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Vice Admiral Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., became President of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) in September 2002. He is MOAA’s ninth President in the organization’s 80 years.
A native of Mountainhome, Pennsylvania, Admiral Ryan graduated from the United States Naval Academy in June 1967. He is also a graduate of George Washington University, with a Master of Science Degree in Personnel Administration, and the Senior Officials in National Security Program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
He was designated a Naval Aviator in 1968, and his numerous operational and sea duty assignments included command at the Squadron and Wing level culminating with command of Commander, Patrol Wings, U.S. Pacific Fleet/Commander, Task Force Twelve (CTF-12).
In addition to his operational assignments, Vice Adm. Ryan has also served as Company Officer/Midshipman Personnel Officer, U.S. Naval Academy; Deputy Executive Assistant/Aide to the Chief of Naval Operations; Executive Assistant to the Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Total Force Programming and Manpower (Pers-5); Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Distribution (Pers-4); and Chief of Legislative Affairs.
In November 1999, Admiral Ryan assumed the duties of Chief of Naval Personnel/Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower & Personnel), a position he held until his retirement in August 2002.
Among his awards and decorations Admiral Ryan is authorized to wear the Navy Distinguished Service Medal (w/1 Gold Star), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (w/3 Gold Stars), and the Meritorious Service Medal (w/2 Gold Stars).
The Admiral and his wife Judy have two adult children and one grandchild, and reside in Fairfax Station, Va.
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Captain W.G "Bud" Schneeweis, USCG-Ret., has more than a decade's experience in the human resources community and extensive experience with military personnel issues. He researches and writes articles regarding military benefits, health care and survivors issues for MOAA and travels widely to discuss these matters with service members, retirees and their families.
During his nearly 28 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, CAPT Schneeweis served in a wide variety of seagoing and other operational assignments including command of several cutters and shore units.
CAPT Schneeweis joined the staff of the Military Officers Association of America in September 2001 as deputy director of the Benefits Information and Financial Education Department. He has served as director of that department since 2003.
MOAA position: Director, Benefits Information and Financial Education Department.
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MAJ Art Finch, PhD entered active duty in June 1999 as a direct commission Captain following the completion of his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Brigham Young University. His first assignment was a one-year residency program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, followed by a three year tour in Germany as the Executive Officer for the 254th Combat Stress Control Detachment. He is currently assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where his primary responsibilities include psychological profiling for candidates wishing to join specialized military units, forensic psychology, and clinical treatment for soldiers and their families.
Art first deployed to Iraq during the initial U.S. invasion in March 2003. Since that time he has deployed regularly to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He recently returned from his tenth combat deployment.
Art lives in Phoenix City, Alabama with his wife, two children, and a dog.
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Tanya Biank is a Fulbright scholar and graduate of Penn State University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and was a member of the University Scholar’s program. Tanya comes from a family of combat veterans and active-duty service members. During her father’s thirty-year career in the Army, she grew up on military posts throughout the world and considers the Army home.
As an Army brat and Army wife, Tanya understands, appreciates and respects military families. She is frequently interviewed about military family life issues and speaks regularly to both military and civilian groups about the military.
As a journalist specializing in the military, Tanya writes about the military lifestyle and has traveled around the world with troops. She has appeared on several national television and radio shows discussing military issues. Her coverage of the 2002 Fort Bragg Army wife murders led to Congressional inquiries and changes in Army programs and policy.
Her book, Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage (St. Martin’s Griffin, May 2008) is the basis for the Lifetime Television series drama, ARMY WIVES starring Emmy-award winner Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue) and Catherine Bell (JAG). People Magazine ranked Army Wives in its Top 10 list of best TV shows in 2007. ARMY WIVES appears Sunday nights at 10 PM on Lifetime and is produced by Touchstone Television and the producers of Grey’s Anatomy, The Mark Gordon Company. Tanya serves as a show consultant. Tanya’s book Army Wives was originally published in hardcover as Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives (St. Martin’s Press, Feb. 2006).
Tanya is a syndicated columnist for CinCHouse.com. She also writes a blog for LifetimeTV.com. She is a regular contributor to several military-related publications including Military Spouse Magazine, Military Officer Magazine, CinCHouse.com, the Better Business Bureau’s Military Line and Town Hall Magazine. Military Spouse Magazine named Tanya one of its Who’s Who Among Military Spouses for 2007 and she was recently appointed to the Currently Serving Spouse Council for the Military Officers Association of America. Tanya also serves as an adviser for the National Military Spouse and Family Monument, Militaryspousemonument.org.
She currently lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband Michael, who is in the U.S. Army assigned to the Pentagon. The couple has a 1-year-old son.
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Phil Dyer, CFP®, RLP® is deputy director, financial education at MOAA. Phil attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1985. He served on active duty as an armor officer with duty assignments in Germany and Ft. Knox, Ky., and achieved the rank of captain. After separating from active duty in 1990 to pursue opportunities in the private sector, he worked in pharmaceuticals sales as an instutional healthcare consultant.
