New York Veteran History Series: Women Warriors

Date and Time
December 7, 2013
Event Details

Lionesses Cynthia Espinoza, Ranie Ruthig, Shannon Morgan, and Michelle Perry in Ramadi, Iraq in July 2004. Photograph by Lloyd Francis Jr.Lionesses Cynthia Espinoza, Ranie Ruthig, Shannon Morgan, and Michelle Perry in Ramadi, Iraq in July 2004. Photograph by Lloyd Francis Jr.

Women veterans tell their own stories.

In January 2013 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the longstanding official ban on women serving in combat roles would be lifted.  Dating back to the American Revolutionary War women have served in the military in various capacities - officially in auxiliary roles, but many de facto direct combat roles as well.

Join us for a panel of NYC women veterans who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as they discuss their own experiences of American military service. 

This event is produced in collaboration with Women Veterans and Families Network.  The panel will be moderated by Meg McLagan, director of the film Lioness.  

The following women will be panelists for this discussion:
 
Nicole Goodwin enlisted in the US Army in 2001-2004. She was deployed to Iraq in July 2003 for 5 1/2 months.  When Nicole returned to the Bronx, she was one of the first homeless veterans of the Iraq War and was featured in the documentary When I Came Home, as well as many news programs. She lives in New York City where she is raising her daughter and writing poetry, fiction and non-fiction. She also graduated college in 2011 with a BA in English (Creative Writing) and Anthropology.
 
Teresa Fazio grew up in White Plains, New York.  She served as a Marine Corps communications officer from 2002 - 2006, deploying once to Iraq.  She is writing a memoir about a deployment relationship and its aftermath.  Teresa has published her work in the New York Times' At War Blog and read her writing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.  She lives and works in New York City.
 
Rebekah Havrilla is a former Army Sergeant and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician serving on active duty from 2004 - 2008 and in the Army Reserves from 2008 - 2010.  She was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006-2007.  Rebekah is currently working towards a Master's Degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Media and Culture from The New School in New York City.
 
RaeAnne Pae recently transitioned from the U.S. Army as a Captain, having served seven years on Active Duty.  She is currently working as the Board Event Manager in the Marketing Division at NYSE Euronext.  RaeAnne deployed to Talil, Iraq in 2007 as a company Executive Officer with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team.  While there she managed logistics and operations for her unit to conduct intelligence operations across southern Iraq.  In 2010 she deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan as the unit intelligence officer for 2/17 Air Cavalry Squadron of the 101st Airborne Division.