Meet WoVeN Staff
The WoVeN staff is passionate about improving the lives of women Veterans. They make sure that the WoVeN groups run smoothly and help keep the WoVeN community connected.
Tara Galovski
WoVeN’s Director, Tara Galovski, is a clinical psychologist who also serves as the Director of the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Galovski has enjoyed working in the field of mental health and well-being with women from all walks of life, including Veterans for over a decade. As a researcher, she is interested in studying the effects of traumatic experiences and developing therapies to treat posttraumatic stress disorder. Outside of work, she enjoys playing sports, going to the beach at every possible opportunity and especially spending time with her family and her two dogs, Cappy and Louie. Dr. Galovski feels truly honored and privileged to continue her work with women Veterans through the WoVeN program!
Lauren McSweeney
Lauren McSweeney, WoVeN’s Co-Director, has been passionate about mental health, especially for women and Veterans, for many years. She’s a Health Science Specialist at the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Michigan University and completed her postdoc at Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. When she’s not working, you can find her enjoying the beauty of Cape Cod, exploring coastal activities, and making the most of beach days.
Sarah Blanchard
Sarah is a National Trainer and current National Consultant for WoVeN. On a whim, Sarah said yes to a fellow veteran to serve as a Peer Leader and participated in the last in-person Peer Leader training in February of 2020 and quickly became hooked. Before joining the Women Veterans Network, she served as a signals intelligence analyst for the United States Army. During her military service, she was stationed in Korea, Bosnia and the NSA. After the pandemic sent everyone virtual, Sarah went on to lead several online groups and hasn’t looked back since! Outside of WoVeN, Sarah is a proud mother of two quirky kids and a life-long educator. Possibly due to her dedication to education, becoming a trainer and a BRIDGES retreat leader seemed like a natural fit. “I’m not sure what I would do without WoVeN, I have definitely, found my tribe.”
Brenda Massey
Brenda is one of WoVeN’s National Consultants and served in the United States Air Force for 30 years. Before connecting with WoVeN, Brenda felt like there was a void in services and programs that address “women veterans” only. She quickly realized after joining an 8-week group in 2018 that WoVeN fills that void. Later that same year, she became the “first” Peer Leader via the Apprenticeship program. In 2019, she was selected to become a National Trainer and has loved her work with the program. Brenda believes that WoVeN enables women to have a better understanding of each other’s weaknesses and strengths while also providing space for important conversations to be had without becoming overly invasive. Without a doubt, Brenda believes that WoVeN has provided a clearer purpose for her life and is #WoVeN4Life!
Martha Monahan
Martha is a National Consultant and actively manages WoVeN’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages. She enlisted in the Navy in 1985 and after 24 years of service, she decided to retire in 2009. Martha enthusiastically joined WoVeN in April of 2019 as a group member and quickly decided to become a Peer Leader. In 2020, she was nominated to become a National Trainer and attended the February training held in San Diego, CA where she also received her Peer Leader Exemplar coin. Although she is no tech whiz, she embraced the chance to keep WoVeN moving forward during the COVID-19 pandemic and co-led some of the initial Zoom groups. Since becoming a National Consultant in 2023, she is a fixture at the online Peer Leader, WoVeN-at–Large, and National Trainer meetings. She absolutely loves WoVeN’s Birthday, Women Veterans Day, and Celebration/Recognition events. Look for her at a Zoom screen near you!
Amy Street