The Landing Zone

Send us a textToday's guest is US Marine Corps Reservist and UPS Military Recruiter, Eric Wesolowski. Eric shares his military story, and we discuss his role as a recruiter and provide information and resources on how to be a more competitive candidate.

Send us a textFor this episode, we are taking a step away from our normal transition focus as this is a very special episode in recognition of Memorial Day. Memorial Day honors the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives in service to our great country. These courageous individuals paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms.  Memorial Day is a reminder that that the price of freedom is high and we as a country, community and company owe a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. The day is an opportunity to reflect on their sacrifice and honor their memory. We have a very special guest for todays Episode as we welcome Kelly KcKeague to UPS Headquarters and onto The Landing Zone. Kelly McKeague began his service as the Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) on September 5, 2017 where he is responsible for policy, control, and oversight of all aspects of the Department’s program to account for our nation’s missing personnel from past conflicts. He leads DoD’s worldwide enterprise of research, investigation, recovery, and identification operations, and supporting functions, in order to provide the fullest possible accounting of our missing personnel to their families and to the nation.

Send us a textThis episode features Krista deKryger and focused on the importance of networking. Krista works for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Talent Acquisition Programs and Partnerships Advisor and has substantial experience working for some remarkable agencies including as the Vice President of Education of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York; Director at the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation in Simi Valley, California; Career & Education Transition Specialist Marine Corps Community Services. She is an active volunteer for a multitude of community organizations including VETLANTA and is the spouse of a United States Marine Corp Veteran and a daughter of an Army Veteran.  

Send us a textJoin us to hear transition advice from retired Air Force Colonel David Goode. David is a Principal Operations Lead (Business Consultant) at Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta. David shares details on his very successful transition strategy including growing and engaging his network and using social media to tell his story. 

Send us a textThis episode features transition advice and our guest is John Phillips. John has had a storybook set of careers including in the United States Army where he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, Coca-Cola where he retired as Director and Financial Controller, and he didn’t slow down in his post-retirement life as he has remained steadfast and committed to serving veterans and their families. In addition to being the Vice President of VETLANTA, he serves as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Georgia, is an accomplished author, and has served as a board member for multiple organizations including the USO Council of Georgia. John has also been inducted into the Georgia Military Veterans Hall of Fame.

Send us a textIn Episode 12, we hear US Army Ranger & helicopter pilot veteran, Michael Francesconi's transition story which highlights his role as Vice President and Chief Counsel for UPS Airlines.  

Send us a textThis episode features Marine Corps Veteran, Houston Mills who is President of UPS Flight Operations and Safety and also introduces our listeners to Worldport and UPS Airlines. 

Send us a textSue Schmidlkofer is the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for a global leader in logistics and the world's largest package delivery company, UPS. In this role, Sue helps oversee the company’s strategy to leverage the unique perspectives of more than 528,000 employees across the globe to foster an inclusive culture and equitable workplace. This global strategy is built on UPS’s ability to increasingly connect our customers, suppliers, employees and communities to propel growth and innovation.Throughout her extensive career with UPS, Sue has held a variety of leadership roles primarily within Human Resources in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and currently at the company’s global headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Sue serves on the board of the Georgia Diversity Council and the Atlanta Diversity Management Advocacy Group.A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sue holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Spanish, and a Master’s Degree in Business Management and Human Resources. She is also SPHR certified through the HR Certification Institute.Sue was named one of the 2018 Top Ten Champions of Global Diversity by DiversityGlobal Magazine. A few of her passions include mentoring, volunteering, reading, spending time with her family, cooking, and playing tennis.

Send us a textJoin us for this episode as we talk with Air Force Captain Spencer Hardesty as we cover the Air Force Education With Industry (EWI) Program. Spence is finishing up his 10-month EWI Tour where he is assigned to the UPS Corporate Automotive Team. The Education With Industry (EWI) Program is a highly selective, competitive, career development program designed to improve the technical, professional, and management competencies of participating students by partnering with top tier public and private sector companies. During the ten-month tour, students embed with an industry team to meet their specific career desired learning objectives. Through hands on exposure to industry best practices, students develop the necessary competencies, skills, knowledge, and abilities to build, sustain and retain a mission-ready workforce, as well as learn how to better partner with industry in the future. The Program is sponsored by SAF/AQ and managed by the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT).

Send us a textIn this episode we hear from US Air Force Veteran and UPS Trade Direct Supervisor, Vanessa Ingersoll. Vanessa was the first veteran I hired in 2008 and she has worked various roles including Global Government Operations, Expo 2020 Support and Trade Direct.