ABOUT US

Founder and Board of Directors

Founder and Board of Directors   |  Our Vision, Our Mission


The incorporating Directors and the first appointed governing Board of Directors of USAVETBIZ are all military veterans with decades of national and international experience in the business, government, academia, media relations, public policy and community advocacy.



CHAIRMAN

Michael J. Hershman began his career in intelligence and investigations in Europe during the late 1960's as a Special Agent with U.S. Military Intelligence, specializing in counter-terrorism. He is an internationally recognized expert on matters relating to transparency, accountability and governance.  His company, The Fairfax Group, founded in 1983 has been retained by Governments, Corporations and International Financial Institutions to assist on matters relating to misconduct of senior level officials or entities which they do business with. He has provided commentary to all major television network shows and has been quoted and published in numerous mainstream newspapers. MORE>


PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER

Richard Ramirez is one of the most uniquely qualified and experienced business development, federal contracting and strategic marketing experts in the country. Recently completing a three year personal commitment as the Senior Business Advisor for the Center for Veterans Enterprise at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Richard returned to his Outrider Company business practices also founding the nationally trademarked United States Association of Veterans in Business (USAVETBIZ).   MORE>


TREASURER

Gerald “Jerry” Paulsen founded Paulsen Productions in 1994 after successful careers in the Army and law enforcement. He holds a Masters of Communications, is a published author, and has been designing and conducting presentation skills programs throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Europe for the past 14 years. Jerry is most proud of his service to his country as an Army veteran. Now, as a veteran business owner, he is highly recognized and respected in the veteran community nationwide. Jerry travels extensively throughout the United States speaking in support of veteran legislation and helping to educate all veterans in the veteran federal procurement arena and related veteran business issues.  MORE>


John M. Garcia, The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Services of New Mexico is a veterans affairs specialist with extensive experience in local, state and federal government. Secretary Garcia brings with him a background in strategic planning, business development and community relations. He is well known to the veterans community and was a Commissioner on the predecessor state veterans body, the New Mexico Veterans Service Commission. MORE>


Nick D. Bacon is a highly decorated 21-year Army veteran. Since 1984 he has served other veterans in a variety of capacities, from Director of the Arkansas Dept. of Veterans Affairs to President of the Veteran Disability Benefits Commission. He currently serves on the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission; the President’s Nat’l Hire Veterans Committee; and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. Bacon is the owner and president of DVC, Inc. Construction Company.  MORE>


Dr. William R. Osgood is co-founder and President of Knowledge Institute, a leading academic institution specializing in helping individuals to start, grow and succeed in small business through the creation of public/private Internet resource communities and interactive educational curriculum. As creators and hosts of BUZGate, the Business Utility Zone Gateway, and myVbi, the Virtual Business Incubator, Knowledge Institute serves millions of individuals by connecting them to the resources they require for their individual and collective entrepreneurial success. MORE>


Joe Punaro is the Director of Federal Client Solutions for Vienna, Virginia office of Dynology Corporation. He is responsible for the company’s web-enabled congressional application and new business development and is responsible for fielding teams and leading projects that report to the highest echelons of the military services. From 2001-2005, Punaro was on active duty as a United States Marine Corps officer based in San Diego, California. He served as a Company and Platoon Commander during his tour at Camp Pendleton.  Punaro was a Platoon Commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and took part in the assault on Baghdad in April of 2003. He has seven military decorations to include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with combat “V”.   MORE>


Harry M. Siegel has over 30 years of project resource management and marketing experience, the last 25 years of which have involved the direction of large organizations and multimillion-dollar operations. He holds a M.S. Degree in Computer Systems from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a B.S. Degree in Analytical Management from the U.S. Naval Academy. He is a highly decorated Service Disabled Vietnam Veteran. He is the founder and CEO of HMS TECHNOLOGIES, INC., which is a certified Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business providing information technology integration services to a host of clients from the Federal Government and to commercial entities throughout the United States and abroad. HMS is a VETS GWAC prime and was selected as one of DoD’s SDVOSBs of the Year for 2007. The corporation has been nominated for Small Business of the Year for West Virginia and the Nation.   MORE>


Thomas Wren has been with the Pennsylvania SBDC for 11 years and currently serves as the Director of Specialized Programs for the Pennsylvania SBDC. Mr. Wren is responsible for the development, implementation and management of specialized consulting programs for the network of Pennsylvania SBDCs, which are located at 18 colleges and universities throughout Pennsylvania. This includes the International Business Assistance Program, Defense Economic Transition Assistance Program, the Technology Commercialization Program, and the Veterans Outreach and Assistance Program. He is the past Chairman of the Innovation Partnership, a consortium of economic development organizations that provide technical and financial assistance to technology entrepreneurs seeking federally funded research and development projects.    MORE>

Greg Jones is a Senior Manager at Dynology Corporation, providing program management and technical advice to a variety of Department of Defense and Federal clients while assisting in the expansion and business development efforts of the company. Dynology is a privately-owned, certified small business with expertise in technology consulting and system integration services, utilizing the most advanced technology to design intuitive, modular, user-customized solutions that address the demands of a highly competitive business environment. From server virtualization to e-business integration to emergency management planning and support, Dynology architects and developers have a wealth of experience in leveraging advancements in internet technology to improve their clients’ competitive positions and operational efficiencies.

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