Bill Gray: Paying It Forward, One Transition at a Time   

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

When Marines transition, the questions can feel endless: Where do I start? How do I translate experience? Who will tell me the truth about what’s next? After a distinguished career in the Corps, Bill stepped into that gap. He volunteers with veteran transition programs—supporting résumé reviews, interview prep, networking strategies, and the mental shift from “military first” to “career next.”

Military Service: United States Marine Corps, Colonel, 29 years
MOS: 8040, Aviation Logistics
Assignments include: MCAS New River (MALS-29); USS Wasp (HMM-264 (Rein)); HQMC/Pentagon; MCAS Miramar (MALS-11); Kuwait/Iraq (OIF-I); RS Fort Worth; F-35 JPO; MCAS Beaufort (MALS-31); Afghanistan (MALS-40, OEF); Naval War College; MCRC; MCRD Parris Island (6th MCD); Joint Staff J-5.

Where he serves: The Honor Foundation (THF); Nexus networks; HQMC Executive Transition seminars and related USMC executive transition programs.

Bill’s approach is classic Marine: show up prepared, listen first, then execute. He sits shoulder-to-shoulder with service members and spouses, reframing their experience as tangible strengths—team leadership, problem solving, and accountability. The best part is the follow-up messages: “Your advice helped me land the job.” Bill calls those notes “after-action confirmation” that the mission continues, just in a new domain.

Why it matters: The same coaching spirit Bill brings to volunteers is the way STEERBRIDGE teams partner with agencies—meeting people where they are, removing friction, and translating complexity into action.

“I’m grateful for those who invested in me. Volunteering is how I pay it forward.” 

Jay “Chewy” Frey: Purpose in Motion—From Aviation to Global Service    

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

As a retired Marine aviator and former F/A-18D Weapons and Sensors Officer, Jay understands readiness better than most. Today, he channels that mindset into service that protects, equips, and connects.

Military Service: United States Marine Corps, Colonel, 30 years
Roles include: F/A-18D Weapons & Sensors Officer; UAS Mission Commander; FAC; WTI; Aircraft Maintenance Officer; Joint Qualified.
Assignments/locations include: VA; FL; CA; PA; RI; Belgium; deployments throughout the Western Pacific and Middle East, including Afghanistan and Kuwait.

Where he serves: Church Security Response Team (local faith community); Izaak Walton League (volunteer Range Safety Officer); World Vision (global child sponsorship and field visits).

Chewy talks about purpose as something you choose repeatedly. Service, he’ll tell you, is equal parts discipline and joy: the discipline to keep showing up, and the joy of seeing lives changed—especially when his kids see generosity modeled in real time.

Why it matters: Readiness is bigger than a flight plan. Jay’s commitment to safety, consistency, and care mirrors how our teams prepare, deliver, and support federal missions—quietly, reliably, and with people at the center.

“Work serves a purpose. Volunteering keeps that purpose front and center.” 

Elizabeth Ruggles: Fighting Weekend Hunger, One Backpack at a Time     

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

For Elizabeth, logistics is love in action. She leads a discreet backpack program that provides weekend meals to middle school students who might otherwise go hungry.

Military Service: United States Navy, 6 years
Designator: 1520, Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer (AMDO)
Assignments include: BUPERS; HSL-49; AIRPAC Staff.

Where she serves: HeartFELT backpack program in partnership with Calvert County Public Schools (Maryland), coordinating counselors, volunteers, and donors.

What sounds simple—seven pounds of shelf-stable food per student, per week—requires operations discipline: coordinating counselors and volunteers, sourcing donations, planning menus that kids will eat, and adapting for allergies or special circumstances, including families with infants or temporary housing.

Elizabeth’s calm, systems-driven approach keeps the program on tempo across the school year. She builds redundancy into tasks, trains new volunteers, and designs checklists to reduce errors—because the stakes are human. Monday’s learning is easier when Friday’s food is already at home.

Why it matters: This is the same operating system we bring to data and modernization work—design for reliability, integrate feedback, and never lose sight of the user.

“We can’t control everything—but we can make sure a student isn’t hungry on Monday.” 

Leanna Tacik: Service Dogs, Shelter Medicine, and the Heart of a Marine      

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

Leanna’s volunteer portfolio reads like a mission set: surgical veterinary technician for local shelters, training cardiac service dogs, mentoring youth athletes, supporting accessibility through virtual assistance, and championing chronic illness awareness as an MS Ambassador. Recognition such as the Gold Presidential Service Medal and the MOVSM nod to the hours; what stands out is the impact.

Military Service: United States Marine Corps, Captain, 10 years
MOS: 6046, Aviation Maintenance Admin (enlisted); 0602, Communications Officer (officer)
Assignments include: MCAS Beaufort; MCAS Cherry Point; 29 Palms; MCRD Parris Island; overseas: Norway; Japan; Korea; Lithuania.

Where she serves: Local animal shelters (surgical/veterinary support); service-dog training and placement for cardiac alert; Be My Eyes (accessibility volunteer); National MS Society (MS Ambassador); youth softball coaching.

Ask about a highlight and she’ll talk about the day a service dog she trained alerted to a cardiac issue—proof that thousands of moments of patience and precision can culminate in one life-changing intervention. In the shelter OR, she brings the same focus, enabling high-volume spay/neuter days that reduce overpopulation and improve animal welfare. On the ballfield, it’s about confidence and character as much as wins. Across every role, she treats people and animals with the same Marine standard: leave it better than you found it.

Why it matters: Precision and care aren’t opposite forces. Tacik embodies both—exactly the balance our engineers and analysts bring to readiness, sustainment, and user support at scale.

“Watching a service dog I trained change someone’s daily life—that’s why I volunteer.” 

