We recently connected with Andrea Mckie and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents taught me how to push forward even when I am afraid. When I was 18 years old I joined the Navy. I was in Boot Camp and wanted to leave. On my “once a week” phone call to home I told my mother I made a mistake and wanted to leave and come home. When my mother told my dad, he told her to ignore me, I would be fine. It would be 20 years later that I actually left the Navy following a successful career. What they did right was show me various ways in seeking out and finding my strength.

Andrea, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My organization is Sisters In Arms Empowerment Movement. The idea behind it was to create a movement that reflected our humanity and the strength of a sisterhood. For me in this journey. my heart has been fixed on advocating for those underserved and in doing so, I have found that our greatest strength is human connection. I have worked more than 30 years in areas such as mental health, substance abuse, suicide prevention, violence prevention and sexual assault. Teaching in college settings, and military environments offered me the opportunity to build an organization that is a compilation of what for me is purpose. In the previous years, I have had a few events to keep the ideals of the movement going forward. I have used my writings and photography to also speak to the many seasons in a woman’s life and to tell bits of my story. Currently, I am working on a more research based project that I am hoping to complete in early 2026. Yet, it is my poetry that truly expose the steps and intricacies of my experiences and my life.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2018 I put together a conference to launch my nonprofit business. I was underprepared, uninformed and way out of my financial possibilities. The day before the conference I was informed there was $20,000 deficit and it had to be paid that very day. I had great speakers scheduled to come in and not enough money to cover. That night I wanted to get in my car and drive off into the sunset but I was convinced that this could be a life changing event for me and those attendees. I got on my phone and called 37 people I knew, most were family members. I asked for two things, trust and money. I’m not sure if they trusted my vision but their love provided money I had no way of repaying. The conference was amazing, people in attendance were blessed by a weekend of purpose. One month after the conference, I received back pay from the Veteran’s Administration in the sum of more than $80,000. Needless to say, I paid what I owed in full and was grateful that I achieved success where I couldn’t predict it was possible.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I think I found my love when I began working in a therapeutic setting. This is where I finally found my perfect fit, and myself. If I could go back I would still look to the service of others. Maybe the only change I would make is that I would have arrived in my field a lot sooner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sistersinarmscorp.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SIAEM RISE
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXeGYd5ONApw0jQdyu_tUGQ