Katie is proudly serving with the Virginia Department of Veteran Services as the Northern V3 Transition Resource Coordinator. Katie provides customized one-on-one career readiness support and resource coordination to hundreds of service members and spouses across the NCR region including Quantico, Fort Belvoir, and Joint Base Fort Myer/Henderson Hall. She is a certified career coach, Certified Professional Resumé Writer, and certified in both Federal and Corporate resumes.
She has developed and nurtured strong partnerships with well-known Veteran Service Organizations and regional partners in the local area. Katie has created and facilitated multiple workshops and unique worksheets focused on civilian employment, character assessments, and wants/needs after leaving the military to not only regional partners such as the USO and Hiring Our Heroes, but she has also developed custom workshops for multiple Units and Commands across the NCR Region.
As the daughter of a retired Navy captain, Katie had the opportunity to grow up in places that adults wish they could visit for a week. Adaptability became a core value at a very young age. Katie’s first experience with the bear known as “Transition” started when her father retired after an impressive 20+ year career. As a daughter, watching her hero struggle to figure out who he wanted to be after hanging up the uniform was heartbreaking and with that memory, the spark to help those who have served was born.
Katie took on a new role in the military space, as a wife of a United States Marine. After surviving a deployment and smoothing out the newlywed jitters, Katie experienced the anxiety and stresses of transition once again but this time as a spouse.
After various roles in business management and operations, Katie went out on a limb and applied for a Career Advisor position with ECPI University, a role that she didn’t meet any of the qualifications except a Bachelor’s degree. Within a year she was promoted to Director of Career Services and her department had outstanding graduate employment success for four consecutive years. Katie ended up with a substantial amount of knowledge and experience in Corporate recruiting and private sector company needs which ended up being a perfect blend for her current position.
Katie has always had a soft spot in her heart for helping service members and veterans. The drive and desire to assist and support were always there, but the answer was never clear as to how she could help until she stumbled upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to marry her passion for the military and her strong skills of being a career counselor, advocate, and mentor.
Katie has been able to honor not only her father’s legacy but uses his experience as a beacon to be able to provide transparent, honest, and genuine support to her clients while helping them locate opportunities for employment, education, entrepreneurship, and training through programs such as Virginia Values Veterans, Military Medics and Corpsman, Hire Vets Now Fellowship and countless others.
katie.spinazzola@dvs.virginia.gov
(804) 337-1184