Charity Michelle Schaefer’s journey is a story of resilience, transformation, and purposeful leadership. She served four years in the United States Army, including one combat tour in Afghanistan. As a Signal Support Specialist, she was responsible for maintaining communication systems that kept operations running smoothly. She also oversaw the mail room for her battalion, ensuring that soldiers stayed connected to their loved ones back home.
Charity Michelle Schaefer | Founder and CEO | Grit To Glory
Her role required discipline, adaptability, and attention to detail – qualities that would later define her leadership style. At EliteX, we are proud to have Charity Michelle Schaefer as part of the edition: Trailblazing Women Veterans Shaping Leadership, 2026.
Charity joined the Army at 22 during one of the hardest seasons of her life. She was homeless and raising two young daughters. Growing up in poverty, she understood how easily cycles repeat across generations. She made a decision to break that cycle. Enlisting in the military was not only about serving her country. It was about creating stability, structure, and opportunity for her children. She chose to build a different future, even when the odds were against her.
When your why is bigger than your fear, quitting is no longer an option.
Military life brought both growth and hardship. Being separated from her daughters was one of the most painful challenges she faced. The culture at times made balancing family and service difficult. She remembers being told that if the Army wanted her to have a family, they would have issued her one. That mindset was hard to navigate as a young mother. Alcohol was common in the environment, and she later reflected that she would have handled some family challenges differently with the wisdom she now carries. Over time, she committed to healing and personal growth. She believes that hurt people hurt people, but healed people heal people. Today, she leads from a place of wholeness rather than pain.
One defining moment shaped her understanding of leadership. During boot camp, she was immersed in an intense training environment surrounded by people from vastly different backgrounds. She had to adapt quickly or risk losing the opportunity to serve. In one grueling exercise, she low crawled through mud under barbed wire while live rounds were fired overhead. Her gear did not fit properly, which was common at the time. Tears streamed down her face as she questioned her strength. In that moment, she pictured her daughters. She refused to quit. That experience solidified her belief in leadership of self. If a person cannot lead themselves, they cannot lead others. The Army refined the grit she had developed in childhood and helped her transform survival strength into disciplined resilience.
Her military experience exposed her to diverse cultures and perspectives, both within the United States and during her deployment overseas. Growing up in a small town in Kentucky had offered limited exposure to difference. The Army broadened her worldview. She realized that people have far more in common than they do apart. Unity and shared purpose became central to her leadership philosophy. She believes leadership is about people. Words matter. Actions matter. When you touch a life, you create a ripple effect that extends far beyond what you can see.
The Army’s core values, remembered by the acronym LDRSHIP, continue to guide her. Loyalty means remaining committed long after emotions fade. Duty means giving her best to every task, understanding that success requires full effort. Respect means honoring others’ experiences and perspectives. Later, becoming certified in somatic coaching deepened her understanding of how trauma shapes behavior. She believes people deserve to be witnessed and validated. Selfless service reminds her that the mission can be greater than personal comfort. Honor calls her to make decisions she can stand by years later. Integrity, for her, is stewardship – being trustworthy even when no one is watching.
Your past may shape you, but it does not have to define you.
After completing her service, Charity transitioned into civilian leadership roles. She began leading and training sales teams around the world. Over time, she generated millions in revenue and helped others achieve similar success. For someone who grew up with limited resources, this achievement required a shift in identity before it ever appeared in reality. She learned to believe in a better future long before she could see it. Leadership, she discovered, begins at the identity level. Today, she teaches others to define who they want to become and align their decisions with that vision.
As a woman veteran in leadership, she faced obstacles. Being taken seriously was one of them. For a period, she believed she needed to be louder or more aggressive to command respect. With experience, she realized effective leadership integrates both strength and empathy. She learned to balance decisiveness with intuition, structure with compassion. This integration became a defining feature of her approach.
During difficult seasons, Charity guides her team back to identity and long term vision. She encourages them to zoom out and define who they want to become. When identity is clear, decisions become clearer. Many people, she believes, struggle because they lack long term perspective. Leadership restores vision and accountability.
For young women who aspire to serve and lead, Charity offers practical advice. Develop a vision that is bigger than your current circumstances. Define who you want to become and begin moving as that person today. Forge a why that is larger than fear, doubt, or external opinion.
Charity Michelle Schaefer stands as proof that background does not dictate destiny. Born into a low income family, statistics suggested she would repeat familiar patterns. Instead, she became the first in her family to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Though she struggled with alcohol for years, she overcame it. She built a business, generated significant revenue, and forged a new path for her daughters. Through her company, Grit to Glory, she now helps others transform adversity into strength. Her life demonstrates that circumstances may shape beginnings, but they do not have the authority to define endings.
Leadership begins with mastering yourself before leading others.