PROSPER AnnaMaria Bliven

Lindsay Hinger is a veteran, mental health advocate, and the founder of Gifting with Valor. She helps corporations choose meaningful gifts for their clients while sourcing high-quality products from veteran and military spouse-owned businesses. Today, Lindsay shares stories from transitioning to the civil workforce, climbing the career ladder, starting a few businesses, and the failures that she learned the most from. In addition, she emphasizes the importance of recognizing the first signs of mental health issues and explains the inspiration and concept behind her anti-facebook Facebook page. Lindsay’s mission is to support veteran and military-spouse-owned businesses, increase entrepreneurship in the veteran community, and provide resources for veteran suppliers.

Cheryl Schiltz is a speaker, coach, consultant, and author of Silencing the Noise of Disability: A Journey of Transformation. Today she shares her story of being introduced to disability and her journey from a silent world of constant anxiety to a fulfilled life.
Cheryl talks about the psychological and physical changes in her life, about the fight with the Noise, and becoming beautifully accepting of her state. Cheryl says that she considers the control of the disability mindset her bully, and discusses how she was able to overcome it to get herself unstuck. AnnaMaria also shares her experiences with the disability mindset spiral and the label of being disabled or differently-abled. Cheryl emphasizes the importance of recognizing that everyone is more or less disabled or challenged in some way and that we have to understand that we have a choice to step out of the place that has us stuck to move forward.

William Matteson was a Veterans Employment Representative at the Office of Veterans Services for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development in Janesville. He is a retired counselor and training professional with extensive knowledge in employee development, recruiting organizational management, and community outreach in military and civilian settings. William shares his experience and tips about transitioning from the military into a civilian career by explaining, communicating, and translating the military skills into civilian ‘language’ so employers can understand how military professionals can contribute to civilian companies. He discusses what to do when not getting calls to interview, explains how to write a cover letter, and shares the star statements no one should forget while creating a resume. William emphasizes the importance of communicating how military skills and training are beneficial in the civilian world.

Elizabeth Yeo is a 27-year Navy Veteran and the CEO and Founder of Veteran Charities Initiative. Also an author, advocate, international keynote speaker, and entrepreneur, Elizabeth is multi-faceted and passionate about her work.

Today Elizabeth talks about her transition out of the military and how she now helps fellow veterans, especially women, avoid surprises upon leaving the military and entering the civilian workforce. Elizabeth says her 30 years of experience in the corporate world across six different industries has shown her that the many skills learned in the military and the quality of those skills are not openly recognized in the corporate world.

Elizabeth is constantly using her voice to advocate and, as a consultant, helps corporations understand the benefits of having women veterans in leadership positions. She was moved by the low statistic of women leaders in the corporate world and the non-understanding of the civilian workforce towards veterans. Elizabeth emphasizes that the work she does is to bring more awareness to veterans’ skills and the differences they can make in leadership positions in the corporate world.

Henrik de Gyor Is a writer, speaker, podcaster, co-founder of My DAM Services, and consultant at Another DAM Consultancy.

Today Henrik discusses synthetic media and why people are apprehensive about accepting it. He says that the grim picture many people have of AI is a product of the influence of movies, media, and entertainment. However, Henrik has an optimistic outlook on synthetic media and explains its usage for creative purposes, how it can reduce costs in many industries, and why it can change the lives of disabled people. He emphasizes that this technology offers fantastic opportunities to open new jobs and save money because it allows people to “be in more than one place at a time.” Furthermore, Henrik says, this technology will change our reality very shortly, and it will be an opportunity to scale oneself and bring education to the next level. Answering the question about fear of new things, Henrik says, “The technology itself is neutral. What you do with it is based on your intent.“

Energetic James Bower is a Veteran of the US Army. He served as a Helicopter Crew Chief and a Supply Sergeant and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Certified Senior Veterans Service Representative. James is passionate about serving those dedicated to serving others and is the founder and owner of VeteranBargains.com.

James says that he enlisted in the Army at just 17 years old and shares stories about his time in the helicopter division. He explains how he experienced a relatively easy transition from the Military into civilian life but that he had to overcome challenges and how that influenced his journey to becoming a speaker and Veteran service representative.

James and AnnaMaria discuss the negative stigma surrounding Vietnam-era soldiers, the shame vets are feeling, the difficulties they have with transitioning, and how to get out of difficult situations. VeteranBargains.com is a labor of love that James has created to show his appreciation for all those who served our country and is an incredible resource for all veterans, active-duty service members, and first responders. Listen to hear James share some excellent and inspirational advice.