NMSN Military Spouse Highlights powered by USAA

Jen Pasquale, Army spouse, and Organizational Development Consultant has made peace with building a business that fits the life they are building as military retirees.

When she met her husband in 2004, she was a corporate trainer working as a freelance training & development consultant for global organizations. Once they were married and started a family, travel wasn't feasible. She had already begun to expand her skills in Instructional Design but took a hard pivot into that space, leaving the classroom behind.

She then worked part-time, raised their kiddos, and supported unit families. She was busy but grateful to be working in her field. When she moved to Germany in 2015, and her contract ended in 2016, she decided to take a year off and enjoy living abroad. They ended up getting extended for two more years and soon after the pandemic hit. By the time she came up for air, she'd been out of her field, in the corporate setting, for five years.

During that time she had seen a need in the military spouse community for the support of seasoned (or senior) spouses. She then launched a digital community that eventually focused on supporting the spouse's transition experience during retirement. She loved that work but struggled to contribute to her family's finances doing it.

In part because of that journey, she discovered strengths coaching and, in 2021, certified with Gallup as a strength coach and then later with CLCI as a Master Professional Coach. Through her work with Pride & Grit, she realized how much she missed teaching, learning & development.

In 2022, she took on her first client, supporting teams and organizations with team development using strengths. She was back in the classroom and loving it!

Since then, she's continued to grow her offerings and experience, now focusing on analyzing team cultures and providing recommendations and training for improving the teams' performance, retention, and profitability. She also gets to use her certifications to coach individuals in a season of transition - whether from military life, a career change, or life challenges.