Jill Brown

Branch: Navy

Duty Station: Naval Station Norfolk

Number of Deployments: 1

Number of PCS's: 3

Share your military spouse story:
I met my husband nine years ago on a dating app. I had just moved to Virginia from Los Angeles to start a graduate program at NASA Langley Flight Research Center. Some L.A. friends recommended I try the app as a means to meet people. I decided to try it and that first weekend in Virginia the first person I swiped yes on was my now husband. We went on one date and I distinctly remember jokingly saying, "don't get attached because I am only here for a 4-month graduate program." The joke was on me. That grad program turned into a full-time role at NASA and now two children, three PCSs, 2 RCOHs and a deployment later, here we are, still together. My husband is a "Nuke" Chief on CVN73 USS George Washington. I remember when we were going through the Chief Season, his sponsor said something I'll never forget. "When you walk into a room you have a choice: you can be the thermometer, or you can be the thermostat." You either match the energy of the room, or you walk into the room and decide to set it yourself. Chiefs, she told me, are thermostats and no matter what room they walk into, they set the temperature. When we PCSed to CVN73 in Feb '22 the ship was in its fourth year of RCOH at the Newport News Shipyard. The living conditions of many enlisted sailors was, frankly, poor. We lived through an unprecedented number of sailor suicides our first six-months here and it was difficult to maintain the temperature of morale. I found myself personally confronted with that as my husband, who is already gone often, would sometimes get calls when he was home from young sailors saying, "Chief I'm thinking about hurting myself: I need help." On the one hand you think as the spouse, I have barely seen you - I need help! But immediately you think of someone else's child who just had the courage to reach out and "Ask a Chief," and you know they need your husband even more. I hope his leadership, and ours from home, has made a real impact in the lives of other sailors.

Share an example of your leadership experience within the military community:
In many ways I feel I'm not a typical military spouse but have tried to use that non-conventional self-identification to serve my veteran and military spouse communities at large. I have often found that as a military spouse with a full-time career it's challenging to plug-into local community events, which are often during working hours. Compounding that challenge has been being assigned to two ships (CVN72 & CVN 73) that are not in a conventional base but located in Refueling & Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at the shipyard - so there isn't as much of a community feel at times. The biggest way I have worked to overcome that limitation is to channel my passion for the military community into service through my employment at Honeywell. I have served on the steering committee of our Veteran Employee Network as Vice-Chair, advocating for our veteran employees, formal mentorship programs for transitioning veterans and drafting our first-ever corporate military spouse employment policy.

Describe your involvement in the military community:
Aside from advocating for military spouses within my immediate neighborhood and PTA groups, the biggest opportunity to advocate for military spouses is through my volunteer role on Honeywell's Veteran Employee Network. I know from being a military spouse how underserved the mil spouse community is in the workplace and I also know how reticent mil spouses are to self-identify based on the discrimination they face. I have advocated for the last four years within Honeywell for an explicit non-discrimination policy for military spouses, as well as providing flexibility for remote work when their active-duty spouse PCSs. Not only is this an incredible retention tool for our talented mil spouse employees, but it's also a recruitment tool to hire great military spouses nationwide. This policy (currently in review) is without a doubt the single greatest achievement of my career and has the ability to immediately, and ongoing, positively impact thousands of military spouses and Honeywell.

Describe how you support your community:
Serving on the Veterans Employee Network has given me the opportunity to amplify the voices within our military spouse communities - across all branches, not just the Navy. For my first two-years on the Network's council I was the Communications Chair and was able to utilize my personal network to have speakers like Representative Mark Takano the co-chair of the Veterans Affairs Committe, USAF veteran and Astronaut Mike Finke, and other distinguished guests who volunteered their time to speak at our Veterans Day Town Hall events for our network. Further we were able to partner with formal veteran mentorship programs like Hire Our Heroes and American Corporate Partners to mentor transitioning service members and military spouses. Last year I was able to arrange a partnership through our network with AmVets "Rolling to Remember" National Bus Tour in May which advocates for suicide awareness within the military community with a great turnout.

