ParentMap’s 2023 Superheroes for Washington Kids and Families

In 2011, ParentMap awarded Superhero stripes to United States Navy veteran Mike Schindler, founder and CEO of Operation Military Family, an Edmonds-based organization that operates with a mission to “provide proven pathways for veterans to discover and deploy their greatest gifts in family, work and life.” He is known throughout the country as an expert on leadership development, government relations and veteran transition issues. This year, Schindler bestows Superhero honors on Nino Gray Jr., community engagement manager for the Seattle Seahawks, and Carla Carrell, a senior director at Comcast, for stewarding their respective organizations’ efforts to support and connect with the military community of veterans and their families.

Nino, how did you and Mike become partners?

Nino Gray: The veteran world is big, but in some ways, it is small. I cover the military in my work with the Seahawks, so my goal was to create a group of organizations that help out veterans. Operation Military Family was one of them. I connected with Mike, and through what started off as just a joint venture to help veterans, we ended up being best friends and brothers. We really look out for each other.

What is your personal connection with this work?

Gray: I was 10 years in the Army infantry, did deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. On Sept. 24, 2010, I was leading my squad out when we got hit by a 400-pound IED [improvised explosive device], which for me resulted in a brain injury. I also got two metal plates in my leg, with 18 pins. I woke up at Walter Reed about three weeks later. I was given a backpack from the Wounded Warrior Project. Just knowing I was getting out and what that backpack did for me, I wanted to be able to pass that same spirit on to other veterans who were in the same boat. So, here we are.

Describe your work with the local military community.

Gray: I cover all military first responders and our Make-A-Wish activations. Mike and I started Task Force 12, which is a partnership of the Seattle Seahawks and 12 local veteran nonprofit organizations that provides life-changing support to military families. Mike and I understand that not every veteran or military family is the same. No one person or organization could take care of all of those needs. Lining up 12 different grassroots military organizations with the same purpose makes our mission a lot easier to attain.

Mike Schindler: What I love about Task Force 12 is its common resolution. How we accomplish that purpose is different, but we all go into it fully equipped to depend on each other in the same mission to help support that veteran and their family.

Gray: We’ve all felt that pain of needing support in service. So, just to be able to tap into those emotions to help our community is what I think makes us so strong.

Carla, can you share a bit about Comcast’s initiatives in support of military families?

Carla Carrell: I am the lead of the Internet Essentials program, which provides affordable internet, and you get access to a subsidized laptop, you get access to digital skills and programs. So, you get connection, a device, and then you can learn how to use it. If you don’t have those three things, you’re not ever really fully participating in the digital economy.

Schindler: Veterans might have a smartphone, but one of the biggest issues they have when they’re trying to apply for benefits is that they don’t have a laptop, or maybe they have a laptop that’s dated or maybe they have a government-issued laptop that doesn’t let them connect to anything. When I met Carla, she said, “Well, we’ve got 20 laptops!” We started small, by identifying people who needed the help bridging that digital divide. Those laptops really become a vehicle for so much more.

Carrell: We launched the Internet Essentials program in 2011, so it’s been around for over a decade. But what really changed the trajectory of this work was the pandemic. What was evident was that folks didn’t know the program existed. And then when children went to remote learning at home, it was a crisis. I’m a parent, so I took it really personally. We all know that those most impacted were the children of families who couldn’t afford an internet connection. So, I worked with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction at the state level. We supported over a hundred school districts that have students who qualified for free and reduced lunch to give [those children] a free internet connection.

Comcast has had a long-term commitment to military engagement, through hiring vets and by creating experiences and services for military customers and communities. Here in the Pacific Northwest area, we have eight employee resource groups, and one of them is our VetNet group. It’s really about supporting our veteran peers and provides a way for folks who want to be an ally for our veteran teammates to engage.

When Mike and I met during the pandemic, I leaned in and said, “Mike, I know we can help to do more to expand digital capacity for the military community.” Sometimes [the best way] to make an impact is to go to the trusted expert in the community and then ask them to guide you. Ultimately, my goal was to give Mike whatever he needed. The pandemic underscored how critical partnerships are and that we are all in this together.

Schindler: Well, that’s what you need, you know, beans, Band-Aids and bullets, right? If you’ve got the troops out there, you got to find somebody who has got supply.

The Seahawks supply is not just an experience. What I think oftentimes people forget about professional athletes is that in many ways they’re like service members. There’s that common bond there. Veterans who maybe thought they could never afford to go to a professional football game get to go. Then they get connected to other resources, and they realize, “Wow, this big organization really cares.” I nominated Nino because he goes out there and he hustles. He makes things happen, with a servant leadership attitude.

And then you’ve got Comcast NBCUniversal coming in and giving veterans the tools they need to get connected. I nominated Carla because she jumped through hoops for me; she’s eliminated a lot of excuses, and that, for me, is really important in the veteran community. These two are exceptional people, and that’s why I say [these organizations] really bring the humanness back into humanity.

What motivates you to do the work that you do?

Gray: Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day. We have more veterans dying here locally than we had casualties overseas. As veterans, I think we kind of hold that to our chest when we go out there and serve. I think that’s what keeps me going.

Carrell: I get to do a job that connects people to something as critical as the internet. I get to make sure that they know how to use it to be participative in the digital economy. That is very personally rewarding to me.

What advice do you have for ParentMap readers about raising kids today?

Gray: Give yourself grace. You are not going to have all the answers. Just learn as you go.

Carrell: You nailed it. Also know that it takes a village. We talked a lot about partnerships here, and I will tell you, leverage relationships, partnerships, family, friends, the community of help that you build as a parent.

Schindler: I’d say that, as a parent in this generation, my advice is if you say it, then do it. I think our kids need us to be that guiding light.

— Patty Lindley

Up next: The Equalizers