iBuild America Podcast

Janina Jacobs - June 2, 2025 Entrepreneur and Investor (Michigan) As an entrepreneur with several businesses in the golf industry, food service (owned a popular Detroit restaurant for 41 years), real estate development, the concert/music arena, and creating events of all kinds, her greatest talent lies in recognizing ways operations can be enhanced while connecting people working in the same direc...

Martin Garsee Executive DirectorNational Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (Texas)Martin Garsee serves as the Executive Director of NAPFTDS and the Director of Transportation Training at Houston Community College. The National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS) is an organization for the promotion of public education for the transportation industry. T...

Jessica Bartnick Founder and CEOFoundation For C.H.O.I.C.E.(Texas)By serving at risk youth through a one-to-one mentoring program, Foundation For C.H.O.I.C.E. (Consider How One Individual Changes Everything) creates opportunities for a college education through professionally supported relationships, inspiring the student to makepositive choices for their future. Through a structured 27-week cours...

John Bones Founder and Executive Director TEAM UP Academy (Michigan) John J. Bones is the Visionary Entrepreneur, Founder and Executive Director of Team Up Academy (TUA) and JJB Sales, LLC. His career has centered on creating programs and opportunities that improve lives and strengthen communities! Early in his own life, he was inspired by the strong work ethics and role models of those who worked...

Maurice Wilson President and Executive Director, National Veterans Transition Services (California) Maurice Wilson is a retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer with 25 years of service, is the Executive Director of the National Veterans Transition Services, Inc. NVTSI is a nonprofit organization he co-founded with retired Rear Admiral Ronne Froman after serving as an advisory member for the Call of...

Justyn Hornor Co-Founder and CEO I/ONX High Performance Compute (Nevada) Justyn is, among other things, a nerd. He’s a full-stack developer with over 15 years of experience, but he’s also co-founded numerous startups via bootstrap, Seed, and Series A funding rounds. Justyn is a 5th-generation entrepreneur who started his first business at 19 years old. His first exit was in 2006, and since then, h...

Dr. Jonathan Woods Senior Fellow American Council on Education (Washington, D.C.) Jonathan Woods is a Senior Fellow with the American Council on Education. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and holds academic degrees in general studies from Reedley College, adult learning from Southern Illinois University, business administration from Jacksonville University, and educational administration from the...

Valde Garcia United States Army Veteran, Former School Educator Former Member, Michigan House of Representatives (Michigan) Valde Garcia formerly served in the U.S. Army and later became a School Teacher before entering as a Member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Valde has over 30 years of experience as a high-performing operations executive in the U.S. military and the State of Michigan...

Maria Posey CEO Viking Impact Advisors (Washington, DC) Maria is the founder and CEO of Viking Impact Advisors, LLC, a small-business consulting firm that specializes in advising nonprofit and government clients on ways to better understand their impact, tell their impact stories, raise funds for impact, and plan for future impact. She is an experienced organizational management professional speci...

Kurtis Taylor Executive Director Bob Barker Foundation (North Carolina) Kurtis Taylor is a person in long-term recovery. For him, this means that he has not used alcohol or any other substance since December 23rd, 2002. Mr. Taylor obtained his bachelor’s degree in social work from Shaw University in May 2019. For many years, Kurtis has been a voice for citizens seeking long-term recovery from subs...

Wendy Perry Managing Director and Founder, Workforce BluePrint (Australia) Wendy Perry is an entrepreneur, innovator, leader, mentor, speaker, and writer on Workforce Planning and Development, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and TVET, International Capability Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Wendy's extensive experience includes management roles within private and public Regis...

Danica Huber Retired U.S. Marine Corps Military Transition Liaison, Workforce Training Academy (Arizona) Danica is a retired United States Marine Corps officer who served her country for more than a decade. On the program, Danica discusses her journey from Arizona to serving in the military. Similar to so many service members, the military provided stability and growth opportunities. While in the...

In this special Independence Day episode of the iBuild America Podcast, we sit down with Representative Tom Barrett of Michigan’s 7th Congressional District—a U.S. Army veteran, helicopter pilot, and relentless advocate for those who’ve served. Tom shares his powerful journey from military service across Iraq and the Korean DMZ to helping veterans transition into meaningful civilian careers. We al...