Mike Kropiewnicki: Preserving Marine Corps Heritage—and Building Creative Teams That Serve       

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

As STEERBRIDGE’s Creative Lead and a retired Marine Corps warrant officer, Mike believes stories are how people find purpose. He volunteers with organizations that preserve Marine heritage, including evaluating documentary work that captures the Corps’ legacy and the lived experience of Marines and their families.

Military Service: United States Marine Corps, Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CWO4), 24 years
MOS’s include: 4503, Visual Information Officer; 4602, Combat Camera Officer; 8623, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Specialist; 0510, Information Operations Staff Officer
Assignments include: MCB Hawaii; Camp Lejeune; Camp Pendleton; MCAS Iwakuni; MCAS Cherry Point; operations: OIF (Iraq); OEF (Afghanistan); Operation Tomodachi (Japan); exercises: Cobra Gold (Thailand); Cold Response (Norway); 26th MEU; Hurricane Sandy DSCA; Okinawa.

Where he serves: Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Awards (documentary evaluator/judge); Marine Corps League (New Hampshire detachment/community support); Boy Scouts of America (troop volunteer with his youngest son—supports the annual Flags Across Dunbarton program, food drives, and community events).

Before stepping into the evaluator role, Mike was a two-time recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s Sergeant William Genaust Award for outstanding documentary/visual information work—experience that now shapes his eye for accuracy, ethics, and impact. Inside STEERBRIDGE, he coaches teams to communicate clearly and design with empathy—connecting complex solutions to human outcomes through disciplined visual information and strategic communication. Outside, he honors those who served by amplifying honest, artful storytelling—and by investing in the next generation through Scouting and community service.

Why it matters: Communication is a mission-critical capability. Mike’s volunteer service parallels how STEERBRIDGE reduces complexity for stakeholders and end users—telling the right story, the right way, at the right time.

“Behind every program is a person. Visual information makes the truth visible; strategic communication makes it understandable—so people can act with confidence.” 

Kate Murray: Opening Doors for the Next Generation of Naval Leaders        

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

Kate serves on the board of a regional U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association (Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter), where she leads an annual candidate information session that demystifies the admissions and nomination process.

Military Service: United States Marine Corps, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.), 20 years
MOS: 3002, Ground Supply Officer
Assignments include: Camp Kinser (3d MRB, 3d FSSG); MCAS Miramar (3d MAW); Kuwait/Iraq (OIF); Camp Lejeune (Eng School, FSMAO); Naval Postgraduate School; Pentagon (P&R); Camp Lejeune (2d Maint BN)

Where she serves: USNA Alumni Association (GWC Board); annual Candidate Information Session convening USNA Admissions, Blue & Gold Officers, and congressional offices for service-minded families.

She brings together Academy Admissions, Blue & Gold Officers, and congressional offices to answer questions for candidate and families—many brand-new to service. The goal is simple and powerful: informed decisions, wider access, and more students who see a path to serve.

Kate’s leadership style is inclusive and operationally crisp. She thinks in checklists and outcomes: ensure the right subject-matter experts are in the room, build a clear timeline, communicate early and often, and create a space where families feel comfortable asking anything. When a student decides to apply—or chooses a different path with confidence—Kate counts that as a win for the mission.

Why it matters: Access is a force multiplier. Kate’s work echoes how STEERBRIDGE builds programs and teams—bringing people together, clarifying the path, and removing friction so talent can thrive.

“It takes all of us to accomplish the mission.” 

Micah Hamilton: Turning Technical Skill Into Community Impact         

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

A U.S. Marine Corps Captain (Ret.) with 20 years of service as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer, Micah brings mission-first discipline to every arena—on the flight line, on federal programs, and on the streets of Yuma supporting veterans. Today, he serves STEERBRIDGE as the Yuma Fleet Data Team Site Lead, translating meticulous aviation standards into dependable delivery for our partners.

Military Service: United States Marine Corps, Captain, 20 years
MOS: 6004, Aircraft Maintenance Officer
Assignments include: MCAS Miramar; MCAS Yuma; Harrisburg, PA; deployments to OIF (Iraq), OEF (Afghanistan), and Okinawa.

Where he serves: Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association® (CVMA®)—Yuma Chapter Commander (a 501(c)(19) veterans’ charity focused on assisting individual veterans, care facilities, and vetted nonprofits). Over the last four years, Micah has organized rides, charity events, and direct support efforts that connect resources to veterans in need. A standout moment: his chapter’s January poker run drew nearly 200 motorcycles and 200+ participants, raising thousands of dollars donated to a local veterans organization.

Micah’s leadership philosophy is simple and earned: never ask more of others than you’re willing to give yourself. He credits the Corps with teaching him that people watch what you do far more than what you say—so he shows up, shoulder-to-shoulder, whether conditions are easy or hard. He volunteers because needs are real, and because service creates momentum: help someone today so they can pay it forward tomorrow.

Why it matters: Micah’s brand of leadership—quiet, reliable, and solutions-focused—is exactly what our federal partners experience from SteerBridge teams. He turns complexity into action without fanfare, connecting technical skill to human outcomes.

“I don’t do it for accolades. I do it to give back to the local veterans’ community—and because I love riding with brothers.” 

Explore Our Mission-Driven Culture          

• AI-driven data ingestion, validation, and analysis
• Cloud-native interoperability to enable seamless collaboration across agencies
• Real-time decision support systems powered by clean, curated, and authoritative data
• By advancing data from raw to refined across each layer, we empower agencies to act on insights with confidence—driving operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and measurable impact.

If you’re a Veteran ready for your next chapter—or a mission partner seeking teams who lead with purpose—we’d love to connect.

→ https://www.steerbridge.com/veteran-transition