Featured Speakers

Paula J. Kemp

U.S. Navy Combat Veteran | MST Survivor | Author | Founder of Unjustly Served Foundation

 

Paula J. Kemp is a U.S. Navy combat veteran, author, MST survivor, and national advocate for accountability and reform. As the founder of Unjustly Served Foundation and co-author of Unjustly Served: The Brutal Reality of Military Sexual Trauma, Paula speaks with honesty, courage, and lived authority about the realities survivors face during service and long after they leave the uniform.

 

Her presentations combine personal testimony, survivor advocacy, and system-level insight. Paula does not speak to sensationalize trauma. She speaks to expose what must change, honor those still fighting to be heard, and help audiences understand why prevention, documentation, trauma-informed care, and accountability matter.

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Paula Speaks On:

• Military Sexual Trauma and the hidden cost of silence

• Survivor strength, shame, and reclaiming identity after trauma

• Why MST is not only a personal trauma, but a readiness, leadership, and accountability issue

• The long-term impact of MST on careers, families, health, trust, and veteran outcomes

• How systems unintentionally retraumatize survivors

• Why survivor-centered advocacy must be paired with real accountability

• The B.A.R.E.S. Initiative: Behavioral Accountability, Reporting & Exposure System

• Women veterans, leadership, resilience, and life after service

• Turning lived experience into advocacy, purpose, and reform

 

Signature Presentation Options

Military Sexual Trauma: What Happens During Service — and After

Military Sexual Trauma does not end when the assault ends. For many survivors, the aftermath includes retaliation, isolation, career loss, damaged trust, broken systems, and years of fighting to be believed.

In this powerful presentation, Paula helps audiences understand the full impact of MST beyond the incident itself. She explains why many survivors never report, how institutional failures compound trauma, and what real support must look like.

 

Audiences will leave with a clearer understanding of:

• Why MST is often underreported

• How shame, fear, retaliation, and command culture affect survivors

• The difference between surviving trauma and being supported through trauma

• How trauma-informed care can reduce harm

• Why accountability protects both survivors and the integrity of the military

 

Survival Is Strength: Reclaiming Life After Trauma

Survivors are not fragile. They are some of the strongest people in the room.

This presentation focuses on healing, identity, resilience, and the hard truth that survival often comes with visible and invisible scars. Paula speaks candidly about the emotional weight of trauma, grief, body shame, fear, anger, and the long road back to self-trust.

 

This talk is ideal for women veterans groups, survivor events, mental health conferences, empowerment gatherings, and community organizations.

Audiences will leave with:

• A deeper understanding of trauma’s long-term impact

• Permission to name shame without being defined by it

• A survivor-centered view of strength

• Hope grounded in truth, not clichés

• A call to support survivors with dignity and action

 

B.A.R.E.S.: Building Accountability Before More Harm Is Done

The B.A.R.E.S. Initiative — Behavioral Accountability, Reporting & Exposure System — is designed to address a critical gap: serious misconduct patterns that disappear between commands, transfers, discharge, and veteran status.

 

In this presentation, Paula explains why documentation, accountability, and cross-system visibility matter.

B.A.R.E.S. is not about bypassing due process. It is about preventing clean-slate transfers, recognizing patterns, supporting survivors, and strengthening institutional integrity.

 

Audiences will learn:

• Why disconnected systems allow repeat harm

• How reporting gaps affect survivors and commands

• Why accountability is not anti-military

• How B.A.R.E.S. supports prevention, transparency, and reform

• What communities, organizations, and policymakers can do to help