Mr. Kuryla joined the service in 1976 and deployed West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. Over the 30 year career as an Intelligence Officer, Mr. Kuryla served at the national, strategic and tactical levels of U.S. Intelligence. His initial assignment set him on a course for continued high intensity missions, and Chief met each one with the same enthusiasm, dedication to mission and professionalism that he emulated from those tier one warriors around him. He served at Field Station Berlin, as well as other assignments within Berlin Brigade, for the U.S. Intelligence and Security Command covering the Soviet Illicit Agent network and Russian Soviet Special Operations (Spetznaz) where he was nominated and recognized for the INSCOM Commander’s Trophy for Operational Excellence. He left Europe in 1985 after several deployments to “denied territory” and accepted an appointment as a Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Army. Mr. Kuryla returned to the U.S. after several more years in Europe as Current Intelligence Operations Officer for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Europe. Chief returned to the US in time for Just Cause in Panama and a much longer stay at Ft. Bragg, N.C. stationed at both XVIII Abn Corps, 82nd Abn Div G2 and 525 MI Bde to name a few.  

David Mayeski joined the Air Force in his junior year of high school at the age of 17, after 13 months of delayed enlistment. Immediately after graduation in 1989, David enlisted as a Law Enforcement Specialist and went on active duty. He was initially assigned to Dover AFB in Delaware. David served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm at Dhahran Air Base in Saudi Arabia. After returning from Saudi Arabia, David spent two years training and competing in Defender Challenge and Peacekeeper competitions. In 1993 David cross trained into the Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) career field. As a SERE specialist, David taught air crew and combatants how to survive in any biome, under any condition to evade capture and if caught, to resist interrogation/exploitation, to communicate in captivity, to escape and work toward repatriation.

Mr. Gomez was born and raised in Merced, California, living there for most of his life. Growing up in the south side of town, Ernesto soon came to realize that life had more to offer than the status quo he experienced during his younger years up through high school. Mr. Gomez attended California State University, Stanislaus, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with an emphasis in corrections. Along the way, he also enrolled in psychology and sociology courses, which would lead him to be a very well-rounded individual capable of understanding people, their needs and motivations, with the added benefit of reaching a broader number of individuals since he is also fluent in Spanish.

Bart Chambers is a 21-year military veteran having served in the United States Navy from 1984-2005 as a Navy Corpsman. He Joined the Navy between his junior and senior year in high school, and upon graduation, went on active duty for tech school and assignment as a Gunner Mate. In 1987 he did a rate change to Corpsman and graduated from the Naval School of Health Science in San Diego. After completing field medical service school, Bart was assigned to 1st Battalion 23rd Marines and deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Storm with 2nd Battalion 23rd Marines. Post deployment, Bart transferred to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (4th LAR) Battalion until October 2000 where he was assigned to Inshore Boat Unit 16 (IBU 16). He was deployed numerous times with IBU 16 and to the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Upon returning from deployment, he returned to 4th LAR where he retired in April 2005 as a first class Petty Officer (HM1 FMF) as the Senior Battalion Medical Advisor.

George Radanovich served as a United States congressman from 1995-2011.

A leading advocate for California’s agricultural resources and recreational communities, he was a key member of the Resources Committee, Chairman of the National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands Subcommittee, Chairman of the Water and Power Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the Water Caucus.

After leaving Congress, George served as chairman of the board of a small family retail business founded by parents in 1955. In 2016 George become President of the California Fresh Fruit Association. He left that position in 2019 to promote agriculture, labor, water, and veteran’s policies in Washington, D.C. and across the nation.

George met Chief in 2012 while researching veteran’s issues for a local speech. It was then that he learned the plight of returning combat Veterans and the enormous suicide rate. Since that time, George has been deeply involved in research and the heart-felt need to mitigate the rising suicide rate of post 9/11 Veterans. “Giving back to those who gave so much” isn’t just a bumper sticker quote. It’s a duty to us all, and George exemplifies the characteristics of a truly great American, rolling up his sleeves and diving in to help fix the problem.

Donna Brownell has a long history with non-profit organizations. When her children were still in school, she worked with non-profit nursery-elementary schools. That progressed to 16 years at Learning Tree University, a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-degree granting, adult educational organization. Throughout her tenure, the organization transitioned from a small, undeveloped organization to one serving 40,000 students per year through three campus locations, a seminar program for managers and entrepreneurs, and a national seminar program for healthcare professionals. As Vice President of Business, Donna “retired” in 2000 to move to Mariposa.

In Mariposa Donna served as Executive Director of the Mariposa County Arts Council until she retired (again) in 2011. A friend urged her to complete her real estate license. Donna says that she was part-time because she only wanted to do the “fun stuff” – helping people find their forever homes while turning over all the paperwork to the office. These experiences have led to developing life-long friendships that are truly treasured.

Donna met Chief and instantly knew he was special. They connected immediately and started looking at properties that could serve Tier One. It was through these showings that Donna learned that Chief was doing great work with Veterans. Hearing how people wanted to help Tier One, but Chief had no way to receive their donations, propelled Donna to offer some suggestions and help begin the development of a non-profit.

Laura Phillips had a long career in non-profit administration and fund development, which she left in 2015, swearing never to go back into the field. And then she met Chief. Having no knowledge or real interest in the military, she was shocked by the statistics he related regarding Veteran suicide and was compelled to get back into the game. She is Chief’s main antagonist and loves spreadsheets and budgets.