He transitioned to financial planning in 1997 and specializes in financial education, employee benefits, and military-to-civilian transition educational programs. He has presented over 400 educational briefings for corporate, non-profit, military, and educational organizations over the last 13 years. He writes regular financial columns for Military Officer and Military Spouse magazines and is frequently quoted in the media on military financial planning issues. He resides with his family in Baldwin, Md.
MOAA position: Deputy Director, Benefits Information Department; Certified Financial Planner
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Sue Hoppin joined the Benefits Information Department staff of MOAA in 2005 and quickly established herself as an expert in military spouse issues. In addition to holding a variety of paid positions, Sue came to MOAA with over 13 years experience serving in the military community as a volunteer. Her responsibilities ranged from squadron fundraiser and spouse club membership chair to the presidency of both the Kadena Officers' Spouses' Club and of the Ramstein Elementary School PTA. She currently serves as the 2008-2009 President of the Air Force Officers Wives Club at Bolling AFB. Sue was recognized for her volunteer efforts with awards as Volunteer of the Year at McConnell AFB (1999) and as the 76th Airlift Squadron Spouse of the Year (2002).
In 2006, Sue was selected to be MOAA's first assistant director for spouse outreach. In 2007, Military Spouse Magazine named Sue on their 2007 Who's Who of Military Spouses list recognizing 12 spouses who have made significant contributions in the military community for all military spouses. In addition to her work at MOAA, she writes a monthly column for Military Spouse Magazine and serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for the Military Spouse and Family Legacy Association.
Sue holds a bachelor's degree in international studies from the University of Denver and a masters degree in international relations from the University of Oklahoma. She and her husband reside in Springfield, Va., with their son.
MOAA position: Deputy Director for Spouse Outreach, Benefits Information Department.
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Sarah Smiley is the author of Shore Duty, a syndicated newspaper column that reaches more than 2 million readers weekly, and of the memoir GOING OVERBOARD: The Misadventures of a Military Wife (Penguin/New American Library, 2005) and a collection of essays titled I'M JUST SAYING... (Ballinger, 2008).
Sarah's life rights were optioned by Kelsey Grammer's company, Grammnet, and Paramount Television to be made into a television sitcom based on her columns and book. She has been featured in The New York Times Magazine ("Confessions of a Military Wife," November 6, 2005) and Newsweek, and on ABC's Nightline as well as various spots on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. In 2008, she was invited to have a special one-on- one interview with Mrs. Michelle Obama.
Sarah has been a Navy dependent for more than 32 years. She is the daughter of Rear Admiral Lindell Rutherford (USN. Ret.), a career F-14 pilot, and spent most of her upbringing amid the aircraft carriers and Navy bases in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She has a B.S. in Education from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Sarah's husband, Lt. Commander Dustin Smiley, currently serves as commander of the reserve center in Bangor, Maine, where they live with their three young boys -- Ford (8), Owen (6), and Lindell (2).
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Laura Dempsey is a civil rights attorney specializing in children and families for twelve years. She began writing and blogging on her ten years as a working military spouse and mother in 2006. Since then her work has expanded to include work as a pro bono consultant on military family legislation and as an unpaid advisor on military family issues to the Obama presidential campaign.
Laura is an original co-founder, with Kathy Roth-Douquet, of Blue Star Families. Blue Star Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicating to making military life more sustainable for families, and educating the public about the successes and challenges of military life. Laura currently serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Star Families and acts as a Senior Advisor to the group. She lives on Fort Drum, NY with her husband, an army major, and two young children.
Laura Dempsey's work has been published in the Washington Post and reprinted in several major publications (Military Times, Christian Science Monitor). Laura recently appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition to discuss military spouse employment challenges. She has posted articles as a Guest Editor to Military Spouse Press and recently joined as a blogger on the Huffington Post and Military.com with co-author Kathy Roth-Douquet. Her most recent article is scheduled to be published in the June issue of Military Spouse magazine.
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Babette Maxwell comes to Victory Media as one of the founders of Military Spouse magazine. She brings 6 years of publishing experience and 9 years of project management experience to Victory Media, where she serves as Executive Editor of Military Spouse. In her role, she oversees all strategic relationships, print and web content production and strategic vision of Military Spouse. Babette’s passion and energy have been the driving force behind the massive growth and influence of Military Spouse.
Before joining Victory Media, Babette co-founded Military Spouse in 2003 with no prior industry experience. Having been self-taught the publishing industry, Babette secured distribution and advertising for Military Spouse magazine in under six months. In addition, Babette launched the magazine with an entirely virtual staff. After three years, Victory Media acquired Military Spouse magazine and integrated it into the operations of its military niche media brands.
Prior to founding Military Spouse, Babette was an environmental test engineer for the government when based out of NAS Atsugi, Japan. During her time with Radian International Contract Company, Babette staged air quality testing on Shinkampo, an industrial waste-burning incinerator. It was this testing and analysis that led to Japan's closure of the environmental hazard. Additionally, Babette worked for Newport News Shipbuilding conducting HVAC design support work for the Navy’s fleet of submarines and for the Air Force doing design support for the C-5’s TF-39 engine.
Babette studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas in San Antonio. She is a fourth-generation military dependent with 27 moves and 36 years dedicated to military life. Babette lives on Naval Base Norfolk and lives with her active duty Naval officer husband and their three sons.
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