2023 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program Scholars

2023 STAND-TO VETERAN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM SCHOLARS

GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DALLAS, TEXAS

The Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program develops the skills of those who serve our nation’s veterans and helps increase their impact.

Scholars are rising leaders - both veterans and nonveterans - from a wide range of sectors. Throughout the five-month program, each participant has worked on a personal leadership project, which allows them to implement what they learn in the program in service of improving veteran outcomes across the United States.

Thank you to our generous supporters

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Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello April and Jay Graham Family Ted and Jen Ullyot 1

Quiana Abner

Program Manager, Onward to Opportunity, Texas Region, D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) San Antonio, Texas Quiana Abner serves as Program Manager for the Texas Region Onward to Opportunity (O2O) Program of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. She guides and oversees local team operations and nurtures business relationships across Texas. She also curates career training for transitioning servicemembers, veterans, and military spouses to help them transition to a meaningful life and career after military service. She is an Army daughter, a military spouse, and Navy veteran mother. In 2020, Abner was selected to serve in the inaugural Blue Star Families Racial Equity and Inclusion DEPLOY Fellowship – representing the National Chapter – to expand access to resources for military families of color in outlying locations.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Abner plans to develop a career development program for transitioning servicemembers and military spouses.

Kellie Artis

Director of Communications, Virtual Veterans Communities Fayetteville, North Carolina Kellie Artis serves as Director of Communications at Virtual Veterans Communities, where she helps universities improve educational experiences for military-connected students through innovative multimedia content, digital community building, and virtual event and video production. A military spouse herself, Artis was a founding team member at MILLIE, where she worked to connect active-duty military families with essential resources and professional services to alleviate the stress of frequent relocations.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Artis will create an innovative personal development program for active duty military spouses using the Enneagram self-discovery tool to enhance self-awareness, find purpose, and achieve greater satisfaction with the military lifestyle.

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Jennifer Barnhill

Freelance Journalist and Lead Researcher, Military.com Pacific Grove, California Jennifer Barnhill is a columnist for Military.com and a freelance reporter and researcher covering military family policy. A military spouse herself, she also serves as the National Military Spouse Network’s Career Connection Magazine Editor in Chief and serves on the board of the League of Wives Memorial Project, which seeks to build the first statue honoring the military spouses who advocated for the safe return of their POW husbands from the Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam. Barnhill’s reporting has been featured in The War Horse, Military.com, Military Times, We Are the Mighty, Military Spouse Magazine, Military Families Magazine, TheMilitaryWallet.com, and The Independent.

Barnhill’s aim through the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program is to elevate the stories of military families to spark productive conversations among family stakeholders, the U.S. Department of Defense, and policymakers that lead to lasting change.

Bobby Ehrig

Executive Director, Citizens for Progress Bulverde, Texas Bobby Ehrig serves as Executive Director of Citizens for Progress, an organization working to address the growing affordable housing crisis in Central Texas. An Army Veteran of 17 years, after being medically retired in 2008 from combat injuries, Ehrig dedicated his life to helping nonprofits serve veteran families.

He builds programs that support low-income families and veterans addressing poverty, homelessness, and housing insecurity. This includes managing a 24-unit, all-veteran, low-income housing community focused on ending generational poverty for veteran families and helping them achieve the American dream of home ownership.

Ehrig hopes his participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program will allow him to both share and learn from like-minded individuals working to make lives better for our nation’s heroes and their families.

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Pete Faerber

Founder and President, The Warriors’ Lawyer Lithia, Florida Pete Faerber founded The Warriors’ Lawyer, an organization that seeks to protect the rights and entitlements of servicemembers who are being processed through the Disability Evaluation System. Faerber has served as the organization’s President since 2018 and manages the day-to-day activities while leading teams of volunteer attorneys in litigation and legal representation. He is a retired Marine and served as a naval aviator.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Faerber hopes to leverage his experience and expertise with the military’s Disability Evaluation System to help propel The Warriors’ Lawyer onto the national scene as a major player in the field of veterans’ rights.

