Jenny Pacanowski

Jenny Pacanowski
Jenny Pacanowski, of Bethlehem, is a poet, combat veteran, facilitator, public speaker, actor and curator. In the Army while deployed to Iraq (OIF), Pacanowski was a combat medic and provided medical support for convoys with the Marines, Air Force and the Army. She also did shifts in the Navy medical hospital. In Germany, she was part of a medical evacuation company.

Pacanowski is the associate director of Impact Theatre: The Veterans project which is currently collaborating with the One Fight Foundation on Combat Conversations: Families Affected by War. In addition to her collaborations with ArtsQuest, Haverford College, NYU, CUNY, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, Poetic Theater Productions, Aquila Theatre and The Military Resilience Project among others, Pacanowski is the founder and director of Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving, which is held at Camel’s Hump Farm in Bethlehem. You can read about her multiple projects in The Washington Post and New York Times. As a veteran herself, her goal is to facilitate and collaborate with reintegration programs that contribute to lowering the suicide, homelessness and addiction epidemics that plague our veterans.

Cheryl G. Ites

Cheryl G. Ites
Cheryl G. Ites, of Easton, retired from Federal Service on June 1, 2018. Her last position was as a Program Analyst, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, where she represented the Department on interagency committees and working groups. Prior to her position at the Pentagon, she served as an Operations Officer at the Joint Mortuary Affairs Center at Ft. Lee, where she was responsible for doctrine development. Ites made multiple trips to Afghanistan, Iraq and Germany to advise units on mortuary issues. During her 35 years – Active and Reserve – in the United States Marine Corps, CWO-4 Ites served three tours in Iraq as the I Marine Expeditionary Force Services Officer and oversaw the Mortuary Affairs Units. These units were responsible for the battlefield recovery, respectful processing and transport of combat fatalities to include US and Allied forces as well as local nationals.

Corinna Louise Brown

Corinna Louise Brown
Corinna Louise Brown, of Topton, is a US Army veteran who deployed to South Korea. A mother, partner, homemaker, chef and self-proclaimed poet, she is also the co-facilitator for Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving. As an advocate for veterans, she shares compassion and brings to light her survival and continuing recovery from military sexual trauma, PTSD and addiction.

Tammy Barlet

Tammy Barlet
After graduating Hamburg Area High School, Tammy Barlet, of Hamburg, served more than eight years in the US Coast Guard. To continue her mission to help others, Barlet began a master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Policy from George Washington University. While a member of countless veteran’s service organizations, Barlet is supported and loved by her family and friends, who she finds time with her busy schedule to go hiking, kayaking and even geocaching.