What do you advocate for? Why?
My big focus for advocacy the last four years has been on Military Spouse Employment and the policies needed to support. There was such a lack of awareness amongst my colleagues about the discrimination that Mil Spouses face. This is such a hugely underserved and underrepresented community in our nation that I challenged myself to face my own fears and start to speak up for mil spouses at work. The results have been overwhelmingly positive. When speaking to the senior leadership at Honeywell they have been incredibly supportive. Honeywell takes retention and recruitment very seriously and have been supportive of framing policies to protect and support military spouses and their unique circumstances. To be able to support a military spouse initiative that supports across all military branches in my own small way, but with a huge impact through Honeywell, has been deeply meaningful. This policy will be my proudest legacy more than any other work I've done in my 15+ year career.

How have you spread the message of your platform/advocacy?
Through communication channels within and without Honeywell. For example, Honeywell released a #Futureshaper campaign video about my mil spouse experience last November for Veterans Day. I utilize LinkedIn and our internal and external communication newsletters to promote the mil spouse and veteran causes that are so important to me, and my veteran employee community.

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
I hope to utilize the AFI Military Spouse of the Year title to: 1) Case a bigger spotlight on the discrimination the military spouse community faces and how easy it is to change that through educating the public (I once had a gate agent tell me "You don't count," when checking my military ID at bag check-in and her comment was so deeply hurtful, I vowed that I would count, and educate others that mil spouses do, in fact, count!). 2) Demonstrate to other large and small corporations that making a formal Mil Spouse Employment Policy can be done and can make a huge impact on their retention and hiring, 3) Be an example for other military spouses that even if you feel you're an unconventional mil spouse or just one person - you CAN make a huge impact or difference for your community by speaking up where you are to educate others on the power of mil spouses. That we must have courage to lead, too, just like our servicemember spouses.

Nominations

Jill has been a dynamic and engaged supporter of veterans as well as active duty service members. She provided support between family members with communication and advice during military families working through transitions between duty stations. She also acted as a conduit communication in being an advocate for military members and their who work at Honeywell. She brings great pride upon herself and the U.S. Navy and all those she has supported. She has my highest recommendation for Military Spouse of the year! V/r TSGT Tony Cartland, USAF, (ret) US Navy veteran
- by Gordon Anthony Cartland

Jill is a veteran, a military spouse, a mother and a full time employee in an industry directly supporting the Navy. Her husband, is assigned to a ship out of Norfolk. She also leads her Company's Veterans organization. Motivated, dedicated in all her roles, she is the truly deserving of the honor as Military Spouse of the year!
- by James Western

Vice chair of honeywells veteran employee counsel, recruits, retains, and provides professional development for reservists, veterans, and active duty mil spouses. Drafted honeywells formal military spouse employment policy, allowing spouses to remote work with PCS changes.
- by matthew david caldwell

Jill is an active-duty Navy spouse. Her spouse, is a Chief (CPO-MMNC) aboard the USS George Washington CVN 73, bound for Yokosuka, Japan in August 2024. They have 18.5 years of service to date in the Nuclear Navy. Jill is an employee of Honeywell International which is a $30B, Forbes-100 company. Jill is a Senior Offering Manager for our $12B Aerospace Technologies business. She specializes in technology products and services that support U.S. Military customers. Additionally, she is on the leadership team for our Honeywell Veterans Employee Network. Through our network, she has worked tirelessly to conduct activities within Honeywell to recruit, attract, hire and retain Veterans. She has also led effort within Honeywell to update policies that enhance the ability of military spouses to work remotely to align with current and future changes in spousal duty stations. This change in policy will increase the ability of Honeywell to retain military spouse talent.
- by David Johnson

Jill is an outstanding advocate for military veterans and their spouses. She successfully leads challenging projects while finding time to mentor and help others advance, often with little regard to her own needs. She is a high character leader with deep passion for excellence and compassion for her peers.
- by Toby Price

