Linsay Rousseau served as a combat photographer and public affairs sergeant for the U.S. Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division from 2004-2007. She spent a year in the northern Iraq province of Kirkuk documenting and reporting on combat and humanitarian operations. She also spent a month attached to ODA 103 Special Forces Group documenting their operations. She was medically discharged in 2007. She now works to give back to the veteran community as an ambassador for the non-profit organization Pin-Ups for Vets and media affairs director for Continue to Serve. She is an outspoken advocate for sexual assault survivors and the queer community. She recently made headlines with her Daily Kos expose detailing her assault and abuse along with the persistent crisis of sexual assault in the military.
Following her time in the military, she pursed a masters degree in journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She was one of four Carnegie Fellows chosen to work with the Brian Ross Investigative Reporting Unit at ABC News in New York and worked as an associate producer, reporter, researcher and production associate for PBS Frontline. Her masters thesis for the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, "Rape in the Fields," went on to be produced by PBS Frontline, the Center for Investigative Reporting and Univision. The documentary has won the Alfred I. duPont-Colombia Award, John F. Kennedy Journalism Award, Public Radio News Directors Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism.
Prior to the Army she attended The College of William and Mary. When she wasn't on stage or playing music, much of her time was focused on human rights and environmental causes. She worked for Amnesty International, focusing predominantly on women's and LGBTQIA rights. While at William & Mary, as student body president, she lead the charge to reform the campus's sexual assault policy, helped with organizational efforts to unionize the maintenance, cafeteria and housekeeping staff, worked to improve the campus's environmental standards and encouraged the university to divest funds from organizations known for their human right's abuses. She received her B.A. in sociology and anthropology.
After dealing struggling with PTSD for several years, she made the decision to leave journalism and return to the arts. She is an award winning LA based actor, voice-over and performance capture artist with over 20 years of theatre experience. She is best known as the voice of Elita-1 in the Transformers: War for Cybertron trilogy on Netflix, and for her extensive work in video games. She's a contributor to the hugely popular No Sleep Podcast. On-screen, she has appeared in episodes of NCIS, Seal Team, General Hospital and she had all the judges fooled in her appearance on To Tell the Truth. She also hosts the weekly geek talk show, The Roll Out on YouTube. www.linsayrousseau.com
eve hurwitz — Lt. commander (reserves), US navy, naval flight officer
LCDR Eve Hurwitz is a mother of five, combat veteran, Reserve officer, nonprofit finance professional, and interfaith minister. She served as a Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C Hawkeye during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, earning three air medals and 1000 flight hours. In 2017 she founded and is currently President of March On Maryland dba March On Foundation, a nonprofit that increases civic engagement, champions first amendment rights, and amplifies the voices of the underrepresented, marginalized, and oppressed. Eve is also a founding board member and Director of Finance for March On, a national nonprofit founded by Women’s March organizers across the country that supports and empowers grassroots movements.
Joanna ‘Jojo’ sweatt — Staff Sergeant (veteran), US Marine Corps, Field Radio Operator/Recruiter
Joanna has been a longstanding advocate for veterans in Arizona having had to overcome her own transition struggles returning home in 2007 after service. She is known for rolling her sleeves up and doing whatever is necessary to improve the lives of the veterans she serves. Her passion lies in ensuring resources are readily available for all veterans, especially those that have been disenfranchised and marginalized such as women veterans and BIPOC veterans to include preserving their contributions in service through storytelling engagement activities.
Joanna is currently the National Organizing Director for Common Defense, a grassroots movement of progressive veterans. Joanna is also an original co-founder of AZ VetsForward, a group of military veterans in Arizona that worked to defend democratic values at home by winning hearts and minds of the American voters in the 2020 election cycle.
She became a 1st generation college graduate in 2010 from Arizona State University, utilizing her MGIB/Post 9-11 GI Bill from her honorable service in the Marine Corps and started a legacy there when her first born attended and graduated from ASU in 2018. Joanna graduated as an Obama Mentor Scholar, Magna Cum Laude and a highly motivated Sun Devil who would later return to ASU to make lasting impact.
Her experiences as a young teen mom earning minimum wage drove Joanna to make concerted commitments to herself, her family, and her community. Her decision to join the Marine Corps in 1997 would be that first step. Having traveled the world, participated in the Iraq war, and bearing witness to the horrors of the world--motivated Joanna to engage with the world differently and to always be in- service and inclusive.
When ASU opened the Pat Tillman Veterans Center in 2012, Joanna took the role as the inaugural Military Advocate/Ombudsman and created an immersive culture for veterans transitioning to the university that is very much still thriving. She provided direct assistance and helped Veterans transition with wrap-around 360 support while creating opportunities for them to confidently achieve success post their military careers. She implemented value programs that benefited student Veterans attending ASU and increased overall retention from 70%+ to 92% retention growth semester to semester for student Veteran populations. She took it a step further by assisting in the expansion and recruitment of ASU Veteran Alumni and made sustainable a special interest chapter of the ASU Alumni while offering support for incoming ASU student Veterans and post-graduate engagement . This work directly impacted Arizona State University’s Military Support Rankings from 2012 to 2016, resulting in A+ scores and top 10 designations on multiple platforms naming ASU a Military Friendly Institution.
By 2019, Joanna was fully immersed in Arizona politics-taking her advocacy background a step further. Watching as the 45th President of the United States divided the country, she and four other veterans co- founded AZ Vets Forward—a commitment to organize veterans to engage with voters—no matter their party affiliation in hopes of bringing humanity, humility, and values back to politics. AZ VetsForward launched successfully and with over 100+ veteran volunteers heavily impacting the 2020 election cycle in both Presidential and State level races.
In addition, Joanna contributes her voice to Military Sexual Trauma issues, VA Disability/Healthcare access, Voter’s Rights, and much more. She is a regular featured writer for Freedom Sisters Magazine, a digital/print magazine for women veterans by women veterans. She has been featured in many national news publications, a TV VICE documentary focused on AZ politics, and as a local outspoken veteran speaker/facilitator in Arizona.
Disabled veteran Vedia Barnett advocates for women veterans and is a community activist who was inducted into the 2018 Charles County, MD NAACP Hall-of-Fame. She has a Masters degree in Women, Gender and Sexualities Studies.
She became a community organizer in the 90s and continues to tirelessly advocate for marginalized people’s right to 100% bodily autonomy, environmental/reproductive justice and veteran education.
She has been featured on OWNTV, Essence Magazine, Huffington Post, The Today Show, AfricanAncestry.com, TEDx, Johns Hopkins University, NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, FBI, EPA, etc.
Vedia is a 2x triathlete/2x marathoner. She loves historical fiction, hiking and glamping. vediabarnett.com