Washington, DC - Second Lady Karen Pence, in partnership with American Corporate Partners (ACP), hosted a third summit on military spouse employment solutions. Mrs. Pence delivered opening and concluding remarks via Zoom from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The virtual summit included over 46 of America’s leading business and nonprofit leaders, in addition to military spouses, and representatives from the White House and ACP. The summit allowed participants the chance to give updates on the specific solutions and commitments that they plan to make to address military spouse unemployment challenges. The summit also offered companies an opportunity to build on their learnings from the first two meetings and present actionable plans for the upcoming year regarding military spouse hiring, training, mentoring, licensing portability legislation, networking, and remote work opportunities.
“Military spouses are well-educated, hardworking, flexible, reliable, and loyal and are the kind of workers we want in the American workforce,” said Second Lady Karen Pence. “I applaud all of the participants today for making the commitment to help train, hire, and support our Nation’s military spouses.”
As part of the Second Lady’s military spouse initiative, Mrs. Pence partnered with ACP to invite American business and organization leaders to the White House for a series of business summits to create military spouse employment solutions. ACP is a nationwide, nonprofit organization that assists America’s veterans in their transitions from the military to their next careers. ACP provides transitioning service members with free, year-long, customized mentorships with experienced volunteer businessmen and women across the country.
“I’m proud to see how many of America’s finest companies have made military spouse employment a priority. The companies in attendance today are making real commitments for the upcoming year and we applaud them for their leadership in this area.” – Colleen Deere, Executive Director, ACP.
Military Spouse Employment Summits: Business and Nonprofit Participation
- 1st Summit: May 2019, 46 American businesses met at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to brainstorm and discuss ways their businesses can find private-public sector employment solutions.
- 2nd Summit: November 2019, 57 American businesses and seven organizations convened to continue the conversation about their ongoing efforts to brainstorm and develop plans to address military spouse employment challenges.
- 3rd Summit: December 2020, 34 American businesses and 12 organizations joined a virtual Zoom meeting to update and report the progress made in developing internal programs and action items to employ military spouses.
The Second Lady’s Military Spouse Campaign
Mrs. Pence launched a campaign in September of 2018 to honor and highlight the service of military spouses while also recognizing their unique employment challenges. Mrs. Pence has traveled the country meeting spouses, business leaders, and government officials advocating for more fulfilling career opportunities for military spouses.