AFA’s F2 Community
Supporting our Department of the Air Force families has been an important piece of AFA’s mission since our inception in 1946. Inspired by Mrs. Sharene Brown’s Five & Thrive initiative, AFA stood up our United Forces & Families (F2) programming in 2022 to further expand our support and influence to improve the quality of life for our Airmen, Guardians, and their Families. We believe that stronger families continuously build stronger Forces.
Who We Are
The F2 Community builds on AFA’s 110,000+ member network, a dedicated grassroots organization around the world, and a mission-driven staff to advocate for and present solutions to address the top quality of life challenges. We are a passionate and growing community of Airmen, Guardians, spouses, family members, like-minded professionals, advocates, and experts.
Together, we are unstoppable.
F2 Task Force
To amplify the voices of our military families, AFA created the F2 Task Force, an advisory group dedicated to bringing awareness and impact-focused recommendations to AFA for the various quality-of-life issues. The F2 Task Force works with AFA leadership, local AFA Chapters, and communities around the country to:
- Identify new value-added programming opportunities for AFA to develop in support of DAF Families;
- Identify potential legislation initiatives in support of military family quality of life;
- Identify potential private sector opportunities in support of military family quality of life;
- Provide recommendations on military family-related content for AFA events to drive increased spouse and family participation;
- Identify opportunities for USSF family engagements and support;
- And provide content recommendations for AFA’s future events to continue discussion around high priority topics.
Lyndsey Akers
F2 Chair | Air Force Spouse
Lyndsey Akers is the Founder and Principal of Akers&Co, a boutique public relations firm serving mission-driven brands and entrepreneurs through strategic public relations with a specialty in earned media. Throughout her career, Lyndsey has led highly-visible communications campaigns for global corporations, e-commerce start-ups, national non-profits, and for small businesses. It was through her passion to deeply serve military-connected businesses that she pushed the corporate ladder aside and launched Akers&Co, helping more than 100 small businesses share their stories since launching in 2020. Lyndsey is a proud Air Force spouse and former AFA employee with a passion for serving the military family in her work and personal endeavors, particularly through military spouse employment advocacy.
Melissa Shaw
F2 Vice Chair | Space Force Spouse
Melissa Gilliam Shaw is married to Lt. Col. Nicholas Shaw, USSF, and has been a military spouse for 10 years. She is a communications professional serving rural broadband and electric utility clients nationwide in her role as Vice President of Digital Solutions at Pioneer Utility Resources. She leads multiple digital product offerings, manages a large remote team, and advocates for fully remote military spouse employment opportunities.
Melissa and her husband—commander of the 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron—are an inter-service transfer family from the U.S. Army to the Space Force and are the proud parents of Will (4), Nate (6), and Lorelei (8).
Heba Abedelaal
Air Force Spouse
Tara Brandt
Air Force Guard Spouse
Laura Browning
Air Force Spouse
Kristen Christy
Air Force Reserve Spouse
Aaron Evenson
Space Force Wounded Warrior Caregiver & Spouse
Leslie Janaros
Air Force Spouse
Tonya McGough
Air Force Wounded Warrior Caregiver & Families Program Manager
Jessica Norsky
Space Force Spouse
Anne Parker
Air Force Spouse
Debbie Schiess
Space Force Spouse
Marian Wilcox
Air Force Spouse
AFA Representatives
Janelle Stafford
AFA Board of Directors Liaison
Kari Voliva
AFA VP Member and Field Relations
Christine Brown
AFA Sr. Manager, Community Outreach
Thank You to Our Sponsors
To learn more about partnership opportunities and how you can support F2, contact us at F2@afa.org.