Coast Guard Ombudsman Morgan Holden has been named the 2024 Wanda Allen-Yearout Ombudsman of the Year and was formally recognized at an awards ceremony at the Strategic Study and Development Program on April 30, 2025.
Holden and her family have been stationed in Juneau, Alaska, for three years, where she volunteers as the District 17 ombudsman. She's held this position for a little more than a year now. Her spouse, Lt. Cmdr. David Holden, is the Reserve Force Readiness Branch chief for District 17.
Having recently retired from active duty as a Coast Guard officer herself, Holden said in response to the selection, “It is an honor to receive this award. This recognition is representative of an amazing group of people — especially those in the Chief’s mess and Spouses’ Association who also voluntarily come together in time of need. The Coast Guard community in Juneau holds a special place in my heart, and I’m thankful I was able to help when it was needed."
Holden provided community efforts even before she became an ombudsman. She organized a work party to respond to neighborhood damage caused by the Mendenhall Glacier outburst that flooded for the first time on August 5, 2023, making national news and badly impacting the community of only 30,000 residents.
“In 2023 the river crested at 14-feet causing damage to a few houses, three owned by Coast Guard members,” said Holden who explained that it had never crested over 11 feet before. “I had just retired and had more free time. There was a need for help, so I helped. I used our local Coast Guard family Facebook page to gather volunteers and we were quickly able to remove water damaged items from those properties—work that would have taken the homeowners a few weeks individually."
The following year, almost to the day on Aug. 6, 2024, the Mendenhall Glacier made news again for flooding, only this time, it was worse than before. The river crested at 17-feet. Holden was now in place as the District 17 ombudsman and she sprung into action helping the approximately 20 Coast Guard families (greater than 100 active duty and dependents) that were impacted.
“Getting immediate help through insurance is difficult in Juneau. Contractor support for water damage had a wait list for months long from the first flood. I knew it was worse this time. We had to come together to get that initial push of clean-up and demo finished asap because the impact of waiting for insurance support would be exponentially worse than the initial damage,” said Holden.
“Together with the local Chief’s Mess, led by Master Chief Roberts, and the Spouses Association, led by Cheri Koon, we organized work parties and pulled together to help. “We pulled out anything saturated with river water like personal items, carpets, flooring, drywall, kitchen cabinetry. We also set-up two weeks of meal trains for the families impacted by the flooding and brought freshly prepared food to the volunteers."
Holden explained that some people couldn’t provide time but they could provide tools.
“We tracked where every tool went so all the personal items could, eventually, get back to their owners. There were a lot of details to make sure everyone was taken care of the right way,” added Holden.
Aside from responding to the glacier outbursts, Holden also notably provided virtual, in-depth, “Welcome to Juneau” informational sessions to more than 40 families during the last PCS season.
“I wanted to make sure that spouses and family members had the opportunity to talk with local Coast Guard families. I also wanted to provide an opportunity for people to meet the other families moving here at the same time so they didn't feel isolated. Moving to Alaska can be intimidating. Juneau is essentially an island and you can't drive to the next town over if you need something — you fly,” said Holden.
Her presentations covered critical topics like housing, schools, daycare and support services. And, as Holden puts it “a few specialized details that are just a change in culture from the lower 48.”
About Holden’s transition from active duty she states, “It’s bittersweet. It’s a personal choice to retire and I did so leaving work that I loved and shipmates I enjoyed working with. I wanted to take that pendulum that had been focused on work for so long and move it over to the life side, the family side. It’s a change of identity. I am no longer recognized as CDR Holden but I am now recognized as Zach’s mom, Cooper’s mom, Kori’s mom,” Holden said of her three children: Zach (14), Cooper (10) and Kori (5). “It’s my most honored title.”
In her free time, Holden volunteers at their swimming club and as a board member for Auke Bay elementary school PTA. At home, she is busy trying out new dinner recipes for their family. She even learned how to snowboard this past winter.
Holden was recognized alongside the Enlisted Person of the Year and the Reserve Enlisted Person of the year for 2024 at the Strategic Study and Development Program.
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