Tara Crooks is a thirteen-year military spouse known for her ability to inspire and empower. Tara holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management, though she will smirk at its applicability to what she feels she was “born to do.” Tara found her niche in starting Army Wife Talk Radio during her husband’s first deployment in 2005. What began as a fun “hobby” grew in popularity as Tara realized that her experiences and need for resources were shared by many other military spouses.
Called “Oprah of the Armed Forces” by Katie Couric, Tara has been a featured military family life expert in USAA Magazine, Military Times, Stars and Stripes, Lifetime.com, Army.com, and Military.com and is a contributor to the Household Baggage Handlers book of military spouse stories.
She was named the American Legion Auxiliary Woman of the Year 2008 for her service to military families, and to Who’s Who among Military Spouses 2009 by Military Spouse magazine.
Tara has taken an active role in supporting her local military communities as an avid volunteer, Master Trainer, FRG leader, and Spouse Club board member. She has keynoted events such as AAFES Military Spouse Appreciation Day, Command and General Staff College Spouse Night, and U.S. Army Reserve Senior Leaders conference. In April 2011, Tara joined USAA as a Community Manager of their Military Spouse Community.
She and her husband, Kevin, have two daughters, two dogs, and a cat.
Starlett Henderson is a military veteran and National Guard spouse of sixteen years. She has her master’s degree in Counseling. Her desire to counsel and uplift military families drives her as Army Wife Network’s cofounder, speaker, and talk radio host.
Star has devotionals published in the most recent edition of the Battlefield and Blessing series, Stories of Strength and Courage from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She was awarded the FINRA Education Foundation’s 2011 Military Spouse Fellowship, which provides training to earn the Accredited Financial Counselor® (AFC®) designation.
Star and her husband have two children.
Kathie Hightower is a military spouse of thirty-two years. Her Bachelor of Arts in German didn’t lead to her current work, but the language sure helped her while she was stationed in Germany in the military and as she’s traveled Europe presenting workshops for spouses.
An author, columnist, and international speaker, Kathie designs inspirational programs that encourage corporate andmilitary audiences to access possibilities and “Jump into Life.” She’s been called the “Dr. Phil of military spouses.”
Besides the many columns coauthored with Holly Scherer that are listed below, Kathie has had frequent articles in R&R magazine, Off Duty, Stars and Stripes, and various post newspapers, along with many civilian publications. She is a contributor to Household Baggage Handlers, Heart of a Military Woman, and a number of nonmilitary books.
She is a retired lieutenant colonel from the Army Reserves; her husband is retired Army.
Holly Scherer is a military spouse of twenty-seven years. She has her master’s degree in Human Development and Family Relations. She’s also an author, columnist, and international speaker encouraging and enabling her audiences to live life “Now, not When.”
In addition to her work in education and research, Holly has always been an active volunteer in her military community. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to military families worldwide, including Volunteer of the Year, Outstanding Civilian Service Medal from the Department of Defense, Commander’s Award for Public Service, and the Army Engineer Association’s prestigious Essayons Award.
She was cofounder and facilitator of the “People Encouraging People” welcome program for newcomers to Germany at her local military community, a programthat became a blueprint for othermilitary communities throughout Europe.
Her husband is retired military; they have two children and a dog.
Tara and Star teamed up in 2006 to publish “Field Problems,” a military lifestyle Q&A column, and in 2007 began their spouse conference series Field Exercise™. The pair founded Army Wife Network in 2009 to combine their radio show, column, conferences, and Loving a Soldier blog, providing interactive empowerment for Army wives by incorporating the power of social media.
Kathie and Holly have partnered in writing and workshops for military spouses of all services since 1994. They’ve presented their trademark workshop Follow Your Dreams While You Follow the Military for military spouses all over the United States, Europe, Japan, and Korea. They’ve keynoted many of the military spouse conferences of all services worldwide. Frequent contributors to military publications, including years of columns in Air Force/Army/Marine Corps/Navy Times newspapers, Military Money magazine, Military Spouse magazine, and Military.com, they are also coauthors of Help! I’m a Military Spouse—I Get a Life Too!, in its second edition. They were designated two of the first Who’s Who in Military Spouses 2007 named by Military Spouse magazine.