The Team

Headquarters

Dr. William (Bill) Doe became the CEO of Veterans Green Jobs on 15 October 2010. Bill previously served as a VGJ Board member and Treasurer. Bill is a career Army veteran having served on active duty in the Army Corps of Engineers from 1974-1996 and retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served overseas in Germany and stateside, including seven years on the geography/environmental faculty at West Point. He holds graduate degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire (M.S.) and Colorado State University (Ph.D.). Bill was a senior researcher and administrator in the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University for thirteen years, prior to becoming CEO. His areas of expertise include military lands, environmental and watershed management and the study of warfare ecology and military geography. He has authored numerous book chapters and articles on these subjects. He also teaches graduate level courses on these topics via distance learning. Bill grew up as an Air Force brat (the son of a career officer) living stateside and overseas with his family. He has been active in veterans and student-veterans affairs in northern Colorado and at Colorado State University, where he also served as the Assistant Director of Veteran Services. He routinely speaks at veterans-related functions in his community, including Veterans Day and Memorial Day. His hobbies include competitive running, sports, travel and outdoor activities with his wife and three adult children.

Tara Williams, not-for-profit specialist, business woman and manager, is currently the CFO at Veterans Green Jobs. Tara was the owner of Dollar-Sense, a successful accounting and bookkeeping company geared to serving non-profit organizations from 2000-2010. Prior to that she was the Business Manager, Interim Executive Director and then Managing Director for the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. A graduate of Brown University, Tara also worked as a social worker in San Francisco and Baltimore and as a program associate with Maryland Nonprofits, a membership organization supporting excellence in the non-profit sector in Maryland. She moved to Boulder, CO in 1997.

MariettaMarietta Vargas is the Corporate Partnership Manager for Veterans Green Jobs. She is the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran who earned a purple heart during his second tour of duty. Marietta enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1997 and served as a combat medic with the 249th Main Support Battalion in Austin, Texas for the next 8 years. She concurrently developed her non-military career in the nonprofit industry, serving as a Program Director with the YMCA from 1994 until 2005.  Upon being honorably discharged from the military and earning her bachelors degree in Education with a minor in Biology from The University of Texas at Austin, Marietta relocated to Denver, attained full securities industry licensing and worked in financial sales for the next six years as a Financial Advisor and Advisor Consultant.

Linda Lidov, Communications Consultant for Veterans Green Jobs, specializes in strategy, writing, marketing and media relations. For 20 years she has led communications programs in the arenas of commercial satellite imaging, geographic information systems, natural resources, energy efficiency/renewable energy, workforce development and social justice issues for a variety of private companies, government agencies and philanthropic/nonprofit organizations. Linda has a personal passion for storytelling: discovering the difference nonprofit work makes on people and their lives, and illustrating these impacts through the written word. Her work has appeared in high-profile outlets such as The New York Times and ABC World News Tonight, industry magazines ranging from Disaster Recovery Journal to Public Works Magazine, and local radio, print and broadcast media. She received a bachelor’s degree in French from the University of Colorado, and studied language and literature in Grenoble, France.

Employment Program

John Toth is Senior Director of Veterans Programs and a former United States Army Infantry Officer with over 21 years experience leading soldiers in challenging situations around the globe. During his career, John served tours in South Korea and Egypt, and was deployed to combat in Iraq. His assignments included the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions as well as the Pentagon.  He is a graduate of the rigorous U.S. Army Ranger School and is a Master Parachutist and Pathfinder. He recently completed his final assignment as the Professor of Military Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he was responsible for training future officers for the Army. Passionate about Veteran issues, he sits on the board of directors for the Denver Centennial Chapter of the Association of the United States Army as well as the Admiral Arleigh Burke Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America in Boulder, CO.  He holds a Masters degree from the prestigious School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Additionally, he is on the board of advisors for impossible2Possible – a youth development organization.  A devoted husband and proud father of two boys, he resides in Boulder, Colorado with his family where they share his passion for cycling, the outdoors, and traveling the world.

