Hi everyone. I am Justin, and I am creating this fundraiser for my wife, Tiff Shotwell. There are a lot of incredible people in the world, but Tiff is in a category of her own. She is a Black woman, an Army veteran, a trauma therapist, an artist, a scholar, and a mother. She has walked through fire more than once and still chooses to dedicate her life to helping others heal. Tiff has survived trauma, discrimination, loss, poverty, and pain, and she has turned every single one of those experiences into fuel for the work she does today.

Tiff is in the final stage of her PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Her dissertation is focused on improving how the Veterans Health Administration supports veterans who have experienced suicidal ideation. She is using her lived experience, her clinical training, and her academic strength to change an institution that desperately needs transformation. This is not a theory for her. This is her life. This is her community. She moves forward in faith that this is the work she was meant to do.

Along this journey, Tiff has accomplished more than most people achieve in a lifetime. And she has done all of this while supporting her clients, raising her son, loving her family, and continuing to show up for people in ways that make a real difference. She does everything she can on her own, but right now she needs help to cross the finish line. Tiff is short on tuition for this semester. She has been selling art, working multiple jobs, and doing everything humanly possible to cover the gap, but life has thrown too many challenges at once. She would never ask for help herself, which is why I am doing it for her. She deserves to finish this degree without being crushed by another unexpected barrier.

If you can contribute, you are helping someone who has spent her entire life helping others. You are supporting a queer Black veteran who refuses to give up. You are investing in a future where her research will save lives. You are standing behind a woman who is unstoppable in her purpose. Any amount helps. Sharing helps. Your support helps Tiff continue the work she was born to do. Thank you for holding her up the way she has held up so many others. With love and gratitude, Justin