-on-one mentor provided by American Corporate Partners
Over 100+ networking opportunities

Fellowship Goals

The Fellowship Program has four goals:

To accelerate fellows' career trajectories by providing targeted on-the-job training and developing demonstrable leadership competencies.
To help develop an awareness of and solutions for the broader community to the specific challenges faced by military and veteran-connected families.
To nurture fellows’ desire to continue serving in the military and Veteran service organization space after their fellowship.
To build an understanding of the ecosystem of military and veteran service organizations.

These goals are addressed by fellowship training, individual projects, subject area efforts, collaboration with other military and Veteran service organizations, and job training/opportunities with our partners.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you look for in candidates?

A strong eagerness to learn about the nonprofit sector
A commitment to a one-year program
The ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment
A passion for or familiarity with the military community

Is the fellowship paid?

Yes. All fellows receive a taxable salary during the fellowship period.

The 2024-2025 DEPLOY Fellows

Wendy Cota

Welcome DEPLOY Program

Johnny Farris

Outdoors DEPLOY Fellow

Cierra Manuel

USAA Research & Policy DEPLOY Fellow

Benjamin Saldana

Cybersecurity DEPLOY Fellow

Chavelle Zackery

JPMC Financial Wellness DEPLOY Fellow

DEPLOY Fellow Alumni

View DEPLOY Fellow Alumni

Blue Star Stories: DEPLOY Fellows

Jerilyn poses in front of the Chicago River with her husband and children.

Cancer and Inclusion: Chicagoland DEPLOY Fellow’s Fight for Change

An expecting Lydiah poses in the middle, standing alongside her husband, son, and eight other soldiers at her baby shower.

An Unseen Issue: Navigating Life as a Foreign-Born Military Family

Zanade Mann poses, sits at a desk in front of a laptop.

An Interview with Zanade Mann, DEPLOY Fellow of the New York Tri-State Area

DEPLOY Fellow Andrea poses in a colorful graduation gown and sashes.

Using Culture and Influence to Drive the Campaign for Inclusion

Leaning In To Military Moms’ Experience To Better the Community

Angela Alford sits in a docked boat with one of her sons and Veteran husband.

Salesforce Lends Tech Support in the Campaign for Inclusion

Kimberly poses in front of three large elephants with her husband.

What You Should Know About Kimberly, the New Housing Insecurity DEPLOY Fellow

Marla Bautista, and her son hand out food to a man sitting on the ledge of a sidewalk in the city.

From Adversity to Advocate, Get to Know Marla Bautista

Being Authentic: Growing Connections Between More Families of Color with Transparency in the National Capital Region

DEPLOY Fellows at Work

Craig Newmark New York Tri-State DEPLOY Fellow Adriene Engstrom's (class of 2021-2022) primary objective was to be an advocate and example for military families. She spent a significant amount of time immersed in her surrounding communities, engaging with families, hosting inviting programs, and assisting partner organizations. During her fellowship year, Adriene 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 (class of 2021-2022) focused 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 enhanced 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 also worked with other DEPLOY Fellows to write posts highlighting their areas of expertise. Throughout her efforts, she made connections with other organizations working in the military food insecurity space and drafted MOUs to partner and share resources. She also 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 (class of 2021-2022) racial equity and inclusion work involved 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 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 worked in partnership with the National Chapter Director to curate service projects that connect civilian neighbors and military families in non-Chapter communities through volunteerism.