MCEC Podcast

Military Child Education Coalition

Every move. Every new school. Every time a military kid starts fresh, there's a story worth hearing and hands-on strategies to help! For educators, family members, and those who work with military families, in this podcast, we listen deeply, learn from experts, and celebrate the lives of military-connected children and young adults. We explore the academic, emotional, and social landscapes they navigate — connecting families and communities to resources, organizations, and schools that help every child show up college-, work-, and life-ready.

  1. 1d ago

    Simple Acts of Listening Save Lives

    Join us and sit down with the Objective Zero Foundation, a nonprofit built on a simple idea: veteran and military suicide can be prevented through connection and listening. Objective Zero operates a free, anonymous mobile app that connects service members, veterans, and their families to peer support and mental health resources, working from the belief that suicide can be prevented through the simple act of listening. We talk about how the organization trains volunteer peer supporters, called Pathfinders, who provide emotional support and help reduce loneliness and stigma for those struggling, and what military-connected families can do to recognize when someone needs to be heard. It's a conversation about presence, community, and how something as small as a conversation can make a real difference. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text.   Resources: https://www.objectivezero.org/ https://militarychild.org https://afsp.org/ https://www.dspo.mil// https://www.dspo.mil/Home/Tools/Resource-Library/spm/SP-Prevention-Outreach-Toolkit/ https://cssrs.columbia.edu/the-columbia-scale-c-ssrs/about-the-scale/ https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4448597/department-of-war-releases-its-annual-report-on-suicide-in-the-military-for-cal/   Glori Fernandez Contact Information: Glori@ObjectiveZero.org   Glori Fernandez Biography: Glori is a grown-up military-connected child herself. She now represents the other side of military-connected families as a spouse and mom to four military-connected children and works for our service members as Director of Objective Zero Foundation, providing hands-on support to over 3000 volunteers and representatives -- internationally and 24/7. Her heart is truly in this work because she lives it. When she's not saving lives, running an organization, and building out new communities through technology, you can find her in the garden where she loves working in the yard to protect her peace of mind.   Mixed & Mastered by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas, USA.   Made possible through generous funding by the USAA Foundation.   Related MCEC Podcast Episodes: #GotMySix, published 9.2.25 Mental Health Care and Military Families, published 9.10.24 Not All Heroes Wear Capes, published 12.6.22

  2. Sep 5

    I Am Not Alone - Caregiving Youth

    "It is a community to be seen and to be heard." Military-connected children make up a community of friends, advocates, caregivers, and leaders, and today we sit down with Seylah Stephens to hear what that looks like in her own life. Her honest, encouraging words are a reminder that no one has to go it alone, and that being recognized as you are may be one of the greatest gifts there is. Seylah shares her story of finding her place, first within her family, and then alongside other young people who understood her experience, and how that sense of belonging became the foundation for her own leadership. SHOW NOTES   Biography for Seylah Stephens:  Seylah tells us: "I am currently studying clinical psychology at University of California, San Diego. In my free time, I really enjoy being out in nature and practicing self care! Connecting with others is a huge part of my life, and hanging with my loved ones such as my family and friends keeps me grounded and motivated."   Resources: Military Child Education Coalition Website   David Nguyễn, Mr. International Student Self-Efficacy of Leadership: A Within-Group Analysis. 2015. Dugan, J. P., Garland, J. L., Jacoby, B., & Gasiorski, A. (2008). Understanding Commuter Student Self-Efficacy for Leadership: A Within-Group Analysis. NASPA Journal, 45(2), 282–310. https://doi.org/10.2202/1949-6605.1951 Oberle E. Social-emotional competence and early adolescents' peer acceptance in school: Examining the role of afternoon cortisol. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 20;13(2):e0192639. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192639. PMID: 29462163; PMCID: PMC5819800.  Parkhill, C.L. Deans, L.A. Chapin. Pre-leadership processes in leadership training for adolescents. Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 88, 2018, Pages 375-379. Shah EN, Szwedo DE and Allen JP (2024) Adolescent close friendships, self-perceived social acceptance, and peer-rated likeability as predictors of wellbeing in young adulthood. Front. Dev. Psychol. 2:1435727. doi: 10.3389/fdpys.2024.1435727     This episode is provided by generous funding from the USAA Foundation.   Mixed and mastered by Concentus, Media, Inc., Temple, Texas, USA.   Related MCEC Podcast Episodes: The Other Kind of Service - Caregiving Youth published 9.2.26 Military Kids as Caregivers published 4.29.25 S2S: Students Supporting Students published 5.25.25