Victoria Harvey

Deputy Director, Hiring Our Heroes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Kapolei, Hawaii Victoria Harvey serves as a Deputy Director at Hiring Our Heroes, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. She manages Career Forward, a program which has placed several thousand veterans, military spouses, and active-duty servicemembers on the path to completing a Google Career Certificate to help improve their current employment situation. A military spouse herself, Harvey started her career with Hiring Our Heroes and helped expand the Military Spouse Fellowship Program into San Antonio, Texas, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Harvey looks forward to growing with the other Scholars and applying the lessons learned to continue to support our military community.

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Marnie Holder

Vice President, Outreach and Engagement, National Veterans Memorial and Museum Columbus, Ohio Marnie Holder serves as the Vice President of Outreach and Engagement at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. She leads a team which collaborates with national employers and organizations committed to supporting our veterans’ journeys after service. Before joining the museum, Holder spent six years as the Director of Hiring Events for Hiring Our Heroes under the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Before that, she was in government service. A military spouse herself, Holder understands the challenges associated with maintaining a career through periods of unemployment and underemployment.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Holder plans to launch a national initiative designed to inspire young Americans to choose military service as a viable pathway to economic stability and a meaningful career.

Desiree Holley

Director of Operations, Operation Healing Forces Brandon, Florida Desiree Holley serves as Director of Operations for Operation Healing Forces. She utilizes the resources and benefits available to Special Operations Forces (SOF) families to provide guidance and assistance to wounded, ill, and injured SOF servicemembers, veterans, and their families.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Holley plans to develop a robust system of support for Special Operations Caregivers. The program will use education and other resources to encourage personal growth and development via weeklong caregiver retreats. The goal is to empower caregivers to pursue personal, educational, or professional goals.

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Seth Kastle

Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies and Director of Military Program Innovation, Fort Hays State University WaKeeney, Kansas Seth Kastle serves as an Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies and the Director of Military Program Innovation at Fort Hays State University. He teaches leadership classes focused on service learning, advanced behaviors, and personal development. As Director of Military Program Innovation, Kastle develops new academic programs and partnerships to benefit current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces. He is an Army Reserve veteran with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Kastle will develop a proposal for the development of a bachelor’s of applied science (BAS) degree program in applied leadership at Fort Hays State University. This program will be designed specifically for current and former servicemembers. It will leverage their training and experience for college credit in an effort to significantly shorten the path to a college degree and help servicemembers be successful in their post-military careers.

Jermaine King

Chief, Public Protection and Safety (Senior Enlisted Leader), 412 Mission Group, United States Air Force Edwards Air Force Base, California Jermaine King serves as Chief, Public Protection and Safety (Senior Enlisted Leader), 412 Mission Group, for Edwards Air Force Base, where he directs the synchronized efforts of over 500 military law enforcement officials to secure 308,000 acres, 54 different organizations, and defense programs valued at $18.1 billion. King also serves as a Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, Trine University, and Barton College.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, King plans to support, inspire, and inform military personnel, spouses, and veterans as they strive to achieve life and career goals and lead fulfilling lives as they transition out of military service.

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Stan Kurtz

Programs Director, Office of Veterans Business Development, U.S. Small Business Administration Dumfries, Virginia Stan Kurtz serves as the Programs Director for the U.S Small Business Administration’s Office of Veterans Business Development. He manages the U.S. Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program, Boots to Business entrepreneurship training program, and provides programmatic oversight for the Service-Disabled Veterans Training Program, the Women Veterans Training Program, and the Veteran Procurement Program.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Kurtz plans to address unemployment and underemployment for military spouses and promote entrepreneurial resources and program opportunities that would have a direct impact on the financial stability of military families and could directly affect military retention and national security.

Michael Logan

Senior Director for Veteran and Military Affairs, The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, Texas Michael Logan serves as Senior Director for Veteran and Military Affairs at The University of Texas at San Antonio, where he oversees the administration of federal and state benefits for nearly 5,000 students. He also oversees the Center for Military Affiliated Students, which engages over 10,000 individual interactions per semester, as well as the Military Affiliated Collaborative which provides programming, advocacy, community resources, and case management.

Logan conducts research on student veteran sense of belonging in college. He works to increase awareness of the veteran culture and advocates for continuous improvement of support services for those who served, are still serving, and their family members. He is a United States Marine Corps infantry veteran.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Logan plans to develop a research colloquium for all students (with and without military affiliation) and create a space to present and cultivate their research on any military-affiliated topic. These include, but are not limited to, identity transition post-service, mental well-being and health care, military family members, veteran education, and sense of purpose.

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Mollie Marti

Chief Executive Officer, Worldmaker International Mount Vernon, Iowa Mollie Marti, a social psychologist and former attorney, is Chief Executive Officer of Worldmaker International, a nonprofit organization she founded after the tragic loss of young lives in her community by suicide. Worldmaker’s mission is to equip people to prepare for, adapt to, and grow through adversity. Marti’s research-based frameworks, including the THRIVE Resilience Model, are widely used to support healing, nurturing connections, and building resilience.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Marti aims to create a useful guide for military leaders to better understand and reduce mental health stigma, promoting seeking help as an important aspect of resilience building.

Selene Martin

Associate Vice President, Corporate Affairs, CareSource Military & Veterans Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas Selene Martin serves as the Associate Vice President, Corporate Affairs for CareSource Military & Veterans. She has helped lead critical initiatives, including serving as Lead Strategy Director for USAA’s Veteran Suicide Prevention philanthropic efforts. A military spouse herself, she currently serves on the Hiring Our Heroes Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Advisory Councils.

Previously, Martin led corporate responsibility, pro bono, rule of law, and antihuman trafficking initiatives for LexisNexis.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Martin will promote initiatives aimed at reducing veteran suicide by utilizing evidence-based research and specific, measurable outcomes through a model created by UT Health San Antonio in partnership with USAA.

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Jessica Lynn McNulty

Commander, United States Navy Clifton, Virginia Commander Jessica Lynn McNulty serves as the Director of Public Affairs and Principal Spokesperson for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Most recently, she completed a tour of duty serving as a Pentagon Spokesperson for the last three U.S. Secretaries of Defense. McNulty is a fourth generation sailor who has served as a Surface Warfare and Public Affairs Officer in the United States Navy.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, McNulty hopes to help drive the changes needed to save lives and prevent suicides across the U.S. Department of Defense. She will identify the attributes of effective leadership, the psychological state of subordinates, and the treatment they should receive once they’ve been identified as being at-risk for suicide, with the goal of providing clear guidance and training for leaders across the chain of command on post-traumatic stress (PTS) counseling, protocols, and suicide prevention.

Josh Michael

Clinical Sales Associate, Intuitive Surgical Argyle, Texas Josh Michael serves as a Clinical Sales Associate and Co-Chair of Development for the VETS Employee Resource Group at Intuitive Surgical. He helps newly employed veterans transition into Intuitive by pairing them with a veteran sponsor to help acclimate them to civilian life. Michael is an active member of the Team 43 sports program at the George W. Bush Institute. He was featured in President George W. Bush’s Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief ’s Tribute to America’s Warriors, a collection of oil paintings and stories honoring the sacrifice and courage of America’s military veterans.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Michael plans to develop a mentorship program through Intuitive Surgical’s Employee Resource Group to improve the health and welfare of veteran employees.

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Michelle Mills

Recruiting Manager, Amazon Tucson, Arizona Michelle Mills is a Recruiting Manager at Amazon on the Military Veteran and Pathways Recruiting Team where she focuses on talent acquisition, recruiting, and military engagement. She leads a team focused on hiring veterans and military spouses across 50 unique jobs and also sits on the Military Veteran & Pathways Recruiting Team. A military spouse herself, she is actively involved with community partners, nonprofits, and corporations to highlight the value servicemembers and spouses bring to the table.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Mills plans to start a business that will help large and small businesses build their own veteran and military spouse recruiting programs. The programs will be unique to the organization in an effort to create a sustainable and scalable solution.

