New Board Member, Michele Adair
Another board member has joined The Aftermath Foundation. We are honored to have Michele join our cause! Learn more about Michele below or on our board page.
Michele Adair, Navy Chief Ret. served in the United States Navy for 23 years and is a 100% Service Connected Disabled Veteran and a Veteran of Foreign Wars. She was born in Fresno California and enlisted in the Navy in 1997. After basic training and hydraulics A school she reported to her first duty station, the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk (CV 63) as an Aviation Boatswain Mate Equipment (ABE) where she earned her Air Warfare, promoted several times and became the first woman in the Navy to run the flight deck Arresting Gear division (the first female Topside P.O., USN).
She trained as a Military Police Officer, was selected to be a Field Training Officer, and did one tour in the Middle East beginning the day before 9-11 happened in 2001 and subsequently served as a Watch Commander. She then reported to the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) where she earned her Surface Warfare and was promoted to Chief.
In 2009 the Navy sent Chief Adair to NDAC (Navy’s Drug and Alcohol Counseling School) to become a Drug & Alcohol Counselor and in her last 11 years in the Navy she served as a counselor for Navy and Marines and also trained as a sexual assault advocate and further trained to handle combat PTSD and sexual trauma.
She was the leading Chief Petty Officer over the Mental Health Treatment facility at Marine Base Camp Pendleton, during which time she also gave birth to her daughter Isabella, her greatest achievement. She was the Directorate for Mental Health Senior Enlisted Leader, running the Mental Health department at Naval Medical Center San Diego. After successfully counseling hundreds of Navy and Marine personnel through rehab programs, Chief Adair retired from Naval Station Point Loma Residential Treatment Facility in 2020 to begin a new career.
In addition to dozens of awards from the Navy and yearly hours logged as a volunteer and community volunteer leader within San Diego, in 2021 Chief Adair was inducted into the LGBTQ Veterans Wall Of Honor for her work protecting the community within the Navy and for the reason that she had been approved by President Obama to be in charge of her Command to roll out the repeal program ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell from the Navy, thereby fighting discrimination.
Chief Adair has now earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business and is currently attending film school in pursuit of a degree in Digital Film. She got married in 2022 to the love of her life, Rachael Hastings Adair, and they co-founded One Match Fire, LLC, a production company and Girls With Gear, a women-based film equipment co-op and education initiative. She volunteers regularly with numerous non-profits and in 2021 became a Foster Resource Parent and has fostered six children so far and reunited multiple families through this process.
Thank you all for your continued support!