Name:  Chris Spencer

Where were you born and raised?
Northern California

What’s a short story around the biggest transition you’ve faced in life?
The biggest transition I’ve faced is happening as this is written. After 30 years with the same company, a journey that began the moment I stepped off active duty from the Army, I find myself navigating something I never fully anticipated. Three decades. Multiple relocations. A family raised. High-performing teams built from the ground up. What started in my mid-20s has carried me into my mid- 50s, and the view from here is nothing short of remarkable. But what makes this moment different from any challenge I’ve faced before isn’t the uncertainty, it’s the clarity. The mentors who poured into me, the exceptional leaders who modeled what excellence looks like, and organizations like THF who exist precisely to help people in transition see what matters most…all of it has been preparation for right now. I didn’t see this chapter coming. But I’ve never been more ready to write it.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a younger you?
Have faith. Be patient. Trust that sincere effort, applied for the right reasons, will always produce what is meant for you. Not always on your timeline, and not always in the form you expected. But it will come. The younger me wanted results now. What I know now is the work was never wasted. Every assignment, every setback, every season of waiting was building something I couldn’t yet see. Faith kept me moving. Patience kept me grounded. Do the work. Trust the process. What’s yours will find you.

Your Personal Why?
Service is my why. When I show up for someone else, fully present, fully committed, something happens that I can’t manufacture any other way. We both grow. They move forward with greater clarity and confidence, and I become better for having been part of that journey. That exchange is not incidental. It’s the whole point. I didn’t always have language for it, but looking back, every role I’ve held, son, brother, soldier, leader, husband, father, coach, has been an expression of the same truth: I am most alive when I am of value to others.

How does your Why drive you to be a part of the THF Ecosystem?
The moment I stepped into the THF ecosystem, I felt something rare…an unwavering, collective commitment to serving others that you can’t fake and can’t fabricate. From the staff to the trainers to the volunteers, everyone moves in the same direction with the same sense of purpose, rallying around transitioning special operations service members, their families, fellows, and alumni. My why is service. THF is service in motion. Being part of this ecosystem isn’t just an opportunity; it’s a natural extension of everything I believe about what we owe each other as human beings. I’m not here to observe it. I’m here to add to it.

Military Connection or Why do you respect Special Operators?
Service runs deep in my family. Generations of Marines and Air Force before me, and I proudly became the first to join the Army (yes, I still hear about it). My respect for Special Operators is rooted in something simple: what they voluntarily sign up to do. As a support asset throughout my own service and career, I understood early that the people depending on my output needed it to be flawless because their mission, jobs, and livelihood depended on it. That standard never left me. Special Operators embody that same uncompromising commitment at the highest level, and that is something I have always respected deeply.

Favorite THF Value, and why?
All the THF Values are important and my favorite THF Value is “Be You”. I believe being authentic is the foundation everything else is built on. When you commit to simply being yourself with the intention of constant improvement, fully and without apology, the other values don’t have to be forced. They follow naturally. Authenticity invites trust, and trust is what makes real relationships possible. People can only invest in you when they know what they’re getting, and Be You is what gives them that window. For me, it’s not just a value, it’s the one that makes all the others matter.

Area/Industry of expertise:
Transformative Thinking, Relationship Building, Organizational Development, Coaching, Problem Solving.

Contact Chris directly at chris.spencer@honor.org.