About
From the Air Force to the C-suite, Pamela McGee has spent more than three decades advancing veteran employment, workplace mental health, and people-centered HR strategy. Back when Pamela left the Air Force in 1990, she jumped right into the demands of civilian life awaiting her. With her husband still on active duty and often deployed, Pamela had a family to take care of, a career to navigate, and no guidebook for how to do it all, all at once.
Now a military spouse raising two children and working full-time, Pamela pursued her education with relentless determination, earning her bachelor’s degree and MBA through night classes and weekend study. She built a career in HR, rising through the ranks across state government, healthcare, Fortune 500 companies, and government contracting. Along the way, the same question came up for her time and again. If HR professionals often serve as the first responders to workplace challenges, who is looking out for their mental health?
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Pamela knew from her years of experience that the power to answer that question was in her hands. As President of the Greater Orlando SHRM (GOSHRM), she launched the area’s first Mental Health Forum to equip HR leaders with the tools to support their teams and, importantly, themselves. Recognizing the need for recovery-friendly workplaces, Pamela also organized two annual Mental Health Forums to provide HR and business professionals with the knowledge and tools to cultivate supportive work environments.
Her efforts to convene people enables decisionmakers at all levels to champion mental well-being in their workplaces, ensuring long-term organizational and employee success. Every November, she hosts the “Salute to Service” summit in partnership with GOSHRM, a veteran recognition and career empowerment event grounded in her own experience of navigating transition without a strong support system to guide her.
Today, Pamela is CEO of Genuine Executive Management Solutions (GEMS), an organization focused on building ethical, people-centered HR strategies for organizations across sectors. She has prioritized mentoring the next generation of HR professionals throughout her career. “As a young HR professional, I was fortunate to have Pamela as a guide and mentor,” said Seychelle Hercules. “She works behind the scenes, never seeking recognition, but always ensuring mission success.”
Pam’s partners in veteran hiring and mentorship initiatives describe her as exemplifying the discipline, and selfless service that define true leadership. “Pamela is not only a veteran; she is a hero making an enduring difference for her fellow veterans,” said Cheryl Brown Merriwether, Executive Director for NET Institute: Center for Addiction and Recovery Education. “No service member should navigate career transitions alone.”
Pamela’s dual experience as both a veteran and a military spouse gives her advocacy a dimension that others miss, and drives her commitment to ensuring that HR professionals, veterans, and military spouses all have the support they need to succeed.
Is your organization ready to better support military spouses? The Military Spouse Toolkit offers practical strategies to recruit and retain a highly-skilled community too many employers don’t yet fully recognize. Dig deeper into key findings on employing military spouses, and discover strategies and insights to effectively recruit and retain this talent pool with the Insight to Action: Leveraging the Potential of Military Spouse Talent report.