Rachel Moyal-Smith

Senior Clinical Implementation Specialist, Ariadne Labs Slingerlands, New York Rachel Moyal-Smith is a Senior Clinical Implementation Specialist at Ariadne Labs, a joint health care innovation center with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She partners with programs across the organization in designing, testing, and spreading solutions to critical gaps in health care. Before joining Ariadne Labs, Moyal-Smith worked as a physician assistant at Albany Medical Center, where she led the implementation of several improvement initiatives. She is a U.S. Army veteran and served as a nurse in Iraq with the 10th Mountain Division.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Moyal-Smith plans to develop a medic and corpsman transition program that health systems can implement to recruit, retain, and foster the professional growth of military medics and corpsmen to transition to civilian-allied health care positions.

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Reggie Ordonez

Chief Operations Officer, Bunker Labs White House, Tennessee Reggie Ordonez serves as Chief Operations Officer at Bunker Labs. He is responsible for leading and integrating finance, development, operations, programs, and marketing into one cohesive unit, supporting veterans and military spouses on the path to entrepreneurship. Before joining Bunker Labs, Ordonez was the Founding Director of the Veterans Business Outreach Center at Pathway Lending in Nashville, Tennessee, providing business education and capital access to veterans and their dependents.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Ordonez plans to develop a scholarship program to improve the well-being of transitioning military youth dependents though the art of Brazilian jiujitsu. The goal would be to support veteran families who may be experiencing a lack of disposable income with family activities that build mind, body, and spirit.

Jennifer Pluta

Director, Veteran Career Services, Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, Syracuse University Brewerton, New York Jennifer Pluta serves as Director of Veteran Career Services at Syracuse University.

Pluta directs the strategic, operational, budget, and personnel functions of Veteran Career Services in the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs. She provides organizational leadership and direction for the delivery of comprehensive career services that directly support the mission and the commitment of Syracuse University as “The Best Place for Veterans.” She is currently serving in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Master Sergeant for the 76th Operational Response Command as Senior Command Career Counselor.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Pluta will develop a toolkit for Veteran Career Services that will provide college career centers and higher education practitioners a resource with strategies and methods for delivering effective and efficient career services to their student veteran populations while operating in a constrained resource environment.

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Taheesha Quarells

Program Initiatives Manager, Strategic Plans and Initiatives Division, U.S. Department of Defense Military-Civilian Transition Office Pensacola, Florida Taheesha Quarells serves as the Program Initiatives Manager, Strategic Plans and Initiatives Division for the Military-Civilian Transition Office within the U.S. Department of Defense. In this role, she leads a national network of strategic partnerships with state departments of education and advocacy organizations to help military members and veterans transition into careers as K-12 public school teachers. Quarells has served military members and veterans in many roles at the local, state, and federal levels of government, with work to facilitate employment partnerships, develop vocational resources, provide education/career outreach and counseling, manage education and career programs, and lead strategic planning to transform programs for improved effectiveness and efficiency.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Quarells will address the process of obtaining college credit for military instructor and other training that veterans earned during their service. These credits would then go toward state teacher credentialing agencies and educator preparation programs.

Kris Rick

Veterans Employment and Training Services, Training and Partnership Lead, U.S. Department of Labor Oakton, Virginia Kris Rick serves as Training and Partnership Lead with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS) Office of Strategic Outreach. He supports the development and implementation of training and partnership pathways for transitioning servicemembers, veterans, military spouses, and employer partners. Most recently, Rick served in the U.S. Army as Senior Military Fellow to the DOL advising on behalf of the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Service Senior Enlisted Leaders.

He was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and the 44th Medical Brigade.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Rick plans to develop an apprenticeship and training pathway within the DOL VETS portfolio to enable customers to better access the programs and resources provided by VETS and other DOL agencies and promote pathways into meaningful careers.

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Curtez Riggs

Director, Military Events, Recurrent Ventures Live Oak, Texas Curtez Riggs serves as Director of Events at Recurrent Military, a veteran-led syndicate of digital publishers, events, and an Emmy-award-winning media agency. Riggs is also the founder of Military Influencer – an annual event that unites the military-connected community, creating unique opportunities to exchange ideas, foster growth, and collaboration.

By participating in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Riggs aims to learn from a diverse group of Scholars while working to identify, resource, and scale the next generation of forward-thinking organizations and help position them to provide immediate impact and shape change across the globe.

