Chief Executive Officer

Austin has been an Active Duty Army spouse for 19 years. She is the parent of three children all of whom are registered in EFMP. Austin's advocacy work includes military issues surrounding Tricare and EFMP as well as civilian issues such as Medicaid and SNAP. In 2020 Austin Founded Exceptional Families of the Military (EFM) after testifying before the House Armed Service Committee in an effort to unite the voices of military families like hers and raise their voices collectively.  In 2019 Austin was named a board member of Ketotic Hypoglycemia International, subsequently, transitioning to staff and publishing Towards enhanced understanding of idiopathic ketotic hypoglycemia: a literature review and introduction of the patient organization, Ketotic Hypoglycemia International in Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases and Ketotic hypoglycemia in patients with Down syndrome in JIMD Reports. Austin was the Vice President and a founding board member of Little Lobbyists, an organization whose vision is to ensure that all children with complex medical needs have access to the health care, education, and community inclusion they need to thrive. 

Twitter: @AustinCarrigg

 Executive Director 

Rebecca is an Active Duty Army spouse.  She is the parent of two children; one born typical, and one born with Down Syndrome.  Rebecca retired from Active Duty in the Air Force and served in a variety of leadership and management roles.   The bulk of her 23 year military experience was as a Government Contracting Officer.  Rebecca has advocacy experience at the State level and has worked within DoD EFMP to expand outreach opportunities.  She has a passion for assisting exceptional military families wherever they need it most. In 2022 Rebecca was named Fort Belvior Military Spouse of the Year.

Deputy Executive Director

and

Lead Researcher

Co-Director of the Autism Advocacy Committee

Jennifer is an Active Duty Army spouse for eleven years.  She has three children, two of which have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Language Receptive Disorder.  Prior to joining EFM, Jennifer’s advocacy work focused on assisting Autism families with another organization for two years until she decided to dedicate her time advocating for military families.  Before she was introduced to advocacy work, Jennifer was a previously practicing therapist with a specialty in child and adolescent counseling and she now works part time teaching psychology at the community college level.  Jennifer hopes that her personal, work, and educational experiences will assist military families in areas of their lives where they need it the most. 

Non Profit Administrator of Internal Operations

Cara-Lee is an active duty military wife of 18 years (Air Force and Space Force) and mother of three. Her two oldest children have an autism diagnosis and one of them also has significant medical needs as well.  After years of advocating for her children and getting nowhere she got frustrated that exceptional families have to spend so much energy fighting battles, whose outcomes only affect their family.  She went back to school to earn a Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorder from GMU to learn how to better advocate for, and support her children and others.  She also graduated from the inaugural Military Spouse Leadership Development Program for the same reason. After her OpEd “ABA a Military Mother’s Lifeline” was published she found her way to EFM.  While she advocates for EFMP as well, her current focus is trying to help other families affected by the recent Autism Care Demonstration changes.  She wants to be for other families, what she wished she had. In 2022 Cara-Lee was named AFI Buckley Space Force Base Military Spouse of the Year.  https://www.militaryspouse.com/military-life/aba-therapy-military-mom/   

Government Affairs and Family Advocacy Director

Co-Chair of Autism Family Advocacy Committee  

Holly has been an Active Duty Air Force Spouse for 13 years.  She is also a parent of 2 children on the autism spectrum.  While navigating difficulties with TRICARE and EFMP herself is where she gained her passion to help other military families.  She has spoken to legislators and also had an article written about the Autism Care Demonstration changes.  Through her advocacy efforts she strives to ensure military families get the services they need for their loved ones. 

Peer-to-Peer Support Director

Ashley is an Active Duty Air Force wife of 20+ years and the parent of 3 children. It was during her child’s rare disease diagnosis and journey, including navigating EFMP enrollment, Tricare and the EFMP assignment system that she realized our military families lacked support and information on a peer to peer level, and thus her passion for peer mentoring and support was born.  Her specialty is supporting and sharing knowledge and experience with families who are brand new to the EFMP community.    She holds a Bachelor of Science in human development and family studies with minors in social welfare and child development. 

Production and Editing

Christiane is an Active Duty Army Spouse of 10 years and a parent of five children. Her youngest son is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and enrolled in the EFMP program. A German native, she arrived in the United States in 2013. Connecting with other families during her time as a school clerk, she discovered a passion for community advocacy, with a focus on the inclusion of special needs children in the school setting. The struggles and questions she has experienced with her own family's situation made clear how important it is for all families to find the programs available for their special needs dependents.