Abby Malchow

Name: Abby Malchow
City/State: ARLINGTON, VA
Branch of Service: Navy
Dates of Service: 08/20/2001-04/01/2022
Last Rank Held: E7
Military Occupation: Logistics Specialist
Current Occupation: Seeking new opportunities
X: N/A
Instagram: @abbymalchow
Facebook: @abbymalchow

Abby outside of the military:

Outside of my military service, I have spent my career in Big Tech, working at Amazon and Intel Corporation in strategic partnerships and business development. At those companies, I created and led several, large-scale strategic initiatives that include creating the Military Entrepreneurship Program and helping launch Amazon’s Supplier Diversity Program. I am a passionate advocate for increasing mental health and suicide prevention awareness, as well as remaining an advocate for my fellow veterans. Some of my achievements include advocating for the launch of Mental Health & Wellbeing as Amazon’s newest employee led group during COVID, and also being a graduate of the inaugural class of President George W. Bush’s Stand-To-Veteran Leadership Program. In that program and at Amazon I led several projects that piloted AI-powered mental health solutions online and on social media. Outside of work I serve on the board of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland and am a certified SCORE mentor as I enjoy supporting entrepreneurs. I am happily married to my husband Aaron (also a Navy Veteran) and our wedding anniversary is on Veterans Day!

Abby on joining the IAVA Cavalry:

I have been a member of IAVA’s Cavalry since 2014 where I was one of 22 veterans selected to advocate to Congress in support of the Clay Hunt SAV Act. I have also advocated in support of the Deborah Sampson Act. I am joining the 2025 Zach McIlwain Leadership Fellowship as I personally knew and worked with Zach through IAVA and I want to carry his legacy forward.

How the military experience affected Abby’s personal growth:

My military experience was quite unique- despite being in the Navy I never served on a ship, instead I spent most of my career supporting the Naval Expeditionary Force. In 2006 I deployed with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 to Fallujah and Ramadi, Iraq. This experience forever changed me as I was in Ramadi during the second battle and during this time there was heavy incoming fire and a substantial number of casualties. Shortly after returning from Iraq we found our squad leader dead from suicide in our warehouse and just two months after that I lost my best friend to suicide as well. This was deeply traumatic to me as I knew he was suicidal, directly intervened to try to stop him, but failed. These experiences led me to join IAVA because I soon realized many of my fellow sailors did not serve in combat as boots -on -ground and I needed to find a community with shared experiences. I have also survived multiple traumas during my service which has led to TBI, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. This is why I am a passionate advocate for both mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

IAVA’s policy priorities that are the most pressing:

I believe the following two policy priorities are the most pressing: protecting our democracy and alternative therapies. Our country is more divided than ever and there needs to be more bipartisanship in order to make progress as a nation. The political climate has become polarizing where very rarely people are accepted for their personal political beliefs. As veterans we fight to protect and defend our Constitution, however it seems our constitutional rights have never been at a greater risk of losing. For alternative therapies, they have been very successful for me and a veteran should have the right to choose the treatment they are most comfortable with. The rates of PTSD and suicide among veterans remains substantially higher than the general population and too often we cannot rely on the VA for timely and effective care, especially when we are in a mental health crisis.

IAVA’s policy priorities with the strongest personal connection for Abby:

I have the strongest personal connection to alternative therapies, especially for mental health. As a veteran with TBI and PTSD these symptoms manifest themselves as insomnia, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. I have found alternative therapies used as needed to be far more effective than having to take multiple prescriptions daily. Veterans should have the right to choose treatment options they are most comfortable with.