DeLisa Duncan Russell

Senior Vice President & Group CEO Texas, Astara Health Spring, Texas DeLisa Duncan Russell serves as the Senior Vice President & Group CEO Texas at Astara Health. Russell has a long career working with complex behavioral health and addiction issues within the military, veteran, and private sectors, developing nationally-recognized programs that have been used by all branches of the U.S. Department of Defense. As the daughter of a Korean War veteran, spouse of an Iraq-Afghanistan medical service officer, and mother of an active-duty Army officer, Russell knows firsthand the challenges military family members face.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Russell plans to improve veteran behavioral health and addiction treatment outcomes by involving and strengthening the veteran support and family systems and incorporating them into the treatment.

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Gilbert Saguid

Founder, Veterans Franchise Group San Diego, California Gilbert Saguid is the Founder of Veterans Franchise Group (VFG) and works as a Franchise Broker, where he educates, empowers, and connects entrepreneurialminded veterans with franchise business opportunities. Before VFG, Saguid founded a technical recruiting firm and worked as a sales representative, manager, and recruiter in the technical services industry. In the Navy, he enlisted as a submarine Nuclear Machinist Mate and served as a Surface Warfare Officer onboard amphibious warships and small boat security units.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Saguid plans to increase the number of veteran-owned businesses by developing an online business marketplace that connects veterans interested in acquiring a business, individuals selling their businesses, and different business ownership resources.

Abi Scott

Chief, Enlisted Force Development, U.S. Space Force Fort Belvoir, Virginia Abi Scott serves as Chief of Enlisted Force Development for the U.S. Space Force.

He is responsible for creating policy, developing foundational baselines, and advancing initiatives that directly define, support, or influence the 4,500 enlisted Guardians in the service. He serves as a key advisor to the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force and the Director of Force Development on all matters affecting the education, training, and development of enlisted Guardians.

Through his Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program participation, Scott plans to establish a true “Guardian for Life” ecosystem that empowers enlisted Guardians with the knowledge and skills to be successful in the service and to have continued success outside of it.

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Jackson Smith

Executive Director, Bastion Community of Resilience New Orleans, Louisiana Jackson Smith serves as Executive Director of Bastion Community of Resilience, America’s first intentional community providing disabled veterans and their families with a supportive environment to heal and thrive.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Smith plans to codify a Residential Resilience Program that captures the best practices and lessons learned in Bastion’s residential community over its first five years and implement a plan to expand the community through smaller groups of veteran neighbors across the New Orleans area.

Sarah Streyder

Executive Director, Secure Families Initiative Alexandria, Virginia Sarah Streyder serves as Executive Director for Secure Families Initiative, a nonpartisan organization mobilizing military partners and loved ones as voters and advocates for their communities. Streyder regularly appears on national media to comment on the constituent impacts of public policies. She was named 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year.

Through her participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Streyder plans to develop a foreign policy curriculum and advocacy program for military partners and families, both active-duty and veteran. She will support this community by contextualizing the mission behind their service and by enabling them to increase engagement with the decision process. The goal is to improve connectedness for transitioning veterans so their loved ones may better relate to their experiences.

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Cappy Surette

Senior Manager, External Communications, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, The Walt Disney Company Windermere, Florida Cappy Surette is Senior Manager of External Communications at Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. He is a communications consultant and resource to senior Disney executives and site communication teams located at six world-class vacation destinations, 12 theme parks, and 53 resort hotels across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Surette is a retired U.S. Navy Captain. He is a Founding Member and Serving Co-Chair of Disney’s Veteran Business Employee Resource Group, known as “Disney SALUTE,” which focuses on enhancing the employment experience for veterans and those with a high affinity for the Armed Forces.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Surette will build upon the veteran hiring, training, and support work established at The Walt Disney Company alongside partner organizations including Wounded Warrior Project, Student Veterans of America, and others. The goal is to bridge communication gaps and enhance veteran hiring while also helping companies learn best practices in enabling them to thrive in new organizations.

