A New Initiative: Families Tackling Tough Times Together

About this Episode:

In this Let’s Talk Transitions! Podcast, I chat with Dr. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth. Shelley is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University and the Director of the Center for Families, as well as the Director for the Military Family Research Institute.

In this episode, our conversation centers on the recent launch of Families Tackling Tough Times Together, a program to support families as they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our dialogue concludes with Shelley sharing how this program may be a beneficial resource for military family service professionals in their work with military families.

Guest Bio:

Shelley M. MacDermid Wadsworth is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University, where she directs the Center for Families, as well as the Military Family Research Institute, which she co-founded. Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth’s primary research interest is the relationship between work conditions and family life, with special focus on military families. Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth is a fellow of the National Council on Family Relations, and a recipient of the Work Life Legacy Award from the Families and Work Institute. She has served on federal advisory committees for the National Academies of Science and the Department of Defense, and has testified in Congress on multiple occasions regarding military and veteran families. Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth is a recipient of the Morrill Award, Purdue University’s highest faculty honor outstanding career achievements that have had an impact on society, and in 2019 was named a “Top Ten Extraordinary Contributor” among work-family researchers worldwide.

Resources Mentioned in Podcast:

• Keys to Resilience: Transformation through Adversity
• Families Tackling Tough Times Together
  • PowerPoint Presentation Slides
  • Facebook Group
  • Purdue University

Additional Resources:

• Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth has collaborated with OneOp (MFLN) in the past on these important topics:
  • Women in the Military: Special Contributions and Unique Challenges (Webinar)
  • Psychological Health and Resilience of Children in Military Families (Webinar)
  • Introducing Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth and Purdue University’s Military Family Research Institute (Blog Post)
• Check out this 3-part webinar Resilience Series from our OneOp Family Transitions team!
• The OneOp is working diligently to compile resources to assist military service providers and families during these times. All of our COVID-19 content is easily found and accessed on our main page.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family readiness Policy, U.S. Department of Defense under Award numbers 2015-48770-24368 and 2019-4877030366.