Check Out Brandy Woodley’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandy Woodley.

“My mother relocated my two brothers and me out to the Northland of Kansas City, MO, when I was about to enter first grade. She wanted us to have a great educational foundation. However, it also meant attending schools with a majority white demographic. My twin brother and I were six years old and just happy to make lots of friends.”

Brandy Maltbia Woodley is a Kansas City, Missouri native, graduating in the top 5% of her class at Winnetonka High School in 1993. She also was the first Black Homecoming Queen in the North Kansas City School District. In 1997, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in International Business with a minor in French, with honors, from Northwest Missouri State University. During the summer and winter breaks from undergraduate studies, she interned at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Farmland Industries, Inc through the INROADS, Inc internship program. In 1999, she completed her Master of Arts in Human Resources Management at Webster University.

“Moving through a path towards being a businesswoman was what I thought I should do but I never felt it was my purpose. In my mid-twenties, I had a pull to want to mentor and encourage young Black girls to reach for their aspirations.”

Army Wife & Life

Brandy was an Army wife for 16 years, married to Sergeant Major (SGM) Johnny Woodley. Together, they gave birth to three daughters (including a set of twins). Johnny served 31 years: Soldier, Ranger, 82nd Airborne, Jumpmaster and more. The Woodleys were stationed at Fort Polk, Fort Bliss, Fort Sill and Fort Shafter/Hickam Harbor AFB. As an Army wife, Brandy learned to “bloom where you are planted,” as a General’s wife advised. She learned to quickly unpack and setup a house while enrolling kids in school and dropping off her Soldier at the airport for three months to a year of deployment—sometimes all in the same week. During deployments, she became tough, focused and determined to ensure that her daughters had all the love, support, discipline and opportunities in his absence and that family time and bonding was a priority when he reintegrated back into their lives each time. Woodley admits that being an Army wife was hard, but she would do it all over again . . . and again.

“I met so many strong and diverse women who poured so much into me as a woman, mother, friend, Christian and entrepreneur.”

Work Experience

Brandy Woodley’s career has not been a straight path but one that gradually smoothed out with great gratification. She started off in corporate America as a Compensation Analyst at the headquarters division of Farmland Industries, Inc. In 2000, she took a lateral move to work for Sprint, where she completed the final courses to be a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) with an International/Expatriate emphasis through WorldatWork in 2001.

As an entrepreneur, Brandy Woodley was the CEO of Soaring Dove Enterprises, a sole proprietorship she ran from 2006-2019. This business was established in order to provide balance of military life, spirituality, child development, and home life; as well as conduct business across the nation and seas, wherever the military located her family. She has always had a heart to help others and could accomplish this through Soaring Dove Enterprises, Inc. The business focused on document assistance, editing (articles; general, term and/or thesis papers; webpage content; marketing & advertising language, and more); virtual assistance; HR consulting and professional coaching. During that time, she went on to edit three published books. In March 2013, Brandy received the Extraordinary Minority Awards’ Young Entrepreneur of the Year from the MEDA Business Center of El Paso (El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce).

From 2009-2013 while stationed at Fort Bliss, TX and Fort Sill, OK, Brandy was the Editor-in-Chief and contributor of Army Spouse Magazine (formerly Army Wife Magazine). Within that role, she completed press releases for top stories impacting the local military and civilian population that went out to different Public Affairs Offices of various Army installations across the nation. She was also a liaison for the magazine and USAA’s marketing and communications initiative with independent, military-focused media outlets. Woodley also was the Director of Operations and Human Resources for MOCHA Enterprises based in El Paso, TX.

Woodley dipped into the education field in 2002, working as a substitute teacher in DeRidder, LA and at neighboring Fort Polk’s satellite campuses of Upper Iowa University and Central Texas College as an adjunct instructor. In 2014, she jumped completely in working full-time at Red Hill Elementary School in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Currently, Brandy is the Editor for the Department of Military History for the Command and General Staff College located on Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This job is truly a culmination of the gratifying career pivots of her life: editing, Army and education.

