Our Team
Jen Tullis
Program Manager
Jennifer Tullis has a deep background in managing military family programs at both the battalion and regimental level, while working for the United States Marine Corps, in Warrior Care programs. She has a great deal of expertise dealing with DOD and VA benefits and has enjoyed assisting service members, veterans and military spouses in benevolent and case management roles. As a Recovery Care Coordinator and former caregiver, she assisted wounded, ill, and injured Marines and Sailors recover from their injuries and successfully transition to the private sector.Jennifer is a Gold Star Wife and has spent over a decade comforting those who have experienced a life-altering tragedy. Her loyalty and compassion for people is unsurpassed and she continues to support several benevolent organizations, who share her empathy toward people.She holds a degree in Early Childhood Development and is raising two daughters in the lovely state of Virginia. Jennifer enjoys the outdoors, hiking and kayaking. The family also enjoys their three Labrador retrievers.
Andrea Sawyer
Advocacy Navigator
Andrea Sawyer has first-hand experience as a caregiver to a veteran with PTSD and TBI. Andrea and her husband experienced difficulty finding treatment and services for his injuries when her husband returned home from Iraq. They decided that while their family was recovering from the injuries inflicted by war that they would strive to make changes in the health and support systems to improve services and care for those families and warriors that came through the system after them. After her husband’s injuries, Andrea left her thirteen year teaching career to become a full-time caregiver to her husband and an advocate for other wounded warrior families. Using her history degree from Meredith College, and her teaching experience, Andrea has focused her efforts on educating the public and lawmakers on the struggles faced by caregivers, wounded warriors, and their families. Andrea has worked on caregiver legislation and as a national spokesperson for caregiver issues, She has testified before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee about mental health gaps experienced by veterans within the VA. She had testimony accepted for the record by the House Veterans Affairs Committee surrounding improvements needed in mental health care. Andrea’s favorite part of working at the Quality of Life Foundation is being able to use her plethora of resources from her own struggles to help others. She enjoys being able to give help to others as a way of honoring those who helped her family when they most needed it.
Shawn Pharo
Information Manager
Shawn was raised in a military family and has a heart for the families who serve alongside their service member. She works behind the scenes here at QoLF to keep operations running smoothly. Shawn genuinely enjoys working in the community to improve the quality of life for the caregiving families of wounded veterans and she derives great satisfaction by helping to give back to those who have given so much in service to our nation. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors with her dogs.