Meet the Team
Jim Lorraine
President & CEO
Jim Lorraine, the president and CEO of America’s Warrior Partnership, served in the U.S. Air Force as a Flight Nurse with nine combat deployments and retired as the Deputy Command Surgeon for the United States Special Operations Command after 22 years of service. He became the founding director of the United States Special Operations Command Care Coalition and served as Special Assistant for Warrior and Family Support to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Leadership
Amy Hobby Rickard
Chief of Staff and Operations
As the Chief of Staff and Operations, Amy Hobby Rickard is responsible for finance, legal, human resources, technology, marketing, and business operations. She has led non-profits since 2000, including work as a local human services program director and as a social services director, overseeing residential and supportive services for a large branch of an international organization. Amy holds a Master of Divinity, is an ordained minister, previously pastored in congregations, and currently serves on her Presbytery Committee on Ministry. She is a graduate of Leadership Augusta and a member of the Kiwanis Club of Augusta. She received the AFP Fundraising Professional of the Year award for her work on a $22 million campaign to endow and build the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Augusta, Georgia. Amy is proud of the four successive generations of her family who served our nation in the armed forces, and she is currently a caregiver for her veteran father.
Chief of Programs and Initiatives
Cheree Tham LCSW
As the Chief of Programs and Initiatives, Cheree Tham is responsible for the planning, oversight, management, and supervision of all programs and services provided to the organization at a strategic and tactical level to develop and maintain initiatives consistent with AWP’s mission and model of Community Integration. Her experience has been in program development and administration of programs with a wide range of populations, targets, and services. She is the Principal Investigator (PI) with AWP’s Operation Deep Dive ™ (OpDD). Cheree holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Alabama and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).
Administration
Terra Schrader
Executive Assistant
William Galinat
Salesforce Administrator
Darrell Owens
Director of Government Relations
Prior to joining AWP, Darrell Owens graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., and was a staffer in Congress for nearly 14 years. Until recently, Darrell was the National Security Advisor & Military Legislative Assistant for Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), handling the Senator's military, veterans, foreign affairs, homeland security, and intelligence issue portfolio.
In his military career, Darrell has been deployed overseas to South Korea, Poland, and Germany with the Army Reserves. Some of Darrell’s accreditations include graduating from the Air Force Air Command & Staff College in 2012, graduating from the U.S. Army War College with a master’s degree in strategic studies in 2016, and being a 2019 Marshall Memorial Fellow at the German Marshall Fund. In addition to his current role at AWP, Darrell continues to serve as an Army Reserve officer.
Development & Marketing
Michelle High
Director of Marketing
Michelle High has spent her career in sales and marketing leadership roles in small business, global manufacturing, and nonprofit sectors. Michelle’s experience is heavily weighted in loyalty program management, multi and omnichannel marketing, and business development. As the Director of Marketing, she is responsible for leading the marketing team and driving the overarching communications strategies for the organization. She has a bachelor’s in corporate communications from Central Pennsylvania College.
Tyler Carnahan
Strategic Communications Manager
Megan McParland
Content Specialist
Kaitlin Cashwell
Director of Development
Kaitlin Cashwell has been with AWP since its inception in 2013, holding various roles to support the organization’s mission and providing her with a decade of experience in leadership, business development, finance, and project management. Currently, she is responsible for the design and implementation of long-term strategies related to fund development and maximizing program impact. Kaitlin obtained her bachelor’s in mathematics and her master’s in business administration from Augusta University.
The AWP Network
Jeanette Gilles LCSW
Director of The AWP Network
Jeanette Gilles is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Georgia, and joined the AWP team in 2016. She holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of South Carolina and has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of addictions and mental health, medical social work, abuse prevention and military/veteran issues.
Chelsea Williams
Lead Advocate,
The AWP Network
Ashley Whittaker
Lead Advocate,
The AWP Network
Kendra Boles
Network Advocate,
The AWP Network
Jansen Douse
Network Advