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Service Beyond the Uniform: How Veterans Continue to Lead and Serve at ZERO TO THREE
Leaders Jonathon Gonzales and Beth Elbertson remind us that the values of service, teamwork, and integrity continue long after military life.
Carrying Service Forward
Leading with purpose and commitment
For Jonathon Gonzales, a member of the Army National Guard and Director of Military Family Projects, service is part of who he is. “There are things ingrained in you from the military that you carry into your career,” he says. “Commitment, ownership, accountability. You can’t separate those from who you are.”
Jonathon leads a team that supports the well-being of babies, toddlers, and parents in military and veteran families. As a former Head Start parent, he understands how powerful the right support can be. “In the military, you learn you can’t function as an individual. You survive by working together. That same sense of teamwork drives what we do at ZERO TO THREE. We help families and professionals strengthen the connections that make them resilient.”
A Legacy of Leadership and Teamwork
Lessons that continue to inspire
Beth Elbertson, a Navy veteran and Director of Training and Technical Assistance Integration with the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning, also serves as part of ZERO TO THREE’s leadership team. She sees her service as part of something larger. “We’re two of about 17 million veterans,” she says. “Veterans all over the world are giving back. We’re helping others, each one of us a small part of the whole.”
That collective mindset still shapes how she leads. “Boot camp teaches you to be a team. Being part of this community of millions always feels right. It’s not about standing alone, it’s about working together to make something better.”
Beth carries the Navy’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment into her daily work. “Patience, keeping the bigger picture in mind, admitting when I’m wrong—those lessons make me a better leader. It’s about integrity and remembering this work is bigger than me.”
Veterans all over the world are giving back. We’re helping others, each one of us a small part of the whole.
The Spirit of Servant Leadership
Connecting military values to early childhood work
Both Jonathon and Beth talk about how servant leadership connects their military experience to their work today.
For Jonathon, that means serving those who serve. “In basic training, you learn selfless service, to put others before yourself. Through our Military Family Projects, I get to keep serving by helping military and veteran families build strong foundations for their children.”
For Beth, it’s about leading with purpose. “One of the best leaders I ever had was my commander in the Navy,” she says. “She showed us what it means to lead with compassion and courage. That’s what I try to bring into my work supporting Head Start and Early Head Start programs.”
We are proud to have leaders like Jonathon and Beth on our team. They bring the values of service, teamwork, and integrity into everything they do. Their experiences remind us that service doesn’t end when military life changes. It continues through every act of leadership and every effort to give children and families the strongest start possible.
I get to keep serving by helping military and veteran families build strong foundations for their children.
