Be The Reason

Sit down with Jordyn Fetter, from being a trailblazing force in military marketing to working in global operations at Tech StartUp, Second Front Systems, Jordyn's journey from the U.S. Air Force to the forefront of innovation is an inspiring listen. She opens up about her transition from military service to mastering the marketing communication space, sharing invaluable insights on overcoming...

Tune in with Hannah Hunt for an honest, heartfelt conversation about daring to lead with kindness, embracing feedback, and being gentle with ourselves. From her journey leading software teams across the Air Force's Kessel Run and the Army Software Factory, Hannah shares insights on transitioning from doer to leader, and explains her approach to empathy, vulnerability, and authenticity as keys...

Rachele Dengler's journey shows the power of curiosity, empathy, and embedding with your users/customers. As an Air Force officer turned design thinker, Rachele stumbled into the world of human-centered design and found her calling. She shares how truly understanding users' needs transformed the capabilities her team delivered. Rachele argues more focus and effort on-the-ground engagement...

Former Air Force officer Brian Humphreys shares his journey from aircraft maintenance to hands-on innovation, blending military service, family life, and civilian work. Hear Brian's perspective on bridging the military-civilian divide, including lessons on motivation, communication, and working within bureaucracy. He explains his role spearheading new logistics software for the F-35 through th...

From admin assistant to chief strategy officer at Building Momentum, come listen to Cheyanne Dwyer’s story and mindset is uncovered on this episode of Be the Reason with Mohawk Matt Denny. In this episode we delve into Cheyanne's remarkable journey from graduating with a fine arts degree to working in the defense tech industry. Her path is a dynamic one, encompassing diverse roles within a com...

In the defense space you can only solve so many problems as the unclassified level and Sean and his Team at Nooks are solving the problem of access to classified spaces across the country by focusing on it as their main service offering at Nooks. In this episode we also highlight their new offering, which we are standing in front of if you are watching the video version of the show, their mobile c...

Navy Veteran and Small business owner, Brad Halsey, talks about his journey through the military and as co-founder and CEO of Building Momentum. He shares his core values as a CEO, building a diverse team with variety of skills and backgrounds, a place where everyone has a voice and finding people who have passion for solving problems. He shares their origin story as a company, the Marine Maker Pr...

Can't we all just get along? Join Mohawk Matt as he goes head-to-head in a friendly debate with Stephanie Alexander from govmates about certain stigmas and stereotypes between government employees and contractors. Let us know what govcon topics we should debate next. You can connect with govmates and with Stephanie on LinkedIn. 

It Starts With Us: Naval Oceanography with CAPT Christi Montgomery, Commanding Officer at Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center. Learn from Christi on how the Naval mission starts with her team as they map from the ocean floor to the stars above and everything in between. 

Learn from Dr. Dolores Kuchina-Musina, the Dinocorn herself. We talk about her journey as an entrepreneur with REXOTA Solutions, LLC , her newly minted PhD , being a master of contracts, her OTA knowledge and much more. She also shares the value of networking and how she would not be where she is without the relationships she has built over the years. You can connect with Dolores and follow her jo...

Playing outside -particularly in wilderness spaces- requires careful thought and planning. The “great outdoors” has not yet been cultivated to cater to humanity’s every step. Learn from Matthew Brown, founder of Chimney Trails and former Navy Ship Captain how Chimney Trails Builds Resilient Kids! And how he has saw a gap happening from his military deployments and found a way to not only teach res...

"We are there to chart and map the worlds oceans for safe navigation!" Learn from Michael Bendzlowicz who started his career in oceanography using two colored pencils and drawing paper and mylar charts. His friends call him BZ he has supported Naval Oceanography for more than 35 years. BZ is currently the deputy director of Operations at Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command ( CNMOC ). He has...

"Life is too short to not do what you love; and I love the role I have in bettering the Sea Services of the United States." Learn from Mike Stevens, who was once the most senior enlisted Sailor in the Navy and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Navy League of the United States. Mike takes us through the history of the Navy League and the value it has provided for 122 years. He dives d...

“Creating a positive culture isn’t something you can sprinkle around like [fairy dust] or expect people to read a document about and be better; it takes empathy and guidance to help b=people transition from all they have ever known.” Kevin Burnett shares his story of how he went from being an information technology specialist to leading culture change at the Department of Defense, over his past 20...

Join Navy CAPT Kate Hermsdorfer as she introduces us to the ‘Oracles of Sea.’ The Fleet Weather Center San Diego is home for all weather forecasting in coordination with air, land and sea operations-a part of larger U S Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command (CNMOC). With timely environmental knowledge on physical battlefields from beneath our waters up into outer space; these oracle's provi...

What is innovation and how does it apply to the Department of Defense? Join Jason Knudson, as he defines innovation as a concept, idea, process or thing that creates change and delivers value. Jason, was recently honored as one of the 2022 Federal 100, which highlights experts across all federal government information technology fields! We explore where defense innovation started, where it is now...