Employee Giving and Leadership in Action

Gwendolyn Oxford’s life is filled with military connections. She started her career in the Navy, married a Navy sailor, and raised a son who would go on to join the Marines. Now at Booz Allen, she’s a principal in the firm’s Global Defense business. And through Booz Allen’s Employee Giving Campaign, she’s a supporter of Steadfast Service Dogs, a nonprofit that helps veterans and others in the southeastern United States. 

Gwendolyn first learned about the organization on Facebook through a dog named Snouticus. He’s a massive white German shepherd and the pet of a former law enforcement officer. “The owner noticed that when he was having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and health situations, the dog became very engaged, so they started working and developing Snouticus as a service dog,” she says. 

Over the years through their stories on Facebook, Gwendolyn followed as Steadfast Service Dogs evolved into a full-fledged provider and trainer of certified service dogs. There was Snouticus’ training through fields and swamps, the addition of new puppy Waffles and Furbag the cat, naming contests for two more puppies, and more.

“I’ve always supported military and law enforcement, and it’s pure luck that I stumbled across them,” she says.

Then she discovered an unexpected coincidence: Just as she was relocating to Booz Allen’s Fayetteville, North Carolina, office, Steadfast Service Dogs was also relocating there—right across town.

Over the years, Steadfast Service Dogs grew a proven track record of service dog placements for a wide range of conditions: PTSD, diabetes, seizures, heavy mobility issues, and psychiatric and neurological disabilities. Beneficiaries include survivors of sex trafficking, survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and many people injured in their law enforcement or military service.

“People sign up to do those jobs, but you don’t always know what’s going to happen,” Gwendolyn says. “So, if you can help, you do.”

For the past 2 years, right after Steadfast Service Dogs officially incorporated as a nonprofit, Gwendolyn has provided her support through Booz Allen’s Annual Employee Giving Campaign. In this campaign, the firm matches all donations up to $2,500 per employee made through the Booz Allen Cares website, up to a $1 million cap.

“It’s great money for your nonprofit,” she says. “Whatever you contribute gets doubled, whether it’s $5 or $1,000. It adds up quickly, and for many organizations and nonprofits, this is an easy way to help them.”

Gwendolyn’s journey to the Employee Giving Campaign, and to the firm as a whole, started with a well-timed phone call.

The Navy had transferred her husband to the Pentagon in Washington, DC, 26 years ago. Not being the type to sit idle, she went to a temp agency to find a job. “While I was taking a typing test, the Booz Allen finance team reached out. I did a phone interview on Friday and started on Monday,” she says.

Since then, she’s applied her skills in the firm’s defense business—“I love playing with spreadsheets”—and has become a leader, both in her work and in giving back to the community. In addition to her involvement with the Booz Allen Employee Giving Campaign and Steadfast Service Dogs, Gwendolyn serves on the firm’s global defense business’s council for diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

“When people are looking for volunteers, I raise my hand and get it done,” she says. “I try to be the type of leader that I’d want and lead by example.”