About the She Served Initiative
It’s all about respect
Women of all ages, ranks and levels of authority serve in every branch of the U.S. Military. Over two million veterans in the United States today are women. Unfortunately, all too often we overlook these women who served alongside men, and much of the public still equates military veterans with men. As a photographer, Martina the founder of the She Served Initiative felt she could contribute in a small way to bring the much-deserved attention to women Veterans, and so, the She Served Initiative was born.
She Served is a celebration of military women – an acknowledgement of everything they accomplished while serving in the military – and recognition of everything they are still accomplishing today. Almost all the women Martina photographs still have a servant heart and serve their community in one way or another. By creating a portrait that portrays who they are now and sharing a little about these incredible women, Martina hopes to inspire many more people who will join her in recognizing and honoring all our women veterans.
Team Work
Meet the
“She Served”
Veteran Team
Martina Schmidt, U.S. Air Force
Martina Schmidt, our Chairwoman served in the United States Air Force as a Bioenvironmental Engineering Technician. After her time in the military, she worked for a few years for Battelle Memorial Institute as an Air Force contractor, but finally answered her real calling and joined the Circus! She attended the Creative Circus portfolio school and became a commercial photographer.
Martina’s passion for Veteran Women and photography led her to create the She Served Initiative. Martina is married to her wonderful husband Bill who supports her in all her new ventures! Both love to travel and play pickleball. When Martina is not photographing or traveling, she loves to crochet
JULIE MILLER, U.S. Air Force
Julie Miller, our Vice Chairwoman, served for 21 years in the United States Air Force as a Bioenvironmental Engineering Technician. After leaving the military she continued her military career path and now works as a health and safety coordinator at Proterra Inc. Julie is passionate about the veteran community. She served as the first female commander at the American Legion Post 3 in Greenville, SC.
Julie also volunteers with the Honor Flight mission, for which she accompanies our nation’s veterans who served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War to Washington, D.C. so that they can visit the memorials built to commemorate their service and sacrifice. Julie is married and has two children, Josh and Dana. She is also the proud grandmother of Josh’s son Harrison
Tracy Farley, U.S. Air Force
Tracy Farley, our secretary, served in the United States Air Force for 4 years as a Pharmacy Technician. After her military service she obtained her Nursing degree. In her nursing career she has worked in many different roles in the hospital from cardiac, ICU, and Emergency Department. One of her most memorable experiences was a mission trip to Haiti in 2011 (1 year after the earthquake). It was very challenging mentally and physically; basic training was a good primer for this experience. She currently works as a registered nurse in the Woman’s clinic the VA in Minneapolis MN. Tracy is married to Eric and has 3 kids, Maggie, Gaberik, and Finn.
When Tracy is not busy with her family and work, she volunteers at a no kill cat shelter and is very involved with Special Olympics. In her downtime she likes to be creative making jewelry, rock hounding, and crocheting beanies for those cold, cold days in Minnesota. Tracy is also an avid football fan, a passion she shares with her son Finn. Once those two get into a game…watch out!
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