SOF Network

We have had several new partners, providers and Pipeline applicants connect throughout the month of November. SOF Network is looking forward to introducing these new additions starting in December!

SOF Network is excited to introduce our newest community partner 51 Vets! Thank you to Lindsey Schiro for reaching out and introducing us to your great organization. 51Vets is a nonprofit committed?to holistically?serving?the Special Operations and Aviation communities as they transition into the private sector,?specifically into finance,?banking and leadership roles. To learn more check out: https://51vets.org/

SOF Network is thrilled to introduce our newest Pipeline program participant, Katrina Estell. Please take a moment and welcome Katrina! Katrina is a clinical mental health therapist-in-training with a deep commitment to supporting children, adolescents, teens, postpartum mothers, and special operations forces (SOF) families. While pursuing her Master of Arts in School Counseling at Indiana Wesleyan University, Katrina completed additional coursework for dual licensure in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. After graduating in April 2024, she passed the National Counselor Examination (NCE) and earned the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential. Currently, she is working toward temporary LPC-MHSP licensure while completing practicum and internship hours at Austin Peay State University. Alongside her training, Katrina serves as a substance abuse educator and mentor for first-offending youth in the Clarksville Youth Coalition grant program. Katrina’s passion for trauma-informed care is reflected in her ongoing exploration of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics and Dr. Bruce Perry’s work, along with her studies in Internal Family Systems, polyvagal theory, logotherapy, and attachment theory. As the wife of a retired Green Beret, she also feels a strong calling to work with SOF families, bringing a unique understanding of their specific challenges. To further enhance her therapeutic skills, Katrina is scheduled to complete additional coursework in Play Therapy and trauma and crisis intervention in 2025 and 2026. Katrina strives to work from a trauma-informed, strengths-based, holistic lens to support grief, trauma healing, and whole-person health. She brings a compassionate and informed approach to therapy, dedicated to empowering clients on their healing journeys.

For those of you at Modern Warfare Week, make sure to come meet NC/GA provider Douglas Hoover and one of our board members Steve Cline LMFT-S, CCTP!

SOF Network is thrilled to announce our newest community partner the Heroic Hearts Project. Thank you Jesse Gould and your entire team for all the great work you are doing in serving our veterans. #heroicheartsproject #sofnetwork

Swing by booth four today and meet Madeline Vann, LPC, CSAC, MPH, RYT a Virginia based provider who is also a guest with Military Special Operations Family Collaborative SOF Team room tonight, Melissa Yates a NC provider and one of our very first Pipeline program participants, and Justin Ball (ret) Sergeant Major who is one of our board members and currently a provider in NC!

SOF Network is at Modern Warfare Week! Come by and see us in the community corridor (booth four).

SOF Network welcomes our newest provider Justin Griepentrog, MSW LCSW-C. Justin is current licensed in CO and MD. Please take a moment to welcome Justin! Justin Griepentrog has been practicing for over 25 years as trauma therapist and clinical social worker, starting in New York City as the towers fell. Since then he has focused his career on treating complex trauma cases which naturally led to working with SOF and intelligence communities, both stateside and overseas. Clinically trained in a neuropsychotherapy trauma-model, he describes leading with a Rogerian therapy approach - one that's personable, real, and authentic. In working with complex trauma presentations in multiple countries and populations, the one thing that always stands out is that struggle and trauma can blossom into beauty, but only with support, love, understanding, and validation. Growth is then built by working together through both traditional empirically based and whole person somatic interventions, including ketamine assisted psychedelic therapy where appropriate. In describing effective complex trauma work Justin will often share, "I love the mentality of Kintsugi, the idea that our vulnerabilities (and sometimes scars) are what make us the most beautiful and unique. Sometime then the hard work is getting to a place where you feel that too, and working through the struggles of life that surround us and our relationships."

Hello Everyone, I have a HUGE request from one of our own. Please read, donate, and repost to your networks. I just got this message from one of our Pipeline participants about a SOF family in MO needing help. I served with Jared on deployment to Afghanistan in 2011 and, as often happens, lost touch with him shortly after that deployment. When I saw this story on LinkedIn posted by another brother I served with, I was immediately moved to help. Despite over a decade passing, I instantly thought of Jared's character on the battlefield and my lasting impression of him as an incredible human. This is an astonishing story of a mother's will to protect and survive and a father's determination to provide. As the floodwater, mud, and debris surged into their home, their car was swept away in the flood. She fought against the swift current with their daughter tightly in her grasp, finding refuge in their truck, and navigated the treacherous conditions until they reached safe ground. The fire department watched helplessly, unable to reach their home, later?commenting that they thought she and her baby were going to be swept away. They thought their lives were lost.?Despite the chaos, we are deeply thankful that Stephanie managed to escape with their baby daughter due to her quick thinking and bravery. In seconds, their lives were changed, their home and vehicles were destroyed, and?their family dogs perished. They have lost nearly all their belongings due to severe contamination. Insurance has refused to cover their furniture, household goods, vehicles, and?their baby's essential needs, leaving them with an overwhelming emotional and financial burden. Their damages are estimated at $175,000, and their home will be uninhabitable for months. They are determined to rebuild and move forward but cannot do it alone.?Your generous donations or sharing their story with your network can make a difference.?Together, we can show them they are not alone in this fight and that their sacrifices have not been forgotten. If you feel compelled as I did to help Jared and his family, they have established a GoFundMe to help rebuild their?lives and family home. Every contribution will bring them one step closer to recovery.? https://lnkd.in/gr3yxZYd

Global SOF Foundation's Modern Warfare Week is here! We can't wait to meet those of you attending.