Measuring Communities: Mapping Progress for Military and Veteran Families

The Measuring Communities project is an indicators project aimed at producing a website and end-user materials that can be used in identified states to publicize information about military and Veteran families and to assist decision makers in helping communities to become more military and Veteran ‘friendly.” As a part of this indicators project, Kentucky will: 1. Review data to be populated in the state-focused portion of the website. 2. Provide guidance about materials to be included in the state-focused portion of the website, including commentaries and background information. 3. Compile data related to Kentucky for possible inclusion in the website. 4. Assist in the design of end-user products for Kentucky. 5. Confer with state and community partners about materials to be developed and disseminated. 6. Work with Purdue to develop a dissemination strategy for the materials. Drs. Kerri Ashurst and Joann Lianekhammy will serve as PI and co-PI for this project. Through her 14 years as a state coordinator for CYFAR, 12 years as National Program Manager for CYFERnet, and 8 years as PI for Operation: Military Kids and other military grants and programs, Kerri Ashurst has developed a broad national network of subject matter experts within the Land Grant University system. Through her work with CYFERnet, she has worked collaboratively with a national team consisting of Program, Technology and Evaluation experts along with more than 35 universities and national and federal personnel. She has an understanding of the needs and culture of military families and has worked closely with Kansas State, Purdue, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State Universities through their advanced research and Extension programs to support military families. She has developed evaluation tools for military family camps and was approved for an additional research component as part of a Military-Teen Adventure Camp Initiative grant. She is collaborating with the UK Family Sciences department on this research component containing multiple evaluation measures. She has served as the family expert for a national military curriculum writing team. Joann Lianekhammy is a Post-Doctoral Scholar with dual appointments in the School of Human Environmental Sciences and Family Sciences Department at the University of Kentucky. Her research interests focus on family well-being and strengthening resilience in families. Joann has previously worked on several projects focused specifically on military families. In 2011, she co-authored a study investigating the relationship between military deployment and the electrical brain activity of women married to service members. She also worked with Dr. Kerri Ashurst receive Institutional Review Board approval for evaluating outcomes of Military-Teen Adventure Camps held in Kentucky 2009-2014. Joann has a master’s degree in Cognitive Experimental Psychology and a doctorate in Family Sciences from the University of Kentucky.