About Us
The Art of the Unbroken is a multi-ownership Limited Liability Corporation owned by two Oregon based female Veterans. Our mission is to help veterans reconnect: to community, nature and self through art. It is our goal to open a few facilities across the country. At our facilities, artists provide veterans skills they can apply to enhance their artistic expression upon their return home. We aim to provide a place where veterans can disconnect from society and reconnect to themselves.
Owners
Karina Hawley, Co- CEO
Originally from the Sunshine state, Florida. I enlisted in the Army as a 13W in 2006, stationed in Ft Sill, Oklahoma (Home of the Field Artillery!!). Following getting married to another soldier I transferred to Ft. Riley, Kansas where my daughter was born on at the Irwin Community Hospital on base. I left the military in 2009 while pregnant with my daughter. Following my husband’s end of service in 2011, we relocated to his home state of Kentucky. I completed my education at the University of Louisville to study Psychology as I was determined to work at the VA. Through my education and my, then husband’s experience with the VA, I decided to change paths. Following university I made a career pivot into Land Management. I started my career with the Forest Service in the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan. I got my permanent status at the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. I’ve been at the Mt. Hood National Forest since 2020 where my daughter has forced me to stay until she’s an adult. She is a classic military child moving frequently around the US unable to dig her roots in.
Additionally, my ex-husband passed on Oct 1st, 2025, following mental health struggles since his return from Iraq. Seeing the direct impact of the loss of a service member on their young children has further shown to me the importance of healing and mental health. I hope to help prevent any more of this suffering for my fellow service members. Every little bit matters.
Please support our program and support our nation’s veterans.
Some gave all, all gave some.
~Karina Hawley
Bree Ellison, Co- CEO
I was born and raised in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. At 21, I enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, where I served for over three years. After being medically discharged in 2010, I moved back to Oregon to raise my beautiful daughter, who was born in early 2011.
Over the last 15 years, I have earned a degree and worked in various law enforcement and legal roles. In 2016, my life radically changed after a life-altering accident. From that moment on, I had to learn how to pursue my goals and navigate life in new ways.
I began working for the Forest Service in 2019, where I eventually met Karina Hawley. Since then, we've connected on many levels—not only through our shared experience as female veterans but also through our love of the arts and the healing they provide.
Today, I’m married and a proud stepmom to three wonderful kids, making us a lively family of six. I love spending time with my family, traveling, deepening my faith, and doing my best to encourage and uplift those around me.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. I look forward to meeting you!
Warm regards,
Bree Ellison
Why Art of the Unbroken?
Karina: I have been interested in serving veterans since I was in the military. Following my service, I believed psychology and working at the VA would be my route towards that work. Instead, I became jaded about the VA’s services and psychology as a whole. There was a day in 2015 which I came across Jane Goodall’s book In the Shadow of Man in a thrift store. I read a few pages and took the book home. I quickly read that book and every one of her books written until that point in time. I was inspired by her work and decided to follow in her footsteps and her words. She believed that your life’s work should have a positive impact on humans, animals, and the environment. I did that with the Forest Service and will continue that path with Art of the Unbroken.
I have been working with calligraphy since I was a teenager. I’ve always had some craft or art project I was working on. These are habits a lot of people have stopped and I strongly believe this is part of what is making us struggle. We aren’t connected to each other, the environment or ourselves. Through this business I hope to help foster healing, community, and a connection to the environment and self.
As stated in my bio, I’ve been directly impacted by the loss of a veteran to mental health issues. This work in important to me and at a larger picture, our nation.
Bree: I’ve spent nearly 40 years seeking healing, connection, creativity, and a place to truly belong. After a very challenging childhood, an early adult life lived in survival mode, and a life-altering accident, I kept returning to art as a source of joy and fulfillment.
Through the journey of living with physical disabilities, a traumatic brain injury, PTSD, panic disorder, and debilitating anxiety, I found that creating art became a powerful coping tool. Each day, I turned to different artistic styles to lower my stress, improve my cognitive function, and find peace.
Art helped me slow down, regulate my breathing, focus my mind, and engage my hands in meaningful work. In the process, I wasn’t just making art—I was creating peace within myself. I began producing artwork that felt purposeful and personal, and I felt proud of what I was creating.
There are many paths to healing in today’s world, but I truly believe that art has been the foundation of my growth and success. I found a way to nourish my soul—and I believe you can too, here at Art of the Unbroken.
Contact us
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