  3. Sep 2

    The Other Kind of Service - Caregiving Youth

    Before school. After school. In the middle of the night when something goes wrong. Liz, Kasen, and Audrey have all learned to carry weight most of their peers never have to think about. They show up and care for a family member who needs them, again and again, in ways that rarely get noticed and even more rarely get thanked. They're not alone: an estimated 3.4-5.4 million youth provide essential caregiving in the U.S., and yet there's no national system in place at schools, hospitals, or doctor's offices to even recognize a child as a caregiver. In this episode, these three incredible young people open up about what that invisible work actually looks like day to day: the responsibility that arrives too early, the exhaustion that goes unspoken, and just how rare it was to feel truly understood — until they found other kids living the same reality. They talk about what changed when they found each other at MCEC, and what it means to finally feel seen and heard by people who simply get it. Julie Coffey, who helps lead the Caregiving Youth Student Leadership Program, joins the conversation to share how the program gives these young caregivers something they didn't know they were missing — a peer community built around the kind of service no one sees, but everyone needs.   SHOW NOTES Guests:  Liz. Kasen. Audrey. Julie Coffey: our beloved Student Well-Being Manager at MCEC. Julie manages the Caregiving Youth Student Leadership Program, as well as many of our other student initiatives, like Student-2-Student (s2s) and the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Program. As a former educator, counselor, and a military-connected Caregiving Youth herself, Julie dedicates herself to helping military-connected students recognize their place of belonging in this world. Resources: https://militarychild.org   Information about the Caregiving Youth Student Leadership Program: https://militarychild.org/programs-and-initiatives/caregiving-youth-student-leadership-program/   Citations: Armstrong-Carter E, Siskowski C, Cornish NR, Olson E. Adolescents' caregiving for family: Associations with mental health and academic performance. J Res Adolesc. 2025 Sep;35(3):e70045. doi: 10.1111/jora.70045. PMID: 40586181; PMCID: PMC12221208.   Miller KEM, Hart JL, Useche Rosania M, Coe NB. Youth Caregivers of Adults in the United States: Prevalence and the Association Between Caregiving and Education. Demography. 2024 Jun 1;61(3):829-847. doi: 10.1215/00703370-11383976. PMID: 38785364; PMCID: PMC11539003.   Mixed and mastered by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas, USA.   This episode is made possible by generous funding from the USAA Foundation.   Related MCEC Podcast Episodes: Military Kids as Caregivers published 4.29.25 S2S: Students Supporting Students published 5.25.25 S2S: Helping Students Succeed published 8.20.24