There is not enough room to articulate the impact Jill has had on our organization, not only for her efforts in driving our business success, but also the significant impact to our Inclusion and Diversity issues she brings to the table by volunteering to be our Veterans group co-chair and in advocating for military spouses in our organization. Jill has spearheaded the development of a corporate policy which will positively impact our recruitment and retention of military spouses and have a positive impact on the communities we serve
- by TJ Pope

Jill is a tremendous advocate for the military and military spouses in and outside of her official role as Vice-Chair of the Honeywell Veterans Employee Network. She invests her personal time in driving the initiatives, communications and outreach. She has inspired me to be more actively supporting the military community. She is a compelling spokesperson and works tirelessly on behalf of HVEN, its members and the broader Honeywell organization that benefits from the skills and contributions of these outstanding service men and women. Jill helping drive the mil-spouse policy development with HVEN and Honeywell Corporate, broadening the impact and benefits this organization has on its members, the company and the community. Within our team she champions military colleagues, mentoring younger mil-spouses and advocating for their growth, development and promotion within the company. I wholeheartedly sponsor Jill for this recognition.
- by Lee Vetter

Over the past 4 years advocated for and drafted Honeywell's first ever formal military spouse employment policy which would permit full time remote work exemptions for active duty military spouses allowing them to stayed employed at Honeywell (a Fortune 500 company) through their spouses PCS orders. Vice chair for Honeywell's Veteran employee Council, where they recruit, retain, and provide professional development for reservist, veterans and active duty spouses. Locally has helped multiple military spouse from all branches transition to the Hampton roads area, and is actively helping sailors with job placement opportunities at Honeywell and resume writing.
- by Sidney Andrew Beard

Jill Brown is an exceptional member of the military community. She works hard taking care of her family during her husband’s deployments, and works with Navy contracts through her company to support the Navy’s mission of readiness. Jill Brown goes above and beyond to support the military and its missions in both her professional and personal life. I can think of no one more deserving to be recognized for their dedication and sacrifice as a Navy spouse.
- by Liana Saks

I am honored to work with Jill at Honeywell, she does a great deal to advance our Veterans Network within the company
- by Domenick Braico

Jill is extremely supportive of her military family, and she shows it often by recognizing them, whether active duty or veteran personnel wherever she goes. Her love for supporting the military shows in her day-to-day job where she also supports the Navy directly and indirectly. I myself am a veteran of the USN and have never witnessed spousal support like Jill exhibits. I am very proud to know her and work with her.
- by Kyle Castor

Jill has done an outstanding job with the her leadership of Honeywell Veterans Employee Network. This is amazing work she goes out of her way to do to ensure veterans are represented and a priority at Honeywell. She is not only an exceptional colleague at work but also an amazing mother and spouse supporting her husbands career in the Navy.
- by Christopher Matthews

Vice Chair for Honeywell's Veterans committee responsible for recruiting retaining and providing professional development for reservists, retired active duty and military spouses. Also she campaigned for and developed Honeywell (Fortune 500 company) first ever military spouse instruction that allows full remote work privileges to military spouses who's partner is executing PCS orders. Allowing them to maintain employment at Honeywell despite having to constantly move.
- by Justin Hgoue

Vice chair for Honeywell's Veteran Committee responsible for recruiting and development of reservists, active duty retirees and military spouses. Was instrumental in the development of Honeywell's first ever military spouse instruction which gives military spouses the ability to do remote work when servicemember executes PCS orders.
- by Jeffrey Ferg

Jill developed Honeywell's Military Spouse Policy from the ground up, which entitles military spouses to work remotely while executing Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) orders with their active duty military spouse. This policy allows the continuation of Honeywell's employees to continue their career path without being negatively affected by frequent military PCS moves every 2-4 years. Jill was instrumental in creating this policy to cultivate an environment of excellence, familial support, and financial security within the Honeywell's organization.
- by VanAnh McCormick

