Our Mission Is Personal. Our Impact Is Purposeful

Dr. Tammy Foster-Knight is a retired U.S. Air Force Major, combat veteran, organizational leadership scholar, educator, author, entrepreneur, and lifelong advocate for truth, accountability, and ethical leadership.

During more than 23 years of active-duty service, she rose from the enlisted ranks to become a commissioned officer—a journey that

gave her a profound understanding of leadership from multiple levels

of military service. Her career included a seven-month deployment

to Iraq, preceded by operational staging in Qatar, with assignments at

Camp Victory and Balad Air Base.

Throughout her Air Force career, Dr. Foster-Knight embraced

opportunities to lead, mentor, and serve across diverse assignments

and levels of responsibility. Her advancement from the enlisted rank

of Technical Sergeant to commissioned officer—and ultimately

to Major—reflects her discipline, perseverance, and commitment

to excellence.

She led teams, advised commanders, developed service members, and

contributed to missions that demanded sound judgment, adaptability,

and trust. Her military journey was defined not only by the challenges

she confronted, but also by meaningful relationships, professional

growth, shared purpose, and a deep and lasting love for the Airmen

with whom she served. She also proudly served alongside Sailors,

Soldiers, Marines, and members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Dr. Foster-Knight, a former Chief of Military Equal Opportunity,

confronted complex matters involving discrimination, sexual

trauma, organizational culture, and institutional accountability. She  

advised senior leaders, supported service members navigating deeply

consequential experiences, and helped shape command climates

grounded in integrity, transparency, dignity, and respect.

Through this work, she helped leaders and service members move

toward greater accountability, stronger communication, and command

environments where dignity and respect were treated as essential to

mission success. Her advanced training and certification through the

Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute strengthened her

expertise in equal opportunity, diversity leadership, organizational

culture, conflict resolution, and ethical decision-making.

Dr. Foster-Knight holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and

has devoted her post-military career to education, advocacy, and

leadership development. Since 2011, she has served as an adjunct

professor, guiding students in examining effective leadership, ethical

decision-making, accountability, and organizational change.

Her work unites lived experience with scholarly research, offering a

rare and compelling perspective on the responsibilities, contradictions,

and human consequences of leadership within structured institutions.

In 2015, Dr. Foster-Knight founded She VET, Inc. (shevetinc.org),

a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women veterans

through advocacy, education, community, and healing-centered

leadership. Through this work, she elevates the voices of women

who have served and creates spaces where their experiences are

acknowledged, understood, and supported.

Above all, Dr. Foster-Knight is a mother and grandmother who

believes that meaningful change begins when silence ends, truth is

spoken with purpose, and those once unheard reclaim the power of

their own voices.