S2.E33. Black Veterans and Their Mental Health

We are a day late of Veteran's Day on this release but the topic is still pertinent.  Often when we see imagery of those that serve this Nation in combat, we don't see faces that look like our guest Mary Tobin.  The lack of diverse imagery and understanding surrounding the vast number of black people who serve the nation is beyond problematic and steeped in systemic racism.  The American Therapy team sits down with MaryTobin, a decorated combat veteran and graduate of The United States Military Academy ( West Point).  Mary is a soldier's, soldier and that comes through loud and clear in this episode.  Mary opened up to the Amerika Therapy family and shared her very real challenges trying to deal with the mental health challenges she faced while trying to reintegrate into civilian life.  Mary's life and continued contributions to society inspire us all to become servant leaders.

Mary Tobin Bio:
Mary Tobin has over 17 years of leadership development, project management, community engagement, and public speaking experience. She is extremely passionate about addressing the social justice issues that negatively affect underserved communities and is committed to working with globally-minded leaders and organizations to develop solutions that will positively impact underserved cities and communities. Mary is very active in the world of advocacy and activism as she focuses on addressing poverty through collective impact and race and gender biases in the military and the society at large as the CEO and Founder of Tobin Leadership Consulting. 

 Her public relations campaigns in the media have established her as a thought leader concerning diversity and inclusion and she has been featured in major publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, CBS, ABC, NPR, the Washington Post, and the Associated Press. She has also lectured at the United States Military Academy, the University of Alabama, University of Georgia, Texas Tech University, Fordham University, and Radio One on issues around fighting poverty, diversity, and leader development. Notably, she was a featured speaker at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2018 speaking about the usage of data and analytics to solve poverty in one of her previous roles as the Director of the Brownsville Partnership, an initiative of the national nonprofit organization, Community Solutions. 

 Mary is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the New York Institute of Technology. She is a proud combat veteran, having served 10 years in the United States Army as a communications officer, including two combat tours in Iraq. Her previous roles include Senior Project Manager for the US. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a President’s Management Council fellow in the US Department of Treasury, a Chief Operations Officer for the City of Jacksonville, FL, and most recently the Executive Director, East Region- The Mission Continues. In her spare time, Mary serves as the Vice President of the West Point Women Alumni Organization, Committee member for the West Point Alumni Organization’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and Co-Founder of the West Point African-American Alumni Association. She is a proud Godmother and an avid sports fan. 

 Her personal motto is a quote from the late Muhammad Ali, " Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”