The Moaa Foundation

Programs: Military spouse professional development:the moaa military family initiative (moaa mfi) military spouse professional development program is a personal and professional development syllabus for military spouses representing all ranks and services planning to enter or re-enter the workforce or taking the next step in their professional careers. It's core component is "keeping a career on the move," a one day symposium held on military installations as an adjunct to the u. S. Chamber of commerce's "hiring our heroes" career transition summits, with whom we collaborate. The symposium has been presented 28 times in multiple locations across the country and overseas. The purpose of this all-day conference is to help spouses identify and articulate personal goals, build a bridge to local and federal resources, connect spouses directly with the local workforce by providing opportunities to engage with installation, community, state, and federal representatives, local and national employers, and other military spouses who have successfully kept and grown their careers on the move, and to offer advice, assistance, and expertise on leveraging personal experiences to obtain employment. This event is free and open to spouses of active duty, reserve, national guard, retirees, veterans, and surviving military spouses, service members, and veterans. In cy 2017, the moaa mfi hosted seven symposia. Over 500 military spouses throughout the country attended these events, gaining information and access to resources to boost employment readiness, networking with fellow professionals, and hearing from those who have kept a career on the move. During symposia at joint base charleston, joint base lewis-mcchord and camp lejeune, portions of the event were live-streamed on the moaa spouse facebook page, boosting access to those who were unable to attend the event in person. These videos were viewed by over 8,000 people with a reach of nearly 30,000. Providing virtual access to military spouses resulted in 443 engagements with the military spouse community. Additional support came in the form of a video welcome to spouses in new jersey and washington with personalized messages from senator patty murray and senator cory booker. As a supplement to this program, moaa offers free digital download of the "military spouse employment guide. " recognizing the various constraints that may preclude military spouses from physically attending the symposia, this valuable resource provides military spouses with resources, tips and important information enabling pursuit of a professional career while serving as an active-duty, reserve or guard military family member.

career transition - moaa programs supported by the foundation providetraining, education, and job-search assistance to service members ofall ranks, regardless of moaa membership, through live and virtual professional development and networking events, onsite career-transition presentations, a career-networking group on linkedin, and career-specific transition services.

voting education - this program reaches out to active-duty families,particularly military spouses, to educate them about the absenteevoting process. Moaa created a website and a brochure that can be downloaded to streamline the process of obtaining an absentee ballot and highlight available resources and important voter deadlines.