Spouse Fellowships

Kimberly Eng, Fort Bragg, North Carolina 

Kimberly is a financial readiness specialist/counselor with Army Community Service at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. She believes a program like the Military Spouse Fellowship Program can provide military spouses with accreditation that will always be in demand in the military and civilian world. She uses the budget techniques she learned through the program to manage her family’s finances. “When you are a military spouse, you’re constantly moving, constantly changing,” Kimberly said. “This certification is invaluable—you can take it with you anywhere and use it wherever you go.”  Read More.

Shin Yi Fulton, Killeen, Texas

Shin Yi, a native of Taiwan, moved with her husband to the U.S. and needed to figure out what to do for a career. She proved to have a particular interest in the areas of counseling and financial management after taking a career assessment at the Employment Readiness Center on Fort Hood. The FINRA Military Spouse Fellowship Program allowed her to gain portable skills and turn these interests into a career path, as well as helping others which is very important to her. "I enjoy working with soldiers. It's so rewarding when I can help them get out of financial troubles and I'm ready to learn a lot more to help soldiers learn about their finances." Read more.

Kathy Hobbs, Yorktown, Virginia

Kathy is a personal financial readiness volunteer assistant at Fort Monroe Army Community Service in Hampton, Virginia. Kathy offers financial counseling, training and education to military servicemembers and their families. Kathy feels the lessons of the fellowship will continue to resonate and plans to stay involved in the financial counseling field. The program has given Kathy a set of portable job skills and the ability to help families in need of financial education. "The FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship Program has enriched my life, and it's allowed me to help others and myself. It's invaluable." Read more.

Amy Hutchison, Norfolk, Virginia

Amy is a financial educator at the Fleet and Family Support Centers of Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia. She attributes her career achievements to the training she gained through the Military Spouse Fellowship Program. The program helped fine-tune her financial management skills, and she uses many of the financial lessons and tools in her daily life and work. "I love helping people," Amy said." If the resources and assistance I provide to servicemembers and their families can make their day a little better, then I have done my job." Read more.

Renee Jaffer, Okinawa, Japan 

Renee is an accredited financial counselor at the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society in Okinawa, Japan. She enjoys sharing her fellowship expertise with servicemembers and their families. The fellowship has empowered her to manipulate finances in new ways. "With education comes confidence," Renee said. "The fellowship program has given me that."  Read more.

Heather Keller, Butte, Montana

Heather says that the skills she learned from the Military Spouse Fellowship Program helped her family get their finances in order. After completing the program, she was promoted from volunteer to branch director at Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS)—where she later accepted a position as director of education for CCCS of Montana/Rural Dynamics Incorporated. "If you are in a tough financial situation today, it’s important to focus on getting out of it," Heather said. "But, don’t forget to dream and plan for tomorrow."  Read more.

Astrid Lutter, San Antonio, Texas

Astrid had trouble finding a stable and satisfying career path for several years. As a military spouse, the PCS moves she and her husband had to make complicated her ability to gain any relevant work experience. The FINRA Spouse Fellowship program has allowed her to develop a career that she is passionate about, with skills she can take with her anywhere. In the future, Astrid plans to stay on this career path and to continue developing her skills as an accredited financial counselor for military servicemembers and their families. "I plan on taking these skills with me to our next base, and to all the bases after that. I know now that there's more out there for me to do."  Read more.

Tara Sanders, Norfolk, Virginia

Tara has moved nearly a dozen times in 15 years, leaving little room for job stability. The Military Spouse Fellowship Program gave her the chance to gain skills that complemented her transient lifestyle and to give back to the military community. Tara currently volunteers at the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) in Norfolk, Virginia, as the casework coordinator, but hopes to broaden her career in financial counseling as a trainer working with NMCRS offices throughout the world. "I know how stressful deployment cycles can be, and I'd like to give fellow military families peace of mind—and help ease financial strain," Tara said.  Read more.

Christy Schrock, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Christy is the Military Spouse Fellowship Program's first graduate. She manages the Fort Campbell Financial Readiness Program's Consumer Affairs Office. Today, Christy and her husband are debt-free—after paying off $80,000 in debt, including student loans, car loans and credit card bills—and are confident about their financial future. Christy inspires military servicemembers and their families with her story—and with the knowledge she gained through the program. "As financial counselors, we are not selling financial products," Christy said. "We are an unbiased source of information."  Read more.

Arndrea Thomas, Goldsboro, North Carolina

Arndrea is a financial manager at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Airman and Family Readiness Center in Goldsboro, North Carolina. She completed the Military Spouse Fellowship Program just six months after she was accepted into the program. She estimates that the program increased her knowledge of personal finance issues by 300 percent, knowledge that informs all of her interactions with military servicemembers and families who visit the center. "I like doing something that makes a difference and empowers people," Arndrea said.  Read more.

Mitchia (Shay) D. Tull-Cook, Odenton, Maryland

Shay supervises Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Financial Readiness Program and oversees Army Emergency Relief for Army Community Service, where she helps injured military servicemembers and their families build brighter financial futures. Shay finds that the fellowship has reinforced her personal financial savvy and has better prepared her to counsel clients. "The Military Spouse Fellowship Program has given me the information I need to provide great service to my clients in the area of financial readiness," Shay said.  Read more.

Erin Willis, Silverdale, Washington

Erin, a former member of the U.S. Navy, already understood the financial hardships that military servicemembers can face. The FINRA Military Spouse Fellowship has given her an opportunity to help these servicemembers and their families, and also gain valuable skills that she can take with her wherever she goes. In the future, Erin plans on staying on the path of personal financial counseling and she tries to recruit other spouses into the Spouse Fellowship Program at any chance she gets. "I tell every spouse I talk to about the program and encourage them to apply."  Read more.

Laura Wittig, Honolulu, Hawaii

Laura is a program manager with the Army Community Services office. She believes that the Military Spouse Fellowship Program empowers military spouses to make better decisions, and now feels more confident in her financial decisions—and in her ability to educate the military community. "Servicemembers and their families are deployment-ready, but often they are not financially ready," Laura said.  Read more.

Joan Yarrell, Rockledge, Florida

Joan, a reserve officer in the Air Force for 19 years, has always had a goal to become a certified financial planner. Joan is on a steadying career path with the 340th Flying Training Group, Financial Management Office at Randolph AFB, and the FINRA Spouse Fellowship Program served as a means for her to gain more knowledge and a certification to help move her career forward and become even more knowledgeable about personal finances. "One thing I've learned is to be more disciplined about finances. This course has taught me that it's not something you do once a month, but you use these tools on a daily basis."  Read more.

Cathy Yoakum, Aviano Air Base, Italy

Cathy coordinates and teaches classes and financial readiness events at the Airman & Family Readiness Center at Aviano Air Base in Northeastern Italy. A military spouse for 20 years, Cathy uses her first-hand experience of living on one income to connect with her clients. Cathy believes that being prepared financially is very important and plans to use the skills she's obtained through the fellowship to expand her career in financial education. Cathy’s goal is to "spread the word about how important it is to live within your means, have a budget and save."  Read more.

Kimberly Zamagni, Oceanside, California

Kimberly puts her program experience into practice at a San Diego office of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, where the training she gained through the Military Spouse Fellowship Program helps her provide financial, educational and other assistance to servicemembers and their families. Kimberly has refined her family's money management skills—a byproduct of a program that's taught her to better manage other people's money—and her own. "I’m always looking for different avenues to help reduce military families' debt," Kimberly said.  Read more.