About the Founder

Dr. Carol Meza Bakke 

Dr. Carol Meza Bakke is an Army combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient with 12 years of military service. She joined the faculty in the School of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences at Pittsburg State University in the fall of 2022, and began teaching as an adjunct at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare in the summer of 2024.

In October 2023, Dr. Meza Bakke was appointed to the Governor’s Military Council in Kansas. She is also the founder of Outside the Wire Veterans Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is an accredited VA Claims Agent. She provides compensation, pension, education and burial VA benefits assistance to veterans and their families. 

Dr. Meza Bakke earned her associate degree from Fort Scott Community College, her bachelor's degree from Pittsburg State University, and her master’s degree in social work from the University of Kansas. She holds a Ph.D. in social work from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. Her dissertation focused on active-duty women who were sexually assaulted while serving in the military and sought mental health services within the civilian sector.

Prior to joining Pittsburg State University, she worked at the Veterans Benefits Administration Regional Office in Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota, serving veterans and their families. She also has extensive experience in child welfare in the state of Kansas and has served as a court interpreter.

Dr. Meza Bakke’s research interests include military sexual trauma, intimate partner violence, best practice mental health modalities for service members, gun violence prevention, and preparing social work students to address gun violence.

In her spare time, Dr. Meza Bakke enjoys spending time with her two children, tending to their hobby farm, and serving her community and the veteran population. She enjoys fishing in the lakes and strip pits of Southeast Kansas, and participating in trapping, hunting, and camping.