Military Advisory Board
NEI’s Military Advisory Board comprises accomplished military veterans with a range of military and entrepreneurial experiences. These advisors offer NEI a broad understanding of the real needs and preferences of military families seeking to bring their products into the commercial market.
Rob Arndt
BufferSprings Founder and CEO, Rob Arndt is a 14-year Veteran of the United States Marine Corps, with 8 of those years focused on armed forces Recruitment & Retention.
Since transitioning from military service, Rob has spent the past decade partnering with some of the smartest organizations in the world. Ranging from innovative start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, federal contractors, government agencies, and educational institutions to build effective military veteran and diversity recruitment and compliance initiatives. Rob and the BufferSprings team leverage a vast array of insider connections, cutting-edge HR technology, and expansive online communities to build talent acquisition solutions that provide immediate and ongoing results for smart companies.
BufferSprings is proud to be a Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
Dennis Volpe
Dennis Volpe is a Partner with the Leadership Research Institute (LRI) specializing in Personal Leadership, Organizational Development and Team Effectiveness, Emotional Intelligence, and Resilience for Corporate and Small Business Leaders and Teams from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses.
Dennis is graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a retired Naval Officer. His understanding of leadership comes from over twenty years of operational experience to include Command at Sea; multiple overseas deployments; an operational planner tour in Afghanistan; a tour as the Director of Future Operations for U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command; and several years as a Leadership instructor, Leadership Course Coordinator, and Ethics Facilitator at the United States Naval Academy.
Dennis is also the founder of the Severn River Leadership Group – a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) committed to the development and success of the Veteran and First-Responder community through small business investing, coaching, and consulting.
Liseth Velez
Liseth, a dedicated US Veteran of the Air National Guard, is the founder of LJV. During her service, Liseth embarked on missions across the globe, working on crucial projects with the 102nd Civil Engineering Squadron.
Liseth and her team at LJV have singlehandedly negotiated multiple contracts with federal agencies such as DOD, VA, GSA, and FAA. LJV executed renovations at Wellesley College and Harvard Business School, venturing into the higher education sector and continuing Liseth’s mission to be a strong advocate for access to education across the globe.
Liseth’s advocacy for US Veterans and students is well known. As a BunkerLabs (part of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) Ambassador, Liseth supports military veterans and spouses in their pursuit of growing their businesses.
Michael Kerwin
Michael Kerwin is the Founder and CEO of YouV Sunscreen. He is from Groton, Massachusetts and graduated from the United States Military Academy.
Michael served in the United States Army as an Infantry Officer. He developed and patented the world’s first fluorescent sunscreen that allows people to see where they’ve applied sunscreen and if they’ve missed any spots using ultraviolet light. YouV is a premium sunscreen that combats skin cancer and serious sunburns.
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Robert Kopytko
Robert is the founder and CEO of Charlie Mike Vitamin Source, vitamins designed for people who live and work in stressful environments.
“Charlie Mike” is a product Robert designed based on years of experience with vitamins. Robert was determined to develop a product that allowed him to “Just to have a better night’s sleep”.
Robert’s goal and mission is to spread the word of mental health issues within the military and what tools are out there that can fight that everyday battle of stress.
Robert is also the inventor of a game called RE-RAK and was granted a US patent in 2016.
Robert has served in the US Army for 24 years as military police officer. Robert has served three tours overseas – two tours with Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and one tour with Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Robert also has been part of 20-30 national guard activations for the state of Massachusetts. It is during this time he noticed how stress can wear you down and ultimately cause physical and mental fatigue.