Kevin Kennedy

Like many veterans, Kevin has lost friends both during and after the war. His mission at ReferVets is to ensure that no veteran is left behind. He believes all veterans should have access to high quality, sustainable, job opportunities in the public and private sector. ReferVets is a personal mission to empower veterans to help each other.

Kevin joined the United States Marines in December 2001 and attended Third Recruit Training Battalion, Parris Island, South Carolina, where he graduated first in his class.

In spring 2003, Kevin deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he supported joint combat operations with U.S. and U.K. forces.

In 2004 and 2005, Kevin served with 1st Marine Division in support of combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, where he received the Navy Achievement Medal for outstanding communications support for the Division commander and his principal battle staff.

Kevin is currently the Chief Technology Officer for a regional bank based in New York. Kevin has also held both CTO and CISO positions for a large U.S.-based hedge fund.

Kevin is a 2007 graduate of Columbia University, and he recently completed a Masters degree in Cybersecurity from Brown University. Kevin is an adjunct professor in Cybersecurity at John Jay University and serves on the advisory board for Ithaca College’s Cybersecurity program.

Kevin lives on Long Island, New York with his wife and three children.

Brian Watson

Brian’s passion for helping Veterans came from an inherent respect for so many of his close friends who chose to serve — especially from one of closest friends from high school, a Marine First Lieutenant who was killed in action in Iraq.

After leaving a successful career in magazine and website publishing, Brian joined Workforce Opportunity Services, a 501c3 nonprofit, where he helped build, manage and grow a program that has since placed several hundred military Veterans in promising careers with major corporations. Since then, he has worked with his ReferVets partner Kevin Kennedy to help Veterans transition from active service to careers in the private sector.

At ReferVets, Brian is helping to build and strengthen relationships with prominent Veteran employers and the organizations that fuel our talent pools.

Brian serves an advisor to Chief Information Officers and senior technology executives. He is the President and Principal of CIO Clarity Advisors, where he helps IT leaders build stronger credibility internally and externally, and channel better support ecosystems from peers and partners. He is the author of a book about IT leadership that drew top ratings on Amazon.com and was included in prominent Must-Read lists from the likes of Harvard University’s IT Academy and the World Economic Forum, among others, and speaks frequently at IT industry events.

Brian is a graduate of Bucknell University and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he earned the highest graduate honor for leadership, character and integrity. He resides in Fairfield County, Connecticut with his wife and two sons.

Christie Kennedy

Christie is a Veteran of the U.S. Army Security Agency, where she worked as a Morse Code Operator and a Russian Linguist. She held a Top Secret Special Intelligence clearance and was awarded the Army Commendation medal for her work in Military Intelligence.

Following her service work, Christie spent over 25 years in market research, leading the business intelligence group at Sanofi, a top 10 pharmaceutical company, and as a Managing Director at Advise Technologies, a financial services provider.

She received her degree from Queens College of the City of New York. She lives in Winchester, Virgina with her husband, a United States Marine Corps veteran.

Mike Stafiej

Mike is a technology advisor to ReferVets, and is the founder and CEO of ERIN and referral network technology. Mike has more than a decade of experience in fast-growing startups and is the co-founder of several companies. As a technology advisor, Mike is focused on creating the best possible experience for ReferVet veterans and businesses.

Mike is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and earned his Master’s degree in Information Systems from Robert Morris University.

Doug Schwenk

Doug has 25 years’ experience in capital markets and fintech, including: Chairman of Digital Asset Research; Founder & Chairman of Digital Asset Custody Co.; Partner at LabCo.io; Founder of Advise Technologies; and Partner & COO of Trafelet Capital Management; Bank of New York.