Chi Szeto

Management Analyst, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Torrance, California Chi Szeto serves as a Management Analyst within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). As part of the Veterans Experience Office, he helps manage the Federal Advisory Committee working to redevelop the 388-acre Greater Los Angeles Medical Center campus in Brentwood, California. Before this, Szeto launched and operated Spartan Direct, a company specializing in promotional items, premiums, and merchandise. Szeto served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army for nine years, culminating with a company command in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I. Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Szeto plans to develop an AI/machine learning model to determine the risk of homelessness for transitioning veterans based on their finances. The goal is to give the VA and other service providers a way to preemptively determine which veterans are at a higher risk of homelessness based on transition locality, savings, credit report, and other financial data.

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Eric Templeton

Manager, Cybersecurity Business Development, Cisco Garner, North Carolina Eric Templeton serves as the Sales Business Development and Go-To-Market Acceleration Lead for the U.S. Commercial Cybersecurity Portfolio at Cisco Systems. He is responsible for protecting clients’ networks from malicious actors and ensuring their ability to thrive in the evolving and transformational cybersecurity landscape. Templeton also serves as the Global Veterans Retention and Development Lead for the Cisco Veterans Employee Resource Organization, where he leads the coaching, mentoring, and professional development of Cisco veterans. Templeton commissioned as a Marine Officer and went on to serve as an Engineer Officer for the Second Combat Engineer Battalion. He finished active-duty service as a Captain for Marine Corps Officer Selection Station in North Carolina. He continues to serve in the Reserves as a Captain, holding positions as an Engineer Officer for II Marine Expeditionary Force and the Defense Innovation Unit.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Templeton plans to accelerate veteran career growth within Cisco and position Cisco as the gold standard for veteran retention and development within the global technology marketplace.

Susan Thaxton

Chief Strategy Officer, The Mission Continues Annapolis, Maryland Susan Thaxton serves as Chief Strategy Officer for The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit that empowers veterans to continue their service by applying their leadership skills and experience to volunteer in under-resourced communities in 40 cities across the country. A U.S. Navy veteran herself, Thaxton came to The Mission Continues as a volunteer and was inspired by the incredible impact veterans can make when serving alongside each other in local communities and finding their new mission to address challenges faced at home. Thaxton was commissioned into the Navy and served as a Surface Warfare Officer on the USS Belleau Wood and the USS Arleigh Burke.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Thaxton will explore expanding and demonstrating The Mission Continues’ impact to include “bridging” – using service projects to bring together people who would not otherwise come together. The goal is to connect people across lines of difference and help reduce the growing division in our country.

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Tracy Threatt

Counselor, Central Piedmont Community College Concord, North Carolina Tracy Threatt serves as a counselor for Central Piedmont Community College’s Veteran and Military Family Center. A Navy veteran herself, Threatt specializes in guiding student veterans at the center to help them pursue their degrees. She provides advice to students who served in the military on assessment results, building a link between self-knowledge and the workplace, and assists students in making the right career decisions. She also lobbies for the help and care they require throughout their transitions. Previously, Threatt served as a Network Specialist with Cardinal Innovation Healthcare Solution, where she helped create and oversee the organization’s programs for clients with needs related to mental health, developmental disabilities, or substance abuse.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Threatt will create an “Onboard Welcome” package for female veterans beginning their higher education journey. This package will include a mentoring program and will aim to boost the retention rate of female veterans in higher education and on campuses.

Olivia Valerio

Project Manager, Military Bridges Program, H-E-B San Antonio, Texas Olivia Valerio serves as Project Manager for H-E-B’s new Military Bridges Program.

She is working to build H-E-B’s first military-focused workforce development program, which incorporates advocacy and education about the importance, value, and talent our veterans, military spouses, and dependent children contribute to the workplace. Additionally, Valerio is working internally to bring H-E-B a greater understanding of military talent and to enhance the company’s unwavering support of military families. The goal is to elevate H-E-B to military-ready from militaryfriendly. Previously, Valerio served as a Program Manager for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes’ Corporate Fellowship Program, assisting transitioning servicemembers with fellowship opportunities and post-military employment pursuits.

Through participation in the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Valerio plans to build a program that will serve as a pathway to meaningful employment opportunities and workforce development resources for Texas’ veterans, military spouses, and dependent children.

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