Settling into Army Retirement Life

Brandy and her family retired from the U.S. Army life and settled in Parkville, MO. Her children have been part of the Park Hill School District since 2016. In 2020, Brandy was asked to be part of the Walden Middle School Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group and the Park Hill South High School Inclusion and Equity Family Advisory Council. She jumped at the opportunity to help school administrators improve and set objectives that would allow each and every student to be seen, heard and feel that they truly belong at their school. Upon listening to what other parents had experienced and that of their scholars, her heart was pained and resolved stirred to reach out and help. Hearing how students of color were negatively disciplined differently, racial and gender slurs were freely used without worry of consequences, distressed students not getting learning gaps closed, and curriculum not inclusive of the dynamic culture, races, genders, ethnicities and preferences that make up the student body, Brandy felt a call to advocate and help ensure a more excellent school experience for her daughters and every student within the Park Hill School District. She became a school board candidate for the district after several teachers and community members suggested (gently pushed) that she do so. On April 6, 2021, the voters elected her to be the first Black school board member of the Park Hill School District.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My journey to becoming the first Black board of education member in 2021 was definitely one with challenges. Besides the time, energy and resources that consumed my life, I had to be cautious about everything that I did in the public eye. Campaigning as Black woman for an unprecedented seat is viewed in two differing perspectives. First, our nation is definitely in an awakening where Black women’s work, value and worth are slowly, yet steadily, being recognized, embraced and revered. This was my moment to leap out into the unknown and try to be a change maker. The second perspective was that I was a Black woman trying to get elected in a predominately white community and to a school board which had openly racist members just decades ago.

I did most of my campaigning via online platforms of Facebook and Zoom. This provided me the safe space of home to engage in and have difficult conversations. However, when I did lit drops with my team, I kept very aware of my environment and the neighborhoods, looking for any indications around residences that would not welcome my presence as a Black person. That was very tough and mentally draining for me—having to feel that grain of fear in my own community.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
After leaving corporate America and becoming an Army wife, she took her experience to the education field. She was an Adjunct Instructor at Central Texas College and Upper Iowa University while stationed at Fort Polk, LA. She taught human resources management, complex organizations, training and development, compensation, and other related business courses. One of the most challenging and rewarding courses was helping graduating seniors with their “Senior Projects,” or thesis papers and presentations.

Across the Pacific Ocean, she sailed into Red Hill Elementary School in Honolulu, HI. She took the course and exam to become a Certified Substitute Teacher in the state of Hawaii. At Red Hill for almost two full years, where her three daughters started off in first and fourth grades, she was initially hired as a substitute for Pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade on that campus. Then, she took on additional duties as an Educational Assistance (EA) to help kindergarteners and first graders with sight words and reading development. The second year, she was asked to be a long-term substitute working daily with designated SPED students, creating daily session plans catered to individual needs, helping with IEPs and recording progress for primary teachers and parents.

One of Brandy’s most memorable experiences was working with an amazing first-grade girl named Hunter. She was born prematurely and had some delayed learning, motor and social skills but was very smart, witty and strong-willed. They worked together on writing, reading, numbers and socialization. An intricate part of “Team Hunter” was an awesome school nurse who explained Hunter’s condition, needs, and how to operate the machine that controlled her feeding tube. A few months into being her primary teacher, her parents informed Brandy that she was moving to solid foods. Brandy and the nurse worked together to have Hunter feed herself soft foods—encouraging her, pushing her and celebrating her and her victories. Working with Hunter anchored Brandy’s resolve to take advantage of opportunities to help all children be successful and reach their dreams.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
It is very important to surround yourself with good people who have your best interest at heart. I would advise anyone wanting to enter any new venture to do your research-the good, the bad and the ugly of it all. One key thing to remember is that we all are human-no one is better than another. So, don’t let fear of what you may not have or have not accomplished keep you from stepping out into your dream or calling-especially if that step will open doors and help others.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.brandywoodley4phsd.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/BrandyWoodley4PHSD

Image Credits
Northland Magazine Cover by Natalie Carver