Jill's tireless efforts as Vice-Chair of the Honeywell Veterans Employee Network (HVEN) since 2020 have been nothing short of spectacular. Her dedication to the group has brought focus and has taken the organization to new heights. She has found novel ways to motivate people to attend meetings and contribute their volunteer time. She even coordinated an astronaut (Mike Finke) to come speak to the group, which helped bring in people from all walks of life (young, old, male, female, etc.). Honeywell is a global company and Jill's ability to motivate and advocate has united our military community across the continents like nothing I have ever seen.
- by Tom Konicki

I am a colleague with Jill along with being a Military Spouse myself. The work that Jill does with our Veterans network at Honeywell helps to create a company that truly welcomes military veterans, along with military spouses, and values the unique skills and perspectives they bring to the table. She goes out of her way to mentor other military spouses within the company, allowing us to see that it is possible for military spouses to have a thriving career at our company. Jill is working with company leadership to create companywide guidelines to support military spouses when we are required to PCS, allowing us to continue to be a valuable member of the company with much less disruption to our families. The passion that Jill devotes to supporting military members and family, regardless of branch or duty station, is felt daily.
- by Nicole Conley

Jill Brown selflessly exemplifies Leadership, Involvement, Community Building, Communication, and connecting others to Her Story. Along with her responsibilities as an active-duty Navy spouse, Jill has inspirationally advocated for the military community as the Vice Chair for Honeywell’s Veteran Employee Network, comprised of nearly 10,000 veterans in a Fortune 100 company. She expertly engages with Honeywell’s military community daily and encourages involvement in military-focused initiatives nationwide. She led countless nationwide presentations to empower volunteerism, leaves no question unanswered, and because of her remarkable leadership and engagement, she has inspired record levels of participation to support military programs that improve the lives of military members and their families. I strongly recommend Jill for selection as this year’s Military Spouse of the Year because she inspires, empowers, engages, and advocates for the military community at every opportunity!
- by Jason Motes

Jill inspired me as a military spouse to engage with my company's veteran network and assist with veteran's voice, but also how to set up a remote veteran's network.
- by Dru Anna Jackson

Jill is living proof that women can 'have it all'. She is a devoted and supportive spouse, an incredibly caring mother and an empathetic and reliable friend. While she excels professionally at her day job, she has channeled her other passions to build her own brand that mixes her different experiences and interests. She not only cares for the people around her, but animals as well, demonstrating her giving heart and welcoming spirit. An animal in need would no doubt consider themselves to have found a guardian angel in Jill. Through her diverse background and life experiences, Jill is the ultimate example of a powerful woman; one who is strong, determined and fearless, but also kind, thoughtful and welcoming.
- by Rachel Buoni

Jill is a key focal and leader of our Honeywell Veterans Employee Network, she continues to bring new ideas to the table and provides insight to areas of improvement. She is always available to provide assistance and a mentor to myself and many others within Honeywell, not only within the Veterans Network but outside of as well. She is a business leader for one of our top customers and more of the challenging with supply chain issues being seen though always knows how to communicate clearly to the customer and has her hand internally to help improve and deliver product to the customer on time as well as manage the business as a whole through contract requirements and managing the P&L. I would also consider Jill a friend as she does reach out to me and asks how I am doing as well as for others within our network to ensure we are all doing well and providing assistance or guidance as needed. She is an inspiring voice to new employees and helps share & be a voice for veteran spouses.
- by Kyle Grzywacz

Jill is a pile of energy balancing family, work, and the challenges of being a military spouse. I really appreciate that she makes the time to chair the Honeywell Veteran's network which is a great support network for me as a veteran. Jill and I have worked together in various work roles and I always enjoy hearing about her family and military life adventures. My wife and I greatly enjoyed our time in the military (both kids born in a military hospital) and it all brings back great memories. Please award Jill the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year.
- by Drew Karnick