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Coast Guard Spouses Club of Sector New York members gather for an outing. The club\u2019s mission is to support the morale and well-being of service members and their families.Jaime Billert<\/p>\nEditor\u2019s Note: In honor of the many everyday Staten Islanders who give back, make change, inspire others, advocate and\/or care about their community, we are highlighting some of the standouts, and honoring them as Staten Island\u2019s Brightest Lights of 2025.<\/p>\n
Staten Island\u2019s Brightest Lights of 2025: Jaime Billert<\/p>\n
Jaime Billert\u2019s Staten Island home is filled with the joyful chaos of four children, but her influence stretches far beyond her front door. Recently named the 2025 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year, the 33-year-old former physics teacher has become a lifeline for Coast Guard families stationed at Fort Wadsworth.<\/p>\n
Since 2023, she has filled the demanding role of Ombudsman for Sector New York, guiding families through deployments, emergencies, and critical support services. By 2024, she expanded her reach to include additional Coast Guard units, ensuring no family felt alone during challenging times.<\/p>\n
Here is her story, originally published May 25, 2025:<\/p>\n
A Staten Islander is stepping into her new title as the Military Spouse of the Year for her branch.<\/p>\n
She is Jaime Billert, 33, and has just been named 2025\u2019s Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. Billert is a former educator, mother of four, dedicated military spouse and a community leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just amazed and honored that my community sees good leadership qualities in me,\u201d Billert said. <\/p>\n
Since 2019, Billert\u2019s family \u2014 U.S. Coast Guard petty officer second class Kyle Billert, stepdaughter Olivia, 11, sons Pierce, 6, and Emmerson, 4, and daughter Haven, 2 \u2014 has called Fort Wadsworth home. One of the oldest military installations in the nation, it spans 226 acres along the northeastern shore of Staten Island.<\/p>\n
From Illinois to Staten Island<\/p>\n
When Billert moved nearly 1,000 miles from northern Illinois to Staten Island six years ago with her husband, Kyle, she was a new mother to their seven-month-old son, Pierce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a blended family, so our oldest is my step-daughter and my second oldest is my biological son,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we moved here, it was a transition into motherhood, transition in our marriage, and it was also my first immersion into military life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Billert had been stationed at a base in Illinois, she explained that it was a small unit with families spread out. Since she was from the area, she already had her own friends and network, so she didn\u2019t feel like she truly experienced the military spouse lifestyle until she moved to Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about the friends that you have, that you\u2019ve accumulated through grade school, high school, your cousins, your family,\u201d she said. \u201cFor an everyday person, that\u2019s your network… or if you work, you find coworkers that you jive with. Imagine now, you get removed from that, and you get plunked into a whole new location.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coast Guard Spouses Club of Sector New York members gather for an outing. The club\u2019s mission is to support the morale and well-being of service members and their families.Jaime Billert<\/p>\n
It is through the Spouses Club that Billert has found a community and network of people, she says. The club is led by a group of volunteer spouses who serve on the board, which Billert describes as a team of like-minded individuals united by a common mission and a passion for serving others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Spouses Club was very impactful because it was a way for me to not only meet other spouses, but they provided sub-clubs, club meetings and socials where I can meet those spouses and figure out who I have common interests with to form those friendships,\u201d Billert said.<\/p>\n
The club evolves with its members, bringing new approaches to outreach and activities each year. It supports local organizations on Staten Island, organizes fundraisers and plans both community events and exclusive club gatherings. The club also features a variety of sub-clubs, such as a book club, fitness club, playgroup, craft club and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really amazing the amount of time spouses put in to ensure a positive experience,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
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Coast Guard Spouses Club of Sector New York members enjoy a painting session.Jaime BillertStepping into leadership<\/p>\n
In 2020, just a year after moving to Fort Wadsworth, Billert took on a leadership role as the treasurer of the Spouses Club.<\/p>\n
Leadership roles on the board are voluntary and last for one year. In 2021, Billert went on to serve as the president on the board. In 2022, she served as the vice president. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe seasoned spouses who had been here for a while had all PCS\u2019d (a term for Permanent Change of Station, when they relocate), and they nominated me for president, saying they wanted to ensure the success of the club and have someone on the board who understood how things had gone in the past,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In 2023, she took on a different kind of leadership role as the Ombudsman for Sector New York.<\/p>\n
The Ombudsman program, adopted from the Navy, includes several days of training covering program details, crisis intervention (like evacuation coordination during hurricane season), and the role of being the command\u2019s official extension, Billert shared.<\/p>\n
As the Ombudsman, she serves as a key resource for families and the main link between them and the command, ensuring they have the information needed to navigate military life, prepare for emergencies, and receive support during crises.<\/p>\n
\u201cMilitary life can be hard sometimes \u2014 people move a lot, deployments happen, and families miss each other. You\u2019re there to make sure no one feels alone and everyone knows where to go for help,\u201d she said. \u201cWe become versed in the various resources that can help military families, specifically the coast guard, and you provide that connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some resources she mentioned include support for families going through family planning, such as assistance with the adoption process or IVF, which can be expensive. Additionally, there is access to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, offering interest-free grants or loans to help families in need.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Billert expanded her role, becoming the Ombudsman for both the Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) NY and Station New York units, in addition to Sector New York. She now serves as the Ombudsman for all three.<\/p>\n
She shared that raising her children while managing responsibilities can feel overwhelming at times, so she finds balance by leaning on the people she trusts for support and guidance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so many plates spinning. Some of them are inevitably going to fall, so which ones do you need to keep up and which ones are okay if they fall?\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
But Billert has always liked challenges. That\u2019s why, after graduating from DePaul University in 2015, she became a high school physics teacher \u2014 a subject she was drawn to for its complexity and fascination. <\/p>\n
\u201cI liked the challenge,\u201d she said. \u201cFor me, school was a safe place and I really appreciated my teachers that I connected with and again I wanted to pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s Note: In honor of the many everyday Staten Islanders who give back, make change, inspire others, advocate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-68644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}