Lisa Slaba

Share your military spouse story:
I have been an Air Force spouse for over 6 years. In this community I have learned the importance of finding, sharing, and utilizing the resources available. These resources have included getting involved with the local spouses club to becoming a resource as a key spouse to bringing a known resource to a new community. When I met my husband in 2015 in North Texas, I never imagined I would be so willing to follow someone. I was established in my community; volunteering at my church and with Special Olympics, working full-time, completing my BAS, and of course friends and family. The thought of moving from a community that became home in 2014 had not crossed my mind. I guess that is what love will do to you. I started looking for ways to get involved, which led me to joining and volunteering with the first of many military spouse clubs. I became concerned about employment opportunities and opted for a career change with a looming PCS. We then welcomed our first child which further changed things and moved me to working part time from home with family. After our second child, the urge to go back to the work force full-time became strong. Since moving to Alaska and experiencing working from home full-time, I realized the need to connect with other military spouse professionals.

Share an example of your leadership experience within the military community:
In my time as a military spouse, I have served in multiple leadership roles. I have served as a Key Spouse where I have provided resources to fellow military spouses. I have also served in multiple positions on military spouse club boards to include the President, Secretary, and Holiday Bazaar Vendor Coordinator. In total, I have been a part of raising over $150,000 in military dependent scholarships and community grants. I have organized a 250+ vendor event for the local and military communities to enjoy shopping from local artisans. I have also launched and currently lead the Alaska Network with the Military Spouse Professional Network reaching over 70 spouses from Army and Air Force Bases.

Describe your involvement in the military community:
I have been involved with the military community through being a Key Spouse at Sheppard AFB, FE Warren AFB, as well as Eielson AFB. I feel it is important to connect spouses and families to their local community and the resources available as soon as possible. I have also served on spouses club boards at all three locations listed above. This has allowed me to be involved with and help provide a safe place for all military spouses to connect. As well as help provide scholarships to military spouses and dependents to further their education. I have also served as a board memeber of the Council for Military Spouse Clubs. I have also launched the Alaska Network with the Military Spouse Professional Network through Hiring Our Heroes through the US Chamber of Commerce. I am military liaison through the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation to find ways to support military members and their families when it comes to housing, employment, and general quality of life issues in Alaska.

Describe how you support your community:
I have supported my community through being involved in the Key Spouse program to ensure spouses are aware of the resources available to them when moving to an arctic environment. I have also served on the Eielson Spouses' Club board to help build a community for all spouses to find their place as well as support scholarships and community grants through the local thrift shop. I have also provided a place for military spouses to network by launching and leading the Alaska Network for the Military Spouse Professional Network through Hiring Our Heroes through the US Chamber of Commerce. This allows a direct connection for military spouses to the Fairbanks community for employment and networking opportunities. Through my employment, I am also able to take a deeper look at housing, employment, and general quality of life issues related to the arctic to better support military members and their families.

What do you advocate for? Why?
I advocate for military spouse employment and fair pay as well as offering co-working spaces on installations. I feel these are of vast importance because working remotely allows spouses to be employed when moving from duty station to duty station. However, they also want to build a community as one might when working in an office setting. By providing a space on installation, they can find resources, meet other spouses, and potentially get out of a distracting environment when their work schedule does not always align with their active duty spouses schedule. With these concerns comes childcare. It can be difficult to justify paying for childcare if the pay you are making barely covers the cost. Safe and affordable childcare is important and hard to find when you have to move every few years.

How have you spread the message of your platform/advocacy?
I try to share things on my personal social media accounts (facebook/linkedin). I have not actively engaged the media. However, I am able to work on my MSPN endeavor through work.

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
I hope to network and find ways to help further military spouse employment efforts while also working on ways to make childcare easier to find and more affordable while ensuring the safety our children is at the forefront of the conversation. I also hope to work towards finding ways to get more dedicated co-working spaces on installations across the Air Force and potentially DoD to allow military spouses a place to connect while keeping their careers entact when they move with their AD spouse.