Our Story
The Military Family Advocacy Group wasn’t founded to simply talk about the challenges military families face, it was built to structurally solve them.
Our journey began when we witnessed firsthand the profound, exhausting disconnect between federal military healthcare policies and the clinical realities of the families bound by them. Specifically, as we dug into the structural mechanics of the Department of Defense’s Tricare Autism Care Demonstration (ACD), a glaring pattern emerged. We saw dedicated military parents forced to fight a secondary, bureaucratic battle just to secure standardized "medical necessity" care for their neurodivergent children.
We realized that while grassroots support groups and emotional storytelling are vital, they aren’t enough to shift federal frameworks. Overworked Congressional staffers and defense committees don’t just need to hear that a system is broken; they need the objective, rigorous, and technical data that proves how it is broken, alongside the exact statutory language required to fix it. With over 15 years of combined leadership experience spanning higher education administration, justice-system case management, and complex consulting, backed by a deep academic foundation in forensic psychology and criminal justice research, we decided to step into that gap. We realized we possessed the exact analytical skill set needed to translate dense clinical data into actionable legislative solutions. So, we launched The Military Family Advocacy Group as a lean, self-funded, completely independent policy shop.
By refusing corporate sponsorships or defense-contractor funding, we secured absolute analytic independence. This ensures our research on Capitol Hill is guided entirely by data, equity, and the unvarnished truth of what military dependents need. Today, we bridge the gap between clinical reality and bureaucratic regulation, transforming the real-world struggles of military families into high-level, structural reforms in Washington, D.C.
We don't just advocate for change. We design the systems that make it permanent.
The team
Mariah Wilkins
Owner/ Principal Policy Strategist
Mariah Wilkins, MS is the Founder and Principal Policy Strategist of The Military Family Advocacy Group. A Doctoral Candidate in Criminal Justice with a specialized background in criminal justice policy. Mariah has spent over 15 years leading across higher education administration, justice-system case management, and complex consulting environments. As an active researcher and Adjunct Faculty member instructing on research methods and due process , she brings an uncompromising academic rigor to the veteran and military policy space. Driven by a commitment to absolute analytic independence, Mariah combines her expertise in behavioral health systems with data-driven statutory analysis to dismantle systemic barriers to care. Her ongoing work directly briefs federal legislative assistants and defense committees, ensuring that the policies governing military family healthcare are backed by clinical data, equity, and institutional accountability.
Katherine Farley
Co-owner
Katherine is currently completing a post-baccalaureate program in Clinical Psychology at Fielding Graduate University where she is preparing to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a focus on forensic psychology and psychological assessment. Her academic work includes independent research examining mental health treatment continuity, behavioral stability, and systemic barriers affecting vulnerable populations.
Her professional background includes experience in behavioral health, addiction recovery support, crisis intervention, and peer support services, along with additional training in mental health response, applied behavioral analysis, and research ethics. Katherine’s work is driven by a strong interest in mental health advocacy, justice reform, and improving support systems for individuals and families navigating complex healthcare and institutional challenges.