The idea of meeting people of all cultures and ethnicities, along with being a part of something bigger than yourself, is what drew Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, USA (Ret), to the notion of serving in the military, and she's focusing her post-retirement efforts on inspiring new generations of servicemembers in the same way.

Bingham, who retired from the Army in 2019, serves as chair of the board of directors for Blue Star Families, which focuses on supporting military families.

"Blue Star Families allows me to continue to give back … and support our servicemembers and their families," Bingham said, adding she met Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet in 2016 and was drawn to her passion and caring spirit.

In 2020, Roth-Douquet reached out to Bingham and told her she was thinking about forming a Blue Star Families committee focused on diversity and inclusion in the military community. She asked Bingham to be one of the co-chairs.

"How could I say no?" Bingham said.

The committee evolved into the Campaign for Inclusion, which works to create an environment where diverse military families feel welcome and included in their communities. The campaign also started the DEPLOY Fellowship Program, where fellows serve for one year in paid roles at Blue Star Families chapters or at the national level while receiving training in military and veterans service organization leadership from several partners. The focus is on improving experiences and increasing the representation of diverse military families across the U.S.

"There's a sense of apprehension of ‘what are my neighbors going to be like?' and 'will they accept my family into their community?'" said Bingham. "Everybody wants to feel that sense of belonging," especially as a military family that has to move every few years.