Celebrating Our Veteran Alumni for Their Service and Community Impact
Today, on Veteran’s Day, we honor the millions of veterans who have served our country. Veterans, thank you for your service, your sacrifices, your leadership and our freedom.
We want to recognize our veteran alumni for their service and their continued dedication to make a difference in our community. Today, I’d like to introduce you to alums Hark Herold, Michael Mitchel and Dawanta Parks.
Hark Herold, an alum of Access Denver and Colorado Experience, served in the U.S. Air Force for 28 years. As CEO and founder of Design Thinking Denver, he helps teams and organization delight customers with a human-centered approach. He is also chief operating officer for Bunker Labs, which provides veterans with access to entrepreneur services. Twenty-five percent of transitioning service members want to start a business. Bunker Labs provides the network, resources and support to help them succeed. Through the organization’s Veterans in Residence Program, a partnership with WeWork, Bunker Labs provides veteran and military family member entrepreneurs the resources to launch and grow their businesses. “There’s a sense of a common shared mission … we’re creating a space where [veterans] can be open and get honest feedback to advance their business,” Hark said.
Michael Mitchel, an alum of Leadership Denver 2017 and a 2016 9NEWS Leader of the Year finalist, served in the U.S. Navy from 1984 to 1991. Through his role as the executive director of the VFW Post 1 Foundation, Michael connects veterans to services to help them transition to civilian life. VFW Post 1 offers veterans an array of services from health and wellness programs to career services and the Veterans Art Gallery. He notes that it’s important for the business community to be engaged with the veteran community. “Give, be engaged, and the best way to support veterans is to take their call,” Michael said.
Dawanta Parks, an alum of Impact Denver 2016, Leadership Denver 2020 and a Networker of the Quarter, served in the U.S. Army from 1997 to 2008. Dawanta is an advocate for the veteran community, helping veterans find stable employment, housing resources, mental health resources and more, because he knows navigating the transition to civilian life can be difficult. “Some [veterans] have been able to transition from the military mindset. It’s important to mentor others and help them overcome barriers,” Dawanta, director of Bayaud Works, said. Dawanta helped launch Taskforce Denver Homeless to create a community of connected resources. He also serves on the Colorado City and County Management Association Board and is the chair of the Colorado Veterans Leading Government and the Veterans Advisory Board Representative for the International City and County Management.
As we honor our veterans today, it’s important to think about how we can serve them every day. Whether that’s hiring a vet or connecting them to resources like the Veterans Crisis Line, The Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program or Homeless Veteran Resources, we all can collaborate with our veteran community.
Thank you again to Hark, Michael, Dawanta and all our veterans for their service.
Looking for ways to observe Veterans Day on Wednesday? Take an action that will have long-term benefits – both for veterans and for your business. Examine your human resources practices to see how you can recruit and hire more veterans to join your team.
There are more than 43,700 Coloradans serving on active military duty, and more than 400,000 veterans reside in our state. We know that veterans bring transferable knowledge, leadership skills and a strong work ethic, but they continue to face barriers to entering the workforce after they’ve completed their service. According to a study by LinkedIn, veterans are 15.6% more likely to be underemployed than non-veterans.
And, the challenges are more pronounced for some veterans. According to a press release from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the national unemployment rate is 7.8% for Black veterans, notably higher than the 6.1% rate for white veterans. It’s even higher for younger veterans at 9.4%.
Some of these disparities are due to the “civilian-military divide,” and that many hiring managers don’t understand the meaning of military job titles and experience levels. Also, about 66% of veterans are first-generation college students, so they may not have access to the social capital that many of us have taken for granted to advance our careers.
That’s why professional development programs like Boots to Suits are so important. Through the Chamber’s partnership with the University of Colorado Denver and CU Anschutz Medical Campus, military and veteran students are matched with local mentors to help the students transition from military and college life to business life – from military boots to business suits. This year, 28 companies joined the program to mentor student veterans, host educational workshops, provide on-the-job training and extend job offers.
This is a program that benefits both the students and the companies. The companies are taking advantage of a pipeline of workers who have 2.9 times more work experience and are shown to remain with their initial company 8.3% longer than nonveterans, according to the LinkedIn study.
Boots to Suits is only one example of efforts in Colorado to support veterans seeking employment. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared November to be Hire a Veteran First Month. The state’s Hire a Colorado Vet website features virtual resource fairs, hiring events, a jobs database and connections to service providers. We also encourage jobseekers and companies that are hiring to check out our job board, which features job opportunities available in Colorado’s major industries, as well as resources for people seeking apprenticeships or starting their own businesses.
So use this Veterans Day as your motivation to look at your own business and how you can increase opportunities for veterans in our workforce. This is one more way to rebuild our economy, which will help all Coloradans.
Kelly Brough is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber.
We really value service to others and our veterans are the clearest example of people who have given of themselves in service to us all. On Veterans Day, we want to not only thank them for their service to our country, but also remind you of how Chamber members and the business community can help support Colorado veterans.
In 2011, we partnered with the University of Colorado Denver and launched Boots to Suits, a program that supports student veterans with mentorships, career advice and, of course, a suit to help prepare them for a career. The program continues to go strong – and graduated its largest class in 2019. We could not make this program happen without the support from Chamber members like Denver Health, Fidelity Investments and Lockheed Martin.
Rich Lewis of RTL Networks was one of the program’s first mentors. He served 10 years in the Air Force before launching his tech solutions firm. “I left for the Academy 14 days after graduating high school and for the first time in my adult life, I’m looking at civilian life, and it was a very frightening prospect,” he told the University of Colorado Denver. “You hear horror stories about corporate America … What is a merger? What does a salesperson or a marketing manager do? Everything was different, and I didn’t know the rules.”