Kynnie MartKynniein is the Industry Liaison and a Colorado native. She received a bachelor of arts degree in communications from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and was commissioned through the Army ROTC program by her grandfather, a West Point Class of 1939 graduate, into the Military Intelligence Corps. Kynnie was stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III (2005-06) as a platoon leader and executive officer with the 3rd Infantry Division’s first Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Company. She was honorably discharged as a captain in 2007. Kynnie is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. She earned her master’s degree in nonprofit management from Regis University and is pursuing her executive master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado. She serves on the Board of Directors for LoDoNA and volunteers with the LoDo District Young Professionals.  Kynnie resides in LoDo Denver with her husband, Joel, her daughter and dogs Dolce & Aldo, and cat Gabbana.

Greg Snyder is West Coast Veterans Coordinator. A veteran of the U.S. Army Military Police, Greg runs Veterans Green Jobs’ West Coast office, which is located at the California Conservation Corps’ headquarters building in Sacramento. Prior to joining Veterans Green Jobs, Greg was a corps member conservationist with the California Conservation Corps. He has received training and/or certifications in chain saw management, flood mitigation, arboriculture, trail management and fuel reduction, and has volunteered more than 4,000 hours with AmeriCorps. He received a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Greg was an air traffic controller and recruiter on active duty with the U.S. Army in Killeen, Texas, and was with the Army Reserves Military Police in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is a veteran of the Iraq War (OIF), having served in Iraq for six months in 2005. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 2006.

Laura Whitehead, Career Counselor-Laura is a retired veteran of the U.S. Army and the Colorado Army National Guard. Having grown up in upstate New York, Laura joined the military following high school. On active duty with the Army for 12 years, she was stationed with the 515th Engineer Co., a pipeline unit, in MO; the 518th Engineer Co. at Fort Kobbe in Panama; and the 41st Engineers at Fort Drum, NY. Her Army career largely focused on humanitarian projects. While in Panama, Laura was a well driller, working with her unit to provide clean water access to the communities there. She was also stationed in Haiti where she helped drill wells in Port-au-Prince and erected a school for the local communities. She also provided support during two El Salvadoran Platoon Exchanges, which were important due to the fact this was the first time El Salvador was able to participate in an interaction of a peaceful nature after their civil war.  She was part of a team that trained with the country’s military and worked on construction projects designed for continued nation building between El Salvador and the U.S. Laura then spent eight years as a recruiter for the Colorado Army National Guard. “Cool moments” Laura likes to share about her Army career are her tandem jumping experience with U.S. Army Parachute Team, the “Golden Knights,” and her experience as the first female during a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation to go out with augmentees in an Opposition Force combat capacity. Laura retired from the military in August 2012. A local workforce center told her about Veterans Green Jobs, and when she learned about the opening for an employment recruiter, she applied and got the job. She recruits job-seeking veterans, counsels them on career opportunities, helps make them more marketable to civilian employers and teaches networking skills. One thing she loves about her work is that, of all the organizations catering to veterans, Veterans Green Jobs is “the most unique” because of its customized programs for post-9/11 service members and the direct connection it provides to human resource departments at partnering companies. She enjoys being a resource for veterans who have so many options but may not know where to turn. “I am someone they can call. I give them guidance and also a ‘kidney punch’ – a reality check to help them understand whether or not they qualify for a specific job, while helping them find positions that are a good fit.” As part of the streamlining process for job-seekers, Laura also enjoys putting veterans in touch with other agencies who are ready and available to help.

Zaena Flores is a 10-year Air Force veteran. While in the Air Force, Zaena served in the financial management field as a payroll clerk and transitioned into the dental laboratory career field for her last seven years of service. While in the service, Zaena had interests in motor sports, yoga, and non-competitive running. Upon her honorable discharge from the Air Force, Zaena earned two degrees from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. After graduating with her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Zaena joined the Veterans Green Jobs team in 2012 as a Career Counselor. Zaena has studied brief models of counseling beyond her graduate training including Motivational Interviewing, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Currently, she is registered with the state of Colorado as a psychotherapist and is working toward earning her license as a professional counselor. Her goal at Veterans Green Jobs is to help veterans find a meaningful career path.

