John Picerne is a real estate and infrastructure professional who founded Corvias in 1998 as Picerne Military Housing. Over the past three decades, Corvias has developed strong relationships with the Department of Defense and several institutions of higher education. In collaboration with these partners, Corvias provides infrastructure solutions and housing for over 66,000 people.
Shortly after founding the company, John Picerne led it in becoming one of the first private-sector housing partners of the US military. Facing a huge backlog in military residential improvement and maintenance, Corvias quickly and efficiently deployed solutions to bring housing projects online and drastically increase occupancy rates.
Following a trademarked “Solutions Through Partnership” approach, Corvias provides high-quality housing at Fort Bragg, Fort Meade, Fort Polk, Fort Rucker, Fort Riley, and Fort Sill, among other military locations.
Corvias Foundation – A Partner for Military Families
Inspired by his work helping military and educational partners solve infrastructure challenges, John Picerne founded Corvias Foundation in 2006. The foundation reflects Corvias’ commitment to military families by providing resources, tools, support, and financial aid for military families pursuing college degrees, vocational training, and professional development.
To that end, the foundation created Opportunity Hubs to connect military families with a network of peers, programs, and resources. Families can receive college and professional guidance, literacy support, K-12 education services, and a range of scholarships for spouses and children of military service. Corvias Foundation also provides scholarships to the children of employees of Corvias, many of whom have a connection to the military themselves.
Challenges Faced by Military Spouses and Families
The services provided by Corvias Foundation are a direct response to the many challenges that the families of service members face. Having a spouse or a parent in the military is a source of pride, but it also comes with sacrifices.
Families can be parted during deployments, which can be incredibly stressful. Husbands and wives miss their spouses, and kids miss their parents. The remaining parent is left to shoulder the day-to-day caregiving alone—sometimes in a place far from their hometown and support networks. Families may worry for the safety of their service member.
Military families also have to contend with frequent moves and transfers from one duty station to another, as often as every two to three years. This means military children frequently have to switch schools. Without support, they can fall behind in their classes, struggle to navigate unfamiliar cultures, languages, and communities, and have trouble making friends.
The frequent moves and duty station changes also present professional challenges for military spouses. Their careers are often put on hold or interrupted by moves, with the skills they’ve developed sometimes becoming outdated or obsolete. Some businesses avoid hiring military spouses, knowing that they will likely move within a few years. Other military spouses have difficulty getting a job because their professional licenses and certifications do not easily transfer from one state or country to another. And with deployments removing one parent from the family, military spouses may simply not be able to work if they have to take care of young children.
Meanwhile, military spouses who move to foreign posts are further disadvantaged by cultural and language barriers that make it even more difficult to find work. These issues are worsened by the fact that around 90 percent of military spouses are women, who already face wage gaps, gender discrimination, and the “motherhood gap” whereby women tend to see their wages increase slower than men after the birth of their first child.
The results of these disadvantages are clear. The unemployment rate of military spouses is around 22 percent, which is nearly five times the national average. Those who do have jobs often report being underemployed, working part-time instead of full-time or working a job below their skill and education level.
Unemployment isn’t just an individual problem for military spouses—it’s a real financial hardship for families who rely on dual incomes to get by. Blue Star Families surveyed 10,000 veterans and active military members, and found that 62 percent experienced stress related to their financial status. This was particularly noteworthy considering the top reason listed for financial instability was an unemployed spouse, with 52 percent of respondents listing this as the greatest financial obstacle they faced.
The Corvias Response
For the past three decades, John Picerne and the team at Corvias have had a first-hand perspective on these challenges, which is precisely why they are committed to supporting military families in the pursuit of higher education and professional training. The Corvias Foundation works tirelessly to address these issues, both through dedicated scholarships and partnerships with similar organizations, such as the Bob Woodruff Foundation and National Military Family Association (NMFA).
For example, the Corvias Foundation Military Spouse Scholarship can be used for tuition, educational programs, licensure/certification costs, continuing education units (CEUs), professional exams, background checks and fingerprinting, and other professional expenses. In 2024, joint scholarships from Corvias Foundation and NMFA supported 24 military spouses by helping cover the cost of licenses and certifications.
Learn more about how Corvias supports military spouses and families at corviasfoundation.org.
