Contact Information
Bio
Lieutenant Colonel King in an Assistant Professor for the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership.
Lieutenant Colonel King enlisted in 1998 and served eight years in the Illinois Air National Guard before commissioning as an active duty social worker in 2006. In 2013 she was selected for an Air Force Institute of Technology civilian Ph.D. program, which she completed in 2016.
Since then, she has served as the Mental Health Flight Commander and Behavioral Health Consultant at the United States Air Force Academy (2016-2018), Chief of Air Force Mental Health Policy and Program Evaluation (2018-2020) and Chief of the Air Force Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program (2019-2020) — both at Air Force Medical Readiness Agency in San Antonio Texas, and Director of Social Work Graduate Education and Associate Clinical Professor at the Army-University of Kentucky Master of Social Work Program at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas (2020-2022).
Education
Bachelor of Social Work, University of Illinois at Springfield (2004)
Master of Social Work, Illinois State University (2006)
Squadron Officer School, by correspondence (2009)
Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence (2013)
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin (2016)
Air War College, by correspondence (2019)
Professional Experience
Financial Management Technician – Traditional Guardsperson with multiple activations, 183d Fighter Wing, Springfield, Illinois (December 1998 – August 2006)
ADAPT Element Chief, Sheppard AFB, Texas (November 2006 – May 2009)
Family Advocacy and Mental Health Element Chief, McConnell AFB, Kansas (May 2009 – August 2103)
Air Force Institute of Technology Ph.D. Student, University of Texas, Austin, Texas (August 2013 – August 2016)
Mental Health Flight Commander and Behavioral Health Consultant, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado (August 2016 – October 2018)
Chief, Mental Health Policy and Program Evaluation Branch, Air Force Medical Readiness Agency, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas (October 2018 – December 2020)
Chief, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program, Air Force Medical Readiness Agency, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas (June 2019 – July 2020)
Director of Air Force Social Work Graduate Education and Associate Clinical Professor, Lackland Air Force Base and Fort Sam Houston, Texas (December 2020 – July 2022)
Honors & Awards
1999: Basic Training Honor Graduate
2004: Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, 183d Fighter Wing, Springfield, Illinois
2007: Commissioned Officer Training Top Graduate
2011: Air Mobility Command Social Worker of the Year
2013: Medical Operations Squadron Company Grade Officer of the Year, McConnell AFB, Kansas
2016: University of Texas School of Social Work Dissertation of the Year
2017: Team of the Year, 10th Medical Group, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
2018: Large Biomedical Science Team of the Year, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
2018: General Wilma Vaught Visionary Leadership Award, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
2020: Outstanding Achievement in Operational Research, Air Force Medical Readiness Agency, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
2022: Faculty Member of the Year, Army-University of Kentucky Master of Social Work Program, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
Research and Scholarly Interests
Policies and practices impacting servicewomen’s wellness and retention
Factors contributing to military mental health providers’ personal wellness and delivery of ethical, quality care
Publications
Selected Publications
King, E. L., Myint, H. Y., Gardner, T. R., Mitchell, M. R., & Beitz, K. A. (2022). Gender disparities in active duty Air Force parents’ childcare access: Pre-pandemic costs, utilization, and career impacts. Armed Forces and Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221094646
King, E. L., & Hawkins, L. E. (2022). Identifying and mitigating moral injury risks in military behavioral health providers. Military Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/08995605.2022.2093599
Engelhardt, E. C., Oliver, M. A., Bicknell, G. C., Flaherty, C., Line, K., & King, E. L. (2022). Theory of planned behavior and active duty Air Force members’ mental health help-seeking. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usac326
King, E. L., Spencer, C., & Meeks, C. (2021). How the COVID-19 pandemic can and must expand social worker e-interventions for mental health, family wellness, and beyond. Social Work. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/ 10.1093/sw/swab043
King, E. L., & Snowden, D. (2020). Serving on multiple fronts: A grounded theory model of complex decision-making in military mental health care. Social Science and Medicine, 250(2020), 112865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112865
King, E. L., Salas-Wright, C. P., Snowden, C. L. & DiNitto, D. M. (2020). New evidence on retaining Air Force members with young children: Exploring work and personal factors by gender. Military Behavioral Health, 8(1), 86-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/21635781.2019.1689874
King, E. L., Snowden, D. L., Salas-Wright, C. P., & DiNitto, D. M. (2019). Retaining women Air Force officers: Work, family, career satisfaction and intentions. Armed Forces and Society, 46(4), 677-695. https://doi.org10.1177/0095327X19845024
King, E. L. & DiNitto, D. M. (2019). Historical policies affecting women’s military and family roles. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 39(5/6), 427-446. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-01-2019-0010
Jackson, G., Weiss, E. L., Simmons, C., & King, E. (2018). Women in Uniform. In American military life in the 21st century: Social, cultural and economic issues and trends (pp. 26-40). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.