Heather Kuzio

Creating Community for Military Spouses

in the civilian world is not always an easy thing as a veteran, or a military spouse. Our lives change frequently with deployments and moves, sometimes making it hard to create connections or form networks we relied on while in service. Re-entering the workforce can be a challenge.

For me, community is core to success. This testament was true during my time serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, as a military spouse while my husband was deployed, and now in my career at Deloitte.

When I first started at Deloitte, being part of a strong work community was important to me. With an organization like ours, I knew there were others with similar backgrounds to mine and I knew there were resources available to network and support one another, but I noticed a lack of connection between military spouses at the time. Just as I’ve experienced in my career journey at Deloitte , the organization empowered me to change that. I raised my hand and teamed up with two other military spouses and created the Military Spouse Initiative in 2016– a best-in-class program that is now home to hundreds of Deloitte professionals across the United States. We support one another through personal challenges, career moves, and are a true community now.

Through that process, I’ve worked in six unique roles over my eight years here. Each time, I had the courage to say yes to new opportunities, growing my career and creating new networks. No matter where the military took my family, knowing I had the backing of Deloitte and my colleagues, and knowing I owned my career, empowered me to make a difference for myself and those around me every day.