I served 7 years in the United States Air Force as an Emergency Management Specialist. During my time I trained with many military and civilian professionals. While transitioning, I encountered some difficultiesbefore leaving the military. All military personnel must go through the transition assistance program (TAP) and the challenge of synchronizing civilian employment with the date of separation. Throughout my military career, I’ve had the privilege of crossing paths with some of the most influential, well-respected, experts (Emergency Management) across my career field who poured into my growth and development as an airman and ultimately mentored me. One of those mentors was Darren Pemberton, who served as the Installation Emergency Manager, who had recently retired from the Air Force, and later became a Director in the Business Continuity industry. He told me about the opportunity and encouraged me to leverage the DRI Foundation as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge, coupled with my Emergency Management experience. Along with Darren Pemberton, there were many business continuity professionals with whom I connected and networked on LinkedIn. They made it their duty to guide me along the way.

Before landing my first Business Continuity role at CPS Energy, the certification opened doors for me. For example, I was awarded the Veterans Outreach Program scholarship and registered to take a course. Before taking the class, I interviewed CPS Energy, and expressed my registering for the course in order to be certified, which would allow me to be a more valuable employee. I firmly believe that expressing this during the interview gave me the advantage, in addition to my experience and business continuity knowledge. I took the course, passed the exam, and gained my certification to which I felt more validated and credible in this space. The certification made me feel complete, as I knew I was equipped with the necessary skills to catapult my career in a promising direction.

I moved back to Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex in Texas, where I call home, to search for employment. My DRI certification most certainly landed me in my current employment working at GM Financial as a Senior Enterprise Resilience Analyst. I am currently the only person on the team with the credible background, experience, and certification to do this job. Although I have experience doing both, I believe that I would still be in the Emergency Management field or Finance/Banking. Thanks, DRI for this opportunity to be a part of something great!