Besa PinchottiChief Executive Officer, National Military Family AssociationBesa Pinchotti is Chief Executive Officer of the National Military Family Association (NMFA), which works with families to identify and solve the unique challenges of military life. Besa was drawn to NMFA’s mission to support the families who serve alongside those in uniform and has held leadership positions at the Associat...

Mary Lamparter Community Volunteer, Entrepreneur, and Investor Founder, Defense Corridor Center for Collaboration and Synergy (DC3S) (Michigan) Mary Lamparter is a dedicated community volunteer with a lifelong commitment to supporting military service members and their families. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of impactful roles, including serving as Vice President of Family Programs...

David HunnPresident and CEO The SkillSource Group David Hunn is a focused and seasoned executive who is intent on delivering local public services in an efficient and cost effective manner. He is an optimistic, dedicated, persistent, entrepreneurial and value getting things done. David concurrently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the SkillSource Group, Inc. a 501 (c) (3) non...

Michael MacDonald Former Senator Michigan State Senate (Michigan) Michael MacDonald served as a member of the Michigan Senate, representing the 10th district from January 1, 2019, to January 1, 2023. While in the Michigan Senate, he served on several committees including Appropriations, Health Policy and Human Services, Appropriations Subcommittee on Community Health/Human Services, Appropriations...

Johnny Taylor - Vice President of Job Corps Operations Serrato Corporation (Kansas) Johnny is a team player with the ability to motivate others and build strong teams that collaborate to achieve desired outcomes. With nearly 30 years of experience in Job Corps, he is an established leader who spent his career helping and coaching young people. He began his career in teaching before making the tran...

Ron Lamparter, Entrepreneur, Inventor, and Investor Founder, Defense Corridor Center for Collaboration and Synergy (DC3S) (Michigan) Ron Lamparter is a Native Detroiter born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Detroit Public Schools before graduating from Wayne University with a degree in Engineering. Ron is a Serial Entrepreneur having Founded and served as Chairman and CEO for over 20 d...

Robert M. Dyer, Mayor, Virginia Beach (Virginia) Mayor Bobby Dyer was sworn in on Nov. 20, 2018, and is the first veteran to be directly elected as mayor in Virginia Beach history. Prior to that, he represented the Centerville District on the City Council for 14 years. Dyer is a physical therapist. Positions he's held in the past include healthcare executive, business consultant, and assistant...

Dr. Francis Cole, Former Regional Director, Office of Job Corps, U.S. Department of Labor (Washington DC)Dr. Francis Cole is an Executive Chef by training who learned about the U.S. Job Corps program through his employer. He volunteered through his company to help build a Culinary Arts program at Job Corps and was hooked on the idea of assisting young people to learn the culinary industry at a high...

Robin Lovewell, Workforce Administrator, City of Colorado Springs (Colorado) Robin Lovewell is a Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) with 15+ years of experience in workforce development (businesses and job seekers), human resources, and military relations. She is known and trusted by the business, human resources, and military communities in the Pikes Peak region and beyond and cu...

William Houston, Vice President of Job Corps Operations Serrato Corporation (Ohio) William is an expert professional and business leader with several decades of management experience. He is a former high school football standout who also played football at The Ohio State University football team. He began his career as an educator and has committed his professional career to helping young adults b...

Dr. Michael Hinojosa Former Superintendent - Dallas Independent School District (Texas) Dr. Michael Hinojosa served more than 27 years as a superintendent/CEO of six public education systems, including two of the 25 largest school systems in America: Dallas ISD in Texas and the Cobb County School District in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. His career in public education, from teacher and coach to super...

Greg TaylorRetired Army VeteranExecutive Director, Workforce Training Academy (WTA)(Arizona) Greg is currently leading a national Workforce Training Academy (WTA). Before WTA, Greg joined the United States Marines following high school and later switched to the United States Army. He retired in 2018 from Military Service after more than 20 years. During his military career, Greg had several deploy...