Patricia Alston Harris is the WVSS founder and Chief Executive. A native of North Carolina, she and her late husband Mr. Walter Harris, were both deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990, leaving two young children behind with a non-relative caregiver. Her wartime service left her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Since leaving the military, Patricia Harris has dedicated her life to assisting others facing similar problems, reintegrate into civilian society. Her efforts have brought her and the issue’s facing women leaving military service to national attention. Her riveting and sometimes heartrending story was broadcast on National Public Radio on February 23, 2009.