Rich mentored Army veteran Tyler Heath, who in addition to completing his degree in 2012 has gone on to receive an MBA while working as an IT administrator. CU Denver wrote about their work together in the university’s City Stories blog.
Inspired by their experience? Learn more about mentoring here.
You can also help by committing to hire veterans. This is something many of our members already do, and for good reason. Veterans’ experiences and skills make them excellent additions to any team. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has a great guide for recruiting and hiring veterans.
We also want to empower veteran-owned businesses. Our Denver Metro Small Business Development Center invites veterans to attend business start-up programs at no charge. Please help us spread the word and encourage interested veterans to reach out for more information at programs@denverchamber.org.
We’re proud to honor our veterans, and we want to show them the same support and service they’ve given to all of us.
Thank you for joining us in these efforts.
Kelly Brough is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber.
We respect and value our veterans – they lead with values we admire: persistence, teamwork, passion, ingenuity and drive. Each Veterans Day my hope is we all take time to reflect on their service and find ways to show our support and express our gratitude to those who have served our country. We have a number of programs and partnerships that we engage in throughout the year to show our support for our veterans returning to Colorado after their service:
Mentor: The Chamber continues to partner with the University of Colorado Denver on the Boots to Suits program, which helps veterans transition from the military to the classroom, and from the classroom to the workforce. As they work on their education (and you can share this guide to financial aid for veterans), many of our members mentor them, review their résumés and offer professional development advice. Interested in mentoring? Learn more here.
Hire: Many of our members, such as Comcast, DaVita and the Colorado Department of Transportation, are committed to hiring veterans. And for good reason; their real-world experience and leadership skills make them great additions to any team. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has a great guide for recruiting and hiring veterans.
Celebrate: Each year, we congratulate veterans who have completed their education and who are joining the workforce. This is an inspiring evening where you can meet the men and women who will bring their talents to companies across the state. We’ll host the next Boots to Suits Salute in March – we’ll let you know when we have more details.
When it comes to honoring our veterans, don’t just thank them for their service – we show our support by hiring them and helping them find careers back in Colorado. We hope more of our members will join these efforts.
Kelly Brough is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber.
Integrity, honesty, dependability, a strong work ethic and leadership skills. It’s safe to say those are among employers most desired traits of a teammate.
What can sometimes be overlooked is that these characteristics are possessed by many of Colorado’s 400,000 veterans, and the 45,000-plus veterans living in the Denver metro area. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and University of Colorado Denver are partners of the Boots to Suits: Professional Development Program to help get service men and women ready for the workplace through internship and mentoring experiences, as well as a custom suit from Brooks Brothers.
Over the fall 2016 semester, the Boots to Suits kicked off a Career Boot Camp – a series of workshops and events aimed to develop and provide veteran students with the resources they need to enter into the workforce.
We sat down with Jason Wright, a veteran in the Boots to Suits program, to learn about the challenges faced by veterans entering the workforce and the unique talents they bring to the table.
Wright enlisted in the army as a signals intelligence analyst in 1998. Within five years he received a direct commission to be an environmental science officer and played a large role in combating West Nile in the Environmental Health Services Department at Fort Carson.
Today, Wright is pursuing his second and third master’s degrees at the University of Colorado Denver as part of a dual degree program that incorporates public administration and criminal justice. In addition, he is planning to graduate with a certificate in emergency management and security.
Taking Care of Business: What are some of the challenges veterans face entering the workforce?
Jason Wright: We, as veterans, can do nearly anything we set our mind to if we’re given the resources to do it. That can be hard when you get out because you don’t have the same comradery that you had when you were in the military. In civilian life you cover yourself, and in the military you cover your brother’s back. Those things can make your life difficult even once you get a job.
TCB: What are some strengths that veterans possess that other potential employees might not?
Wright: Confidence is number one.
One of our biggest strengths in the military and as veterans, is our confidence in our ability to do whatever we set our mind to. A lot of employers are also looking to hire veterans because they have leadership abilities. We know how to get things done with little resources – we don’t need a lot to make things happen.
TCB: What should companies know when hiring veterans?
Wright: I remember after I had been out for maybe five years I had people come up to me, out of nowhere and ask, “What branch of the military were you in?” They didn’t know me, but they knew I was in the military. Now I can look back and go it must have been because I looked so militant. The way I walked. The way I talked, the way I dressed. The way I cut my hair. The way I looked around. It’s evident, but it’s not evident to the solider.
I think an employer should be aware that we are militant and that it just takes time for us to transition; stick with us as we transition to whatever culture that job has.
TCB: What advice do you have for veterans seeking employment?
Wright: My biggest piece of advice is to seek out organizations like Boots to Suits. When I go into the Boots to Suits office, I see veterans hanging out, talking about being in the military or their transition out of the military. They have that comradery that goes away when you leave the military. To veterans who feel like they’re a little lost – seek out those organizations, and just talk, because just talking is the number one thing that we need.
TCB: Where do you see yourself once you’ve completed your degrees?
Wright: The future will depend on what career field I choose. If I’m doing emergency management, I’m going to be the director or regional director somewhere. If I’m doing intelligence work I hope to be in charge with some type of special intelligence unit that does rapid deployments. We shall see how it goes, but whatever I’m doing in ten years, I’m going to get to the top.
To learn more about the Boots to Suits program contact Bridget Garcia, bridget.garcia@denverchamber.org.
Ginny Hancock is the public affairs intern for the Denver Metro Chamber.