  4. Aug 21

    Protecting Kids' Mental Health, Joyfully

    Every child faces some level of stress, and for many, that includes Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, which can increase the risk of mental health struggles down the road. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Whitney Raglin Bignall, Associate Clinical Director at The Kids Mental Health Foundation, about how protective factors like strong relationships, a sense of belonging, and yes, JOY, can help buffer kids against that risk. We explore what protective factors actually are, how they work alongside joy to build real resilience, and simple ways caregivers, educators, and communities can strengthen them in a child's everyday life. It's a grounded, hopeful conversation about turning joy into more than just a nice moment, but a genuine source of protection for kids facing hard things.   Show Notes: Mixed and mastered by Concentus Media, Temple, Texas, USA. This show is provided by generous funding by the USAA Foundation. Biography for Dr. Whitney Raglin Bignall:  Dr. Raglin Bignall is the Associate Clinical Director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation and the Director of Community Impact and Evaluation, where she utilizes her expertise in mental health disparities, cultural factors, and community partnerships to drive the foundation's mission to give expert-created resources to all U.S. communities so everyone can understand and promote children's mental health. Her vision is to build a world where mental health is a part of the upbringing of every single child. She enjoys having the opportunity to build relationships that break stigma and provide care that includes the whole child, family and community. She strives to become part of a family's village and network of care because she knows how essential and influential each member of that network can be.   Resources: https://www.kidsmentalhealthfoundation.org/   https://militarychild.org   https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html   Broaden & Build Theory: Fredrickson BL. What Good Are Positive Emotions? Rev Gen Psychol. 1998 Sep;2(3):300-319. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.300. PMID: 21850154; PMCID: PMC3156001. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226.   Related MCEC Podcasts for Deeper Listening: The Power of Positive Childhood Experiences, published 7.30.2024 Mental Health Care and Military Families, published 9.10.2024 Mental Health Education in Schools, published 9.19.2023

  5. Jul 31

    Community and Commitment, Minute for Minute

    Here, at Brooklyn Youth Sports Club, values are built in young people each moment as they enter into a study-to-play contract, minute for minute. Commitment, integrity, service, and dedication are just a few of the life-skills that BKYSC teaches alongside basketball, business, and trust. The students at BKYSC face many challenges, as do military-connected students: transitory lifestyles, instability and the stress-factors associated with it, and all of the typical struggles of adolescence. How do we, as caregivers to young people, best help? Stay present, whether physically or mentally. How do you create a community? Build it. How do you invest in the future? Speak it into existence, and then show up every day, day-after-day, and expect great things from your kids. They will rise.   Show Notes:   This show is made possible through generous funding from USAA.   Mixing and mastering from Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas, USA.     Resources:   Brooklyn Youth Sports Club https://www.brooklynyouthsportsclub.org/   Military Child Education Coalition: https://militarychild.org     Pygmalion Effect: Eden, D., & Shani, A. B. (1982). Pygmalion goes to boot camp: Expectancy, leadership, and trainee performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67(2), 194–199.   Confirmation Bias: Wason, P. C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 129–140.   Biography for Guest Host, Damon Lawrence: Damon Lawrence is formally know as the Director of Programs and Family Engagement for Brooklyn Youth Sports Club. Also know as, "Coach Dame", or "Dad", Damon can ball with the best of them or suit up for corporate work. These days, he focuses on instilling the values that young people will carry with themselves throughout their lives, values that Damon's own community helped pour into him at a young age. With a large family and an even larger community, they helped give him the jumping off point to become the man he is. For the kids at BKYSC, despite the many setbacks they may face due to life circumstance, he has helped them create an vision of growth, expansion, and excellence.

  6. Jul 23

    Protecting the Promise - Military Families and the Special Education Experience

    Imagine moving every year (or more)! Finding a new dentist, a new doctor, a new playground, the best spot for coffee, a haircut, a new school, a new friend! Now, visualize having all of these tasks and a child with special needs who needs supportive services right away. We sat down with the legal analyst and the director of research from Partners in PROMISE to talk about what the data really says about military-connected special needs families, and why every number in that research represents a family figuring out how to make it work, again and again. Behind every policy gap and every statistic is a parent who's become an expert in something they never signed up for. Come for the research. Stay to witness the incredible lengths these families go to, providing emotional stability and educational continuity for their children. Show Notes: This podcast is made possible through generous funding by the USAA Foundation.   This show is mixed by Concentus Media in Temple, Texas, USA.   Resources:   Partners in PROMISE https://thepromiseact.org/   Partners in PROMISE Data & Reports https://thepromiseact.org/our-data/   Military Child Education Coalition https://militarychild.org   Our Guests: Crystal DeVoss Mahany, MA, MPS Crystal has worked as a paralegal, advocate, policy researcher, and legal analyst in Special Education Law, and has taught courses on Special Education as a Civil Right and Disability as a Tenet of Diversity. A founding member of Partners in PROMISE, she serves as Adjunct Faculty at George Washington University. As a military spouse and mother to two military-connected sons with special needs, Crystal is a fierce advocate with a focus on Civil Rights, Disability Rights, and Special Education Law.   Dr. Jenna Kremkow Jenna is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elmhurst University, where her research focuses on the experiences of military families with children with autism and the use of technology to improve communication outcomes for these families. She holds an MS and PhD from Penn State with an emphasis in autism and augmentative and alternative communication, and has worked clinically as a speech-language pathologist in schools, clinics, and early intervention settings. Her goal is to use data-driven research to support policy changes that improve special education services for military families.

