Dr. Yira Muse

Board Member

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel

Dr. Yira Muse is a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force with more than 25 years of service, including ICBM and space launch operations, overseas service in Europe, congressional liaison work, Inspector General leadership, and command of an Air Force recruiting squadron. She holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, a Master’s in Logistics Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Master’s in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and she serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Behavioral Cybersecurity at the University of Oklahoma. She is the author of the forthcoming book Hope at Work: A Manager’s Guide to Beating Burnout and Energizing Engagement, available in print in August 2026.

Her commitment to suicide prevention is personal. During her career leading Airmen, she responded to suicide attempts by service members under her command. Those crises did not end in loss, but they stayed with her, and she set out to understand what brought her Airmen to that point and what could practically be done about it. That search led her through years of study and research into how hope is built, and it is why she has devoted her post-service life to teaching hope as a tangible, life-saving skill.

Dr. Muse is the founder of Waypowered Leadership Coaching, LLC, a certified Personal Development Coach, and an authorized instructor of the Shine Hope curriculum. As a board member of The Eight Fifty Committee, she leads the development of Hopeful Mindsets for Veterans, the Committee’s hope-based suicide prevention initiative, bringing academic rigor, command experience, and deeply personal understanding to the organization’s suicide prevention work.