Kishla Askins is a retired Naval Officer and Physician Assistant who served with the U.S. Marines, leading missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, directing international training exercises, and spearheading medical relief efforts in crisis zones. She created the Navy’s first graduate medical education program for Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants, ensuring the next generation of providers was mission-ready. Kishla later served as Senior Defense Advisor to Senator Joe Donnelly, congressional liaison to the Surgeon General of the Navy, and Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Biden-Harris Administration. A proud Midwesterner, graduate of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and longtime champion for veterans and families, Kishla lives in Omaha with her wife, Alison, a retired Marine Corps pilot, and their dog, Bentley.