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Elevating Military Families W HEN SHE MET HER husband, a Navy SEAL, Stephanie Brown owned an interior design business in Washington, D.C., where she specialized in retail space and model homes. at was a quarter of a century ago, and soon after they were married, her husband was ordered to Puerto Rico on what is known in the Navy as a Permanent Change of Station. ere was no telling when or if he would be transferred again, and Brown sold her business to move with him. " at's when I learned, like so many military spouses before me and up to this day, the Navy is not concerned with you having a job or career," says Brown. Fast-forward to 2012 when Brown's husband, omas L. Brown II, then a Rear Admiral, was Commadore of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 here in San Diego. "I turned to him and said, 'We need to do something for our military spouses,'" she recalls. " ey are unemployed or underemployed, and I see a lot them wanting to become independent contractors or small businesses, but they don't have any support." Brown's husband passed away in 2021, but she remembers him saying, "Everyone needs a purpose. You'd be helping the community, and that's a gift." at was the start of e Rosie Network, an organization named after the women famed for their work during World War II that is dedicated to supporting the entrepreneurial efforts of veterans, active-duty personnel, and their spouses. e Rosie Network now offers several programs including the award-winning Service2CEO that takes participants through the entire process, providing the legal, marketing, and financial insight necessary to run and grow a successful business. "Just as important, we provide our support in a trusted community with folks who walked the walk," says Brown, who received the Department of the Army Civilian Service Commendation Medal for her work. "In the beginning we were mostly focused on quantitative data — how many people can we serve, who is still in business three Focus military e Rosie Network provides paths to entrepreneurship BY BILL ABRAMS The Rosie Network founder Stephanie Brown (center) with Congressman Mark Levin (left) and Congressman Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL ranchandcoast.com 44 DECEMBER 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE