Rebekah Lloyd has a special place in her heart for veterans. Because she is one. Lloyd, the owner of Lloyd Consulting Firm in Cullman, served in the United States Army for nine years.
“I did one combat tour in Afghanistan and three tours in South Korea during that time. After transitioning from the Army, I started working and volunteering to advocate for the military and veteran communities on the local, state and national levels in Alabama, Virginia and Washington, D.C.,” Lloyd said. “During this time, I became intimately aware of PTSD among my fellow brothers and sisters-in-arms. I saw how our past experiences continue to impact our personal and professional lives. While pursuing my undergraduate degree in psychology, I researched moral wounds and the long-term impacts of trauma on one's life. Then while earning my Master of Public Administration, I launched a nonprofit organization to help women veterans – HER Story. Our mission is to encourage women veterans to honor and remember their sacrifices by empowering them to share and heal through the art of narrative therapy and storytelling.”
Lloyd also has great empathy for anyone who has experienced trauma. She moved back to Alabama in 2019 and began the process of adoption through the foster care system.
“While doing so, I took some time off from pursuing my doctorate to focus on helping my children transition from the foster care system into a permanent home and stable family life,” she said. “My children and those I have worked with since joining the foster community have taught me much about how trauma impacts their daily lives. I recently went back to school, all while continuing my trauma research. While my doctorate is in strategic leadership, I am focusing on servant leadership specifically and applying my research in trauma and its impact within this field.”
Lloyd’s consulting business specializes in leadership coaching and organizational consulting.
“All these distinctive and seemingly disconnected experiences and education converged a couple of years ago when I noticed a need. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many, and helping organizations survive and thrive during this time was something I was uniquely equipped to help with,” she said. “I launched my consulting firm while working with churches and nonprofit organizations during and after the pandemic. I can help with everyday organizational and leadership development challenges such as strategic planning, succession planning, change management and team building. But I also began to see how I could use my research and experience with trauma from the veteran community and in the foster care system to help organizations and individuals on another level.”
Lloyd is uniquely positioned to do the work she does, not only because of her service, education and foster experience, but also because of things she’s experienced personally.
“I have personally been through many traumas. As a teenager, my family's house burned down. Not only did that significantly impact me during that time frame, but I also saw how it impacted my parents as they juggled rebuilding our family's life and preserving what memories we had,” she recalled. “Like many other veterans, I witnessed and experienced things while in service that no one should ever have to. These traumas leave a lasting imprint in our minds and try to change our perception of life and all it brings. As such, we struggle to enter the workforce post-military.”
Lloyd said she wants to bridge the gap between what a leader knows and understands and what an employee who has experienced trauma wishes his or her leader and coworkers did know and understand.
“Many individuals have silent screams for help. Considering the amount of time we spend at work in our adult life, it's crucial leaders are equipped to hear that scream and respond to it,” she said. “That does not mean we must go into specifics about past experiences or traumas. But that does mean I want to raise awareness in the workplace about possible traumas, triggers, behaviors and coping mechanisms others might bring to the table and how we can interact together to help everyone succeed.”
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"I want to raise awareness in the workplace about possible traumas, triggers, behaviors and coping mechanisms others might bring to the table and how we can interact together to help everyone succeed."
Rebekah Lloyd