Veterans for a better chicago

Veterans for a Better Chicago Veterans for a Better Chicago is a collaborative effort to present Chicago’s corporate, government, and philanthropic communities a new approach to developing and protecting our youth.

This unique consortium brings together three former service members who are now leaders in the fields of holistic leadership, safety, and evidence-based mentoring. David Oclander, Travis Bickford, and Eli Williamson are all individuals that have served our nation at war and are now serving Chicago’s neighborhoods to bring peace and prosperity to future generations. For a biography of each presenter, please see the back of this invitation.

You and representatives from your organization are cordially invited to attend this FREE lunchtime event.

This is your opportuntiy to engage in a discussion whose goals are supported by Google and The Clinton Global Initiative.

Location: Union League Club of Chicago Address: 65 West Jackson Boulevard Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Time: 11:30AM to 1:00PM Please RSVP for this event with Travis Bickford at: (617) 708-4204 or Travis.Bickford@gmail.com

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Speaker Biographies: Travis Bickford, The Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at The University of Massachesetts at Boston Travis currently works for the University of Massachusetts at the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring. The center is a research lab run by Jean Rhodes, America’s foremost expert in the field of student mentoring. Travis and Jean’s lab trains Veterans in evidenced-based mentoring techniques across the country.

Travis has also developed the Veteran’s History Project: Student Edition, which is a structured activity pairing former service members with Chicago’s youth to film student-administered interviews cataloging combat experiences, with the captured footage ultimately submitted to America’s national archive held at the Library of Congress. Travis is an Iraq War Veteran, serving as an Infantry squad leader with the Maine National Guard. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maine and completed an advanced degree in Education at Brown University.

David Oclander, Noble Network of Charter Schools David Oclander offers a multifaceted approach to curbing youth violence in Chicago’s most difficult neighborhoods. His Noble Fitness and Leadership Camps target youth between the ages of 11 and 18, and utilize Veterans as mentors, coaches, and trainers to provide fitness and health instruction, leadership development, and peacemaking skills. David is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, where he led a Joint Task Force of 850 American paratroopers from the 82nd Airborn Division and more than 8,000 Afghan Security Forces to establish safety, security, and stability throughout Southern Afghanistan; impacting the lives of more than 700,000 Afghan civilians everyday. David is a graduate of United States Military Academy at West Point. He holds a Master’s Degree in Operations and Strategic Studies from the Marine Corps University and is an Army Airborne Ranger. David is also a CrossFit Level 1 and CrossFit Kids trainer.

Eli Williamson, Leave No Veteran Behind Eli Williamson is a Co-Founder and the Board President of Leave No Veteran Behind and the Director of the Veterans Program for the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Leave No Veteran Behind has transformed Chicago Public Schools (CPS) culture of safety in less than four years as the city’s “best” Safe Passage provider through their Educational Assurance Program©; decreasing student disciplinary infractions according to CPS, decreasing crime according to the Chicago Police Department, and increasing qualitative safety measures that positively influence the learning environment according to the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research. Eli is a former Army Staff Sergeant who served as a Psychological Operation (PSYOP) specialist and an Arabic linguist for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC); deploying to both Iraq and Afganistan. He is also a product of Chicago Public School’s Kenwood Academy, a graduate of Luther College (IA), and currently enrolled in an advanced degree program at DePaul University’s School of Public Service.

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