  7. Jul 7

    Stranger No More - Orion Military Scholars

    Picture this: the cool kids, the right clothes, the music that impresses, covering that acne, wiping those sweaty palms, and most importantly, getting the kids to include you, even though you’ve moved three times in these four years of high school. High school can be rough, especially if you’re moving every year or more often. With an Orion Scholarship, though, a homebase for your high school years is possible, and affordable. So maybe, you can at least face the challenges of high school with the same familiar faces by your side, because everyone deserves to be known. Join us to learn more about the Orion Military Scholars Program and how you can become a part of it today.   Show Notes: Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas, USA. This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the USAA Foundation.   Resources:    The Orion Military Scholars https://orionmilitary.org   Military Child Education Coalition https://militarychild.org   Biography for guest host Lisa Smith Molinari:   Co-founder of national nonprofit Orion Military Scholars, award-winning author, attorney, military spouse, and mom, our guest Lisa Molinari's talents are far-reaching and have a wide and deep impact. Her focus on helping families stems from her lived experience, and her approach to life is full of humor, practical strategies, compassion, and the wisdom that only comes from weathering storms. The Orion Military Scholars Program provides financial resources to military-connected students so they can have a consistent high school experience, without moves, at boarding schools across the country that provide excellent educational and social opportunities. Lisa is there to walk families through every step of the way as they navigate the application and process to become Orion Military Scholars.

  8. Jun 11

    Stars, Stripes, and Sesame Street

    As a staple of our childhoods and a safe space for our children, we all know and love Sesame Street. Perhaps we were unaware of the resources available specific to military families. Join us and long-time expert and representative of Sesame Street, Rocio Galarza, as we explore the exciting website for families, educators, and community members who support military-connected children on Sesame Street for Military Families! Wellness, everyday challenges, deployments, grief, healing, military life, routines, and building bonds are just a few of the topics that you can find outstanding resources and activities made for you and your child. In this episode, we highlight the recent updates to the website that make it even more user friendly for educators and families.   Show Notes: Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.    This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the USAA Foundation.     Resources: Sesame Street for Military Families https://sesamestreetformilitaryfamilies.org/   Military Child Education Coalition https://militarychild.org/   Military OneSource https://militaryonesource.mil     Biography for guest host Rocio Galarza: Rocio is the Vice President for Sesame Street's U.S. Educational Programs, targeting social impact and how to connect families with necessary resources. She has been with Sesame Street for over twenty years and has consistently focused on Social Emotional well-being for children and families, as well as how to strategize on a larger national scale to secure resources for programs providing this safety at scale. We are honored to explore the recent updates to the website Sesame Street for Military Families with Rocio!

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About

Every move. Every new school. Every time a military kid starts fresh, there's a story worth hearing and hands-on strategies to help! For educators, family members, and those who work with military families, in this podcast, we listen deeply, learn from experts, and celebrate the lives of military-connected children and young adults. We explore the academic, emotional, and social landscapes they navigate — connecting families and communities to resources, organizations, and schools that help every child show up college-, work-, and life-ready.

Information

  • Creator
    Military Child Education Coalition
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    377
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    MCEC Podcast

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