Paul Aranda Jr is a career counselor for Veterans Green Jobs in Los Angeles. Paul served four years as a U.S. Army Infantryman with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division in Ft. Lewis, Washington. During his time in service, 1-23 Infantry regiment was the first infantry battalion to convert to the new Stryker Brigade Combat Team. During this time Paul served as an assistant gunner on a M240 machine gun team, an M-203 gunner in a line squad. He also served as an infantry team leader and vehicle commander on the Stryker Fighting Vehicle. Paul earned the Expert Infantryman Badge. Upon his honorable discharge, Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from California State University, Fullerton. Paul served as a staff writer for a community-based newspaper group for two years before he joined the TELACU Veterans Upward Bound program in 2009. As an academic counselor, he led and supported veterans in their transition into higher education. He joined the Veterans Green Jobs team on March 1, 2013. Paul volunteers for The Mission Continues and Volunteer Los Angeles.

Christopher Gallas is a U.S. Navy veteran who has served overseas and was stationed in Hawaii and Japan. He is a 2 Bronze Star combat veteran recipient from the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War. Two of Christopher’s great uncles served in Pearl Harbor during World War II, and his father served in the Vietnam War. During his time with two well-known veterans programs in Los Angeles, Christopher raised thousands of dollars in donations and other vendor resources. In 2008-09, he successfully developed and structured a low-income housing project for veterans. Recently, Christopher worked in South Los Angeles for an under-privileged population and structured various employment programs for the DMA. Securing Fortune 1,000 companies as program partners, Christopher was influential in putting thousands of displaced workers back into the workforce.  Highlights include his work with the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program for Volunteers of America Los Angeles on Skid Row.  Acting as the director of business development for Migraine Media Group, he has supported many nonprofit accounts including “The Actor’s Hall of Fame’s Premiere Benefit,” helping to restore dramatic arts education in schools nationwide. He received an award for his service to veterans in 2010 from the division chief of the Employment Development Department. In 2007, U.S. Congresswoman (D) Maxine Waters awarded him for finding veterans shelter and employment. Christopher lives in Playa Del Rey Beach in Los Angeles.

AmeriCorps volunteers

Jared King is the Veteran Outreach Assistant at Veterans Green Jobs.  His role is to conduct outreach to military veterans who are interested in transitioning into green industry jobs.  As a regular volunteer at VGJ, he was informed about the AmeriCorps program and jumped at the opportunity to help his fellow veterans.  He is a Colorado native and has one younger sister.  Jared served 4 years on active duty in the Navy as a gunners mate (he trained on large caliber weapons systems) and was honorably discharged in 2006 as a Petty Officer 2nd Class.  He is a recipient of the National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Coast Guard Operations Service Ribbon, Pistol Expert Medal, Good Conduct Award, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.  He enjoys shooting skeet, watching movies, and his favorite television show is South Park.   He has a Welsh Corgi named JJ and the weirdest thing about Jared is that he collects (does not wear) sweater vests.

Michael Navarro joined Veterans Green Jobs as the Industry Outreach Assistant in 2012. Although he is not a veteran himself, he does have two veteran family members who were Army Rangers. Michael was born and raised in Colorado. After graduating from North Denver High School, he attended the University of Denver where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2011. Before landing at Veterans Green Jobs, Michael was the Community Inclusion Intern at The Denver Foundation. Currently he is studying for the GRE so he can pursue his Masters in Nonprofit Management. In his spare time you can catch him playing basketball (his favorite NBA team is the Boston Celtics), tennis, or with his puppy – a Beagle Mix named Uno.

Peter Lagorio is the Conservation Outreach Assistant at Veterans Green Jobs.  His role is to reach out to Veterans and keep them informed about open positions with various Outdoor Conservation and Wildland Firefighting Programs.  He came to VGJ through AmeriCorps because of positive service experiences he had in college throughout Florida, as well as service trips to Anchorage, AK and Peru.  Originally from the Boston area, Peter received his Bachelor’s Degree from Eckerd College in Environmental Studies in 2010.  Since graduating, he has worked as a lobsterman on a couple different commercial fishing vessels out of Boston and the North Shore.  He is interested in pursuing a career working with environmental nonprofits, especially those with a focus on conservation.  Peter’s hobbies include travelling, skiing, hiking, seeing live music, and spending time with family and friends.

Isabel Brown is the Social Media Outreach Coordinator at Veterans Green Jobs.  In this role, she supports outreach efforts to connect with veterans and help them transition from military service to personally rewarding employment in the green sector through social media.  After graduate school, Isabel became interested in a career in the environmental industry and came to VGJ through AmeriCorps and the American Legion Auxiliary Call to Service Corps.  She looks forward to her term of service with VGJ.