Katrina Lamar Acosta was born and raised in Houston, traveled the world during her 14-year stint in the US Army, and currently makes San Antonio her home.

During her time in the Army, Katrina began working on her goal of getting a college degree while serving her country. She studied business and organizational innovation, became certified in knowledge management, and spent six years in communications and public affairs. She was stationed at various Army posts, including Fort Sill, Fort Hood, Fort Sam Houston, and a year deployment to Iraq. Eventually, when her stint in the Army ended, she made plans for a life outside the military.

In her current position as Director of Military Relations for the Aligned Education Foundation, Katrina works at building strategic partnerships with other Veteran service organizations, non-profits, and local military bases with the mission of educating Veterans on their VA benefits. These include financial literacy workshops and classes educating the benefits of credit goal planning for active-duty servicemembers and those planning to transition from military to civilian life. In other words, Katrina’s goal is to help Veterans in every way possible.

Katrina will tell you that she believes she’s one of those people with an extra gear that won’t allow her to sleep at night if she doesn’t do the right thing – even when nobody’s looking. And that’s where her passion for helping her Veteran brothers and sisters comes from. She believes everyone deserves to feel the joy she and her husband, also a Veteran, felt after they recently closed on their home. As a struggling single military mother in her 20s, Katrina thought owning a house was unattainable. But she didn’t know then what she knows now, and she wants all Veterans and active-duty servicemembers to feel the power that comes from knowledge.

When she isn’t working, Katrina enjoys her family, which includes her husband, Jereme, and now four children, three of whom are grown and on their own. Her son, who is deployed, is in the Air Force, having followed in his family’s footsteps. She adores her children’s spouses and is the proud grandmother to the sweetest boy she knows. Katrina and her family love grilling, playing cards, bowling, and collecting rare houseplants from around the world.

“Old Soldiers never die–they just fade away”