Veteran Central has a committed board of advisors that ensure it’s operations and future program scope stay on course with the mission of the organization. Our Board is an influential group of the top Veteran Advocates, Business Leaders, and State Officials in the country.
2013 Veteran Central Advisory Board:
Rita Aragon – Secretary of Veteran and Military Affairs in the State of Oklahoma. Maj. General (ret) Air National Guard. Rita plays a tremendous role on our board promoting Veteran Central throughout the state of Oklahoma and being a direction connection to the Governor and many Veteran Advocates within Oklahoma. Rita helps direct collaboration being us and other organizations reaching thousands of Veterans.View Rita’s Wikipedia Page
Roger R. Blunt – President Essex Construction – Maj. General (ret) United States Army Reserve - Board of Regent University of Maryland – Roger provides leadership and wisdom to the growth of Veteran Central and enables communications to happen between very trusted organizations in the state of Maryland. Roger and Essex Construction LLC supports America’s Veterans by connecting into the Veteran Central eCommunity.View Roger’s Profile Page
John Melia – Founder of the Wounded Warrior Project and CEO for 12 years. John is a tremendous Veteran advocate that we are so grateful to be affiliated with. John is connected into the Oil and Natural Gas Industry and helps support Veteran hiring and recruiting in the industry through RecruitMilitary.com. When John has time, he gives Veteran Central valuable advice because he built the Wounded Warrior Project into one of the most successful Veteran nonprofits in the country. We are honored to work with him.View John’s Wikipedia Page
Beau Chattam – Executive Director of the Georgia Warrior Alliance. Professional recruiting professional. Former Army Ranger. Beau provides invaluable coaching and organizational skills to the Veterans that go through the Veteran Central program. He is a Veteran and a Service Provider on the front lines of healing our nation’s Veterans. He helps Veteran Central have successful programs and award smart scholarships. View Beau’s LinkedIn Page
Jon Pels – lawyer from Pels Anderson Law firm – Jon Pels and his partners at Pels Anderson represent the legal interests of Veteran Central. Jon Pels has Marines and other Military connections directly within his family and his support is strong for helping with Veteran Central. Jon Pels Bio Page
Jon Witte – Business Entrepreneur, US Army Captain (ret) – Joe is a seasoned Internet and technology entrepreneur with a track record of service in the US Army as a Captain. Joe works with our corporate development team to keep donations coming to Veteran Central and also helps direct technology decisions for future programs and scholarships. – Joe’s LInkedIN Profile
William Blackmon – CEO of Apogee Social Media Group – US Marine Corps – William is one of the top social media and LinkedIn experts in the entire country. He supports the Marines and all of the services by helping coach Veteran Central on developing a curriculum to train Veterans in social media skills and LinkedIn development for businesses and organizations.Mr Blackmon’s LinkedIN Profile
Michael Garee – Editor of Best Selling Book on Recruiting, Marine Mr. Garee was a Staff Sergeant in the US Marine Corps. When he became a Veteran, he formed a partnership with Skip Freeman to publish books on successful job hunting skills and techniques. He has invaluable insights into how to make our nation’s Veterans successful. Mr. Garee’s LinkedIN profile
Skip Freeman – Former Captain US Army Corps of Engineers, Author of “Headhunter Hiring Secrets”, West Point Graduate, class of 1984- Skip provides input and ideas into creating Veteran Central’s hiring programs. He and Michael Garee are business partners and act as a team to enable Veteran Central with seasoned advice to get Veterans back to work. Skip’s LinkedIN Profile
Mary Meeks – East Central University Veterans Upward Bound Program Director – Veteran Advocate and Veteran Educator. Mary works with Veteran Central to connect all of the Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) chapters at over 164 universities and colleges across the US. VUB is a program with the Department of Education and promotes Veteran Central to their thousands of Veteran daily conversations. Veteran Central in turn helps VUB students get prepared for the workforce and to locate a job that is right for them.
James Gallighan – CEO of Strategic Consulting Alliances (SCA) – Chaplain US Army James is the driving force behind the success at SCA, which is an 8A SDVOSB Service Disabled Veteran owned Small Business providing technology and facilities management to State and Federal government agencies. James and his team of Veteran leaders at SCA provide connections and vehicles to get things accomplished with the government. We supply SCA with resumes because they brings jobs that a Veteran will be successful at performing. If you have a technology or construction project need, please contact SCA to do the best job. Jame’s LinkedIN profile
Michael Barrett – CEO of Barrett Consulting Inc.) – Former U.S. Navy Recruiter from California – Michael is the CEO of an up and coming technology company in California that is Veteran owned and Veteran run. Mike knows how to recruit the very best of the Veterans that are coming home. He also was a part of the Syracuse Entrepreneur Bootcamp, Techstars, UCLA Veteran Entrepreneur Program, and recently was accepted into the Oklahoma State University Entrepreneur School for Veterans. Mike is a leader and a technology expert. Mr. Barrett advises Veteran Central on how to properly recruit Veterans using today’s latest and greatest technologies.
Mary J Millben, American Singer/Actress
As a former White House intern and White House presidential appointee for President George W. Bush, Singer/Actress Mary Millben is a valued expert on the policy-making process in Washington D.C. and provides leadership in strategic communication between Veterans Central, Congress, and related political communities. As an entertainer and political activist, Mary has been a featured soloist at the White House, the Kennedy Center, and on stages in China, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Greece. A Helen Hayes Nominee, Mary has been a featured soloist for events hosting President Barack Obama & the First Family, President George W. Bush & the First Family, The Honorable Queen Nor, Mr. Bill Cosby, Dr. Maya Angelou, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Pulitzer Prize author David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, former U.S. Ambassador to Finland Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, and others. Most notably, Mary was the featured soloist for President Barack Obama during the 2012 presidential election at the George Mason University rally in Fairfax, Virginia on Oct. 5th, 2012. In 2010, Mary starred in Sophisticated Ladies with Broadway legend Maurice Hines at Arena Stage in Washington D.C., performed at the 43rd Super Bowl halftime show with Bruce Springsteen, sang in the Barbra Streisand tribute at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors and was a soloist in the 2008 National Symphony Orchestra Pops concert under the direction of the late Pulitzer Prize, Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe winning American composer Marvin Hamlisch and world-renown choral director Joyce Garrett. A native Oklahoman, Mary received her training at the University of Oklahoma (OU)–Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Weitzenhoffer Department of Musical Theater and a minor in Political Science. A proud OU alum, Mary served as president of the University of Oklahoma student body where she worked closely with mentor, former Oklahoma U.S. Senator, Governor and current OU, President David Boren and Veteran Central CEO Jonathon Lunardi. View Mary’s LinkedIN profile
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