During his 20 years in the Army, Michael Matthews deployed to Iraq twice, Afghanistan once, and once to Bosnia with the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, NY. Michael started the process of concluding his military career six years ago at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. It was then that he regained his love for art that he enjoyed as a kid growing up in Baltimore, MD. As a kid, he mostly explored art through sketches and drawings. This time it was something new, he dove into painting with acrylics.

Since starting the transition process and retiring from the Army in the summer of 2018, he’s been on a path of learning. He earned an Associate of Applied Sciences degree in Building Trades in Carpentry from Montgomery College, and a degree in the Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the Catholic University of America. He’s currently a graduate student at The Catholic University of America working towards a Masters’s degree in Architecture, majoring in Net Zero Design with a concentration in Sacred Space and Cultural Studies.

He enjoys the challenges architecture presents, the attention to detail, the geometry, the architecture tectonics, and the diversity of faucets the architecture field presents. Once he graduates from school, he plans to become a licensed architect and use his artistic creativity in designing spaces in the Build environment.

Today, Michael is a proud loving dad and lives in Rockville, Maryland.

Kim DeFiori (she/her/hers) is a retired Army Officer. Last year she published her first book “Lessons from Thor: Healing with a Service Dog’s Touch” and had her first ever poem published in the CBAW Anthology “We Were Not Alone.” Kim received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the United States Military Academy, and MBA from Cornell University. She will start her PhD at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Health Policy and Management in the fall of 2022. Kim enjoys hanging out with cats, dogs, horses, and giraffes.