FOUTH FRIDAY WITH MARYLYN HARRIS - HELPING WOMEN VETERANS & VETERANS SPOUSE

Marylyn R. Harris is a highly accomplished healthcare professional, nurse, social entrepreneur, educator, and cybersecurity practitioner. She is a U.S. Army Gulf War Veteran with over 30 years of experience as a veterans advocate. Marylyn served 11 years in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990 to support Operation Desert Shield/Storm. During the war, she worked as a Nurse Supervisor in a Field Hospital's Medical Intensive Care Unit, where she provided nursing care to U.S. and allied service members and POWs. After being honorably discharged from the army in 1992, Marylyn transitioned to a successful career in healthcare and education, starting a healthcare/HIT consulting firm in 2007, called Harrland Healthcare Consulting, LLC. The company is now rebranding and evolving into a healthcare cybersecurity firm. 

In 2010, Marylyn started the country's first Women Veterans Business Center (WVBC), with a mission "to educate and empower women veterans (and military families) to start and grow wealth-generating veteran-owned businesses." Her efforts launched a national movement of women veteran-owned businesses throughout the U.S. and abroad. In 2013, she was honored at the White House by President Barack Obama for this pivotal work. Today, Marylyn holds leadership roles in both companies and serves with many veteran organizations. Marylyn was previously appointed as a nationally appointed Advisory Board Member to the U.S. Small Business Administration (Veterans Business Affairs Committee) and with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses).