About the Author:
Joanne M. Steen, MS, NCC, Author, Instructor and Speaker on Military Loss
Joanne Steen is the co-author of Military Widow: A Survival Guide (Naval Institute Press, 2006), honored as the 2007 Distinguished Author of the Year by the US Naval Institute.
Joanne is the founder of Grief Solutions, LLC, and has trained over 6000 military and civilian personnel on the best ways to respond to the families of America’s fallen warriors. A naval aviator’s widow and former military instructor, she is an expert on the military, its culture, and the unique issues military service presents. Joanne is also a nationally certified counselor (NCC), with a focus on sudden death and traumatic grief.
Prior to becoming a counselor, Joanne had twenty years of experience in engineering, leadership, and strategic planning with two Fortune 50 companies and the Department of the Navy. In the corporate sector, she held engineering and management positions with both General Motors and Johnson & Johnson. As a senior instructor and strategic planning facilitator with the Department of the Navy, Joanne worked with senior leaders of the US Navy, the US Marine Corps, Britain’s Royal Navy, and other allied military leaders. For her dedicated service, she was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal.
Presently, Joanne is the co-chair of the Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA); a founding Board member of the Military Spouse and Family Legacy Association, Inc. (MilSFLA), and a founding Board member of Young Widows and Widowers, Inc. (YWOW).
Joanne holds a MS in Counseling from Old Dominion University and a BS in Manufacturing /Industrial Engineering from Rutgers University. She was honored as a 2009 Darden College of Education Fellow at Old Dominion University for her contributions to the counseling profession.
