Introducing...

In the past few months, I have been honored to get to know many of you in the Veteran Art Program. Your art and how you live your lives continue to amaze and inspire me. You know me as Laura – a young(ish) Army veteran, CVA employee, and mother of three kids. Allow me to better introduce myself to you:

My name is Laura Hechel. I was born and raised in the frozen tundra of northern Minnesota, which is probably why I have moved to progressively warmer climates during my lifetime, finally settling on what is basically the surface of the sun in Phoenix, Arizona. I joined the Army right after high school to become a Signals Intelligence Analyst and Russian linguist. I met my husband (also an Army veteran) during training in Monterey, California. We dated in Texas, got engaged in Arizona, and were married in Vejle, Denmark, during my first permanent assignment with the “Big Red One” in Wurzburg, Germany. After my two years in Germany, I moved to Augusta, Georgia, to finish out my five year service contract. I got out of the Army in July of 2001, just months before the attacks that would radically change our nation and involve us in a conflict that continues to this day – nearly two decades later. 

After the military, I earned my Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Masters in Business Administration…and left corporate America to homeschool my children. I have three children: Jonathan, who is entering his senior year of high school; Jadelyn, who is entering tenth grade; and Zachary, who will be in sixth grade. All of my children currently attend ASU Prep Digital, an online charter school created by, and directly connected to, Arizona State University. 

I only recently returned to the workforce. I was very selective during my job search because I wanted to take a position where I could make a tangible difference in the world. When the Grassroots Engagement Director position at Concerned Veterans for America became a possibility, I was ecstatic. There are many non-profit veteran organizations in our nation that do incredible things to provide individual assistance to veterans in need. These organizations are valuable and necessary. But Concerned Veterans for America stood out among the others because CVA works tirelessly to effect change in public policy that helps veterans and military service members around the world. 

As a veteran who has not always had positive experiences at VA Medical Centers, I am most passionate about our organization’s desire to improve veteran healthcare, so that our nation’s veterans consistently receive quality medical care in a timely manner. Concerned Veterans for America also works to end the endless wars that needlessly place our service members in harm’s way. But we can’t accomplish these objectives alone! We train and provide opportunities for veterans, family members, and civilians who support the military and our nation’s veterans, to speak up and affect real political change in our world. We have so many ways that anyone can be involved in our grassroots efforts – from at home volunteer opportunities to helping with events that raise awareness to speaking directly to politicians through digital letters and in person. Perhaps that is why I love working for CVA and why I enjoy the people in the Veteran Art Program with the Mesa Art League so much: In both groups, everyone is valued for their unique contributions. And those contributions, whether in art or politics, make the world an infinitely better place for others.