REAL CHANGE
Heba Abdelaal, Air Force Spouse
To many, the legislative process can be intimidating. But to military spouse and advocate Heba Abdelaal, it is an opportunity to use her expertise to improve military quality of life through advocacy. And she has certainly done that.
From her service as Legislative Committee Chairman for the Military Spouse Career Coalition (MSCC) to co-authoring the National Military Spouse Network’s 2022 White Paper, The Military Spouse Employment Dilemma to her legislative work on the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, transforming the 10-digit number to a simple three-digit one, 9-8-8, Heba is still in the fight!
In addition, Heba has experience as a Key Spouse Mentor and is always ready to serve. In fact, General C.Q. Brown, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, recognized Heba for one of these acts of service where she “played an important role in mobilizing support for Afghan evacuees”.
She not only led military spouse efforts in coordinating relief for 30,000 Afghan refugees, but her cultural, religious and language expertise was invaluable.
Heba continues to inspire us all–and to encourage us as well. She has recently begun contributing to the “Advocacy in Action” section in Mrs. Brown’s monthly SITREPs to share her knowledge with fellow military spouses. As noted in her Air Force Military Spouse of the Year profile, Heba reminds us that “military spouses do not need to be policy experts to engage in meaningful advocacy.”
Where there is real change, there is Heba Abdelaal–and military spouses in the fight!
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