Military families move every few years. They navigate deployments, career interruptions, childcare waitlists, and the daily weight of a life built around service. So, while service members navigate the changing tides of military life, their families do too. And when military families are strong, supported, and ready, so is the force—because behind every effective warfighter is a family that made it possible.

This month, in honor of Military Appreciation Month, we sat down with Stephen B. Simmons, deputy assistant secretary of war for Military Community and Family Policy (MCFP), to talk about what it really takes to support the families behind our nation’s warfighters. From spouse employment programs and childcare access to real-time data and proactive family outreach, Simmons breaks down how his office is working to ensure that readiness starts at home.

Stephen B. Simmons is the deputy assistant secretary of war for MCFP. He previously served 17 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, exiting as a Major in 2022. During his military service, Simmons served in roles as a site commander, operations officer, and retention officer.

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Explore Military OneSource

Use Plan My Move to help with transitions

Review spouse employment resources with MySECO and the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account Scholarship.

See other military family resources, like the Education Directory for Children with Special Needs, the Exceptional Family Member Program, and MilitaryINSTALLATIONS.

Most of us only visit a government website when we really need something—unemployment benefits, a license renewal, or emergency aid. So when the experience is confusing, slow, or just broken, it doesn't just cost time. It quietly erodes something harder to rebuild: trust.

Marcy Jacobs is Maryland's first chief digital experience officer and the driving force behind the Maryland Digital Service (MDDS)—a team that's spent the last two years redesigning how six million residents experience their state government. In this episode, Marcy digs into what human-centered design actually looks like inside a bureaucracy: the discovery sprints that change everything an agency thought it knew, the veteran who wouldn't click a link because he didn't have a trust fund, and why making it easier to file for unemployment might be one of the most important things the government can do right now.

This one is for the builders, the public servants, and anyone who's ever rage-clicked a website and wondered if anyone noticed.

Marcy Jacobs is the State of Maryland’s chief digital experience officer. She was previously the executive director of digital service at the Department of Veterans Affairs and had served over four years with the U.S. Digital Service. She was also an associate partner at McKinsey & Company.

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Explore Maryland Digital Service

Dive into the Maryland Digital Playbook and MDDS Impact Report

What happens when the people who keep America moving start disappearing faster than we can replace them? Across the country, state transportation agencies are facing a workforce crisis that's been quietly building for years—and most of us have no idea it's happening.

This episode of Empathy Affect pulls back the curtain on one of the most underreported challenges in public infrastructure: not the roads themselves, but the people behind them. From knowledge transfer and AI adoption to career pipelines and organizational culture, this conversation is something bigger than transportation. It’s about what it takes for any public institution to hold onto what it knows and build toward what’s next.

Lorri Economy has served as the Utah Department of Transportation chief learning officer since 2014. She previously served the state's Department of Workforce Services.

Amanda Holland is the principal owner of Holland Enterprise Resource Solutions. She previously worked for the State of Alaska for more than 20 years and advises organizations in building resilience, workforce capacity, and effectiveness.

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Explore Utah DOT

Most of us don’t think about food safety until something goes wrong—a recall notice or a moment in the kitchen when we wonder, “Is this still safe to eat?”

In this episode, we take a look behind the scenes at how food safety is ensured long before our food reaches our grocery carts or kitchen tables. Dr. Conrad Choiniere, a senior leader in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Human Foods Program, discusses why fresh produce can be especially challenging when it comes to food safety, how recalls actually work, and the coordination in farming, production, and distribution that keeps food safe.

We also break down your common food safety myths and offer practical, science-backed tips you can use at home to reduce risk while handling the food you love to eat.

Dr. Conrad Choiniere is the director of the FDA Human Foods Program Office of Microbiological Food Safety. He has spent over 20 years at the FDA, leading food safety initiatives and studying consumer attitudes and behavior. On top of working on food safety at the FDA, Dr. Choiniere was also director of Population Health Science for the department’s Center for Tobacco Products.

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Explore the Human Foods Program

Stay up to date on FDA’s recalls

Learn more tips about safely handling food

Caring for your mental health isn’t just about treatment. It’s about living a full life.

This is how the New York State Office of Mental Health is rethinking how we handle mental health—by centering recovery, resilience, and the whole person—not just a diagnosis.

The office’s Chief Recovery and Resilience Officer Julie Burton explains what recovery in the context of mental health looks like practice, why thriving—not just surviving—matters, and how empathy, choice, and community connection shape better mental health outcomes. We also explore mental health workforce challenges and how supporting them is essential to effective care.

As the new year begins, this episode offers a timely reminder that recovery happens not only in clinics, but in communities and everyday human connection.

Julie Burton is the first chief recovery and resilience officer at the New York State Office of Mental Health. She has over 30 years of experience in both community-based direct care for individuals and families, focusing on training and education and implementing programs to help people in care move toward full recovery. She previously served as her office’s director of adult services.

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Explore Community Oriented Recovery and Empowerment (CORE) services

Learn more about the New York Office of Mental Health

Technology has the power to make interacting with our cities and local governments smoother, easier, and more intuitive—but only when it's designed with people at the center.

We enter Season 4 of Empathy Affect with Boston Chief Information Officer (CIO) Santiago Garces, who shares how the city is using digital tools and AI to strengthen trust, improve services, and deepen the connection between residents and their government. From the everyday impact of Boston 311 to emerging AI pilots that help the city respond faster and more transparently, Santiago explains why innovation in Boston isn't about chasing the newest tech. It's about meeting people where they are. We get into what people-centered digital government looks like, how to prepare a public workforce for responsible AI use, and what other cities can learn from Boston's approach.

Santiago Garces is the CIO for the City of Boston, where he leads the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). He was previously the executive director of Community Investment in South Bend, Indiana, and formerly served as CIO of both South Bend and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Read up on Boston’s Interim Generative AI Guidelines

Get to know Boston 311

Learn more about Boston DoIT

Disasters leave more than physical damage. They carry lasting financial consequences for the people, businesses, towns, and cities they impact. A new report from the New Jersey Office of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) lays out in stark terms storms, flooding, and rising recovery costs are increasingly putting pressure on the state’s infrastructure, housing markets, and municipal finances.

In our Season 3 finale, NJ DEP Chief Economist unpacks the report’s findings—from shrinking tax bases and rising insurance costs to the financial feedback loops that can trap communities in cycles of risk. But they also discuss how local governments can plan smarter, invest in resilience, and protect the economic backbone of New Jersey’s communities.

Michael Russell serves as Chief Economist at NJDEP, where he specializes in regulatory impact analysis. He previously served as assistant professor of Economics at Centenary University in New Jersey, where he directed the Center for Sustainability and the Sustainable Practices program.

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Read the full Economic Risks of Climate Change in New Jersey report

Rural communities are the backbone of America—growing our food, fueling our economy, and sustaining traditions that reach far beyond county lines. But in Pennsylvania, as in much of the country, rural health is under strain. Provider shortages, rising rates of chronic disease, and shrinking access to specialty services like obstetrics (maternal health) leave families and entire towns at risk.

Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health Director Lisa Davis has spent more than 30 years working to address these challenges. In this episode, Lisa shares how rural communities and state leaders are finding creative solutions to ensure care is within reach—from deploying community health workers to expanding telehealth and more. These strategies and innovations reveal a bigger truth: rural health is inseparable from the nation’s health.

Lisa Davis has directed the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health since 1999, providing leadership on networking, coordination, and technical assistance across the state’s rural hospitals, health clinics, training programs, and community partners. She has previously held roles at Penn State’s Department of Health Policy & Administration. Her work history spans a range of public health fields, including nutrition, mental health, substance use recovery, and correctional health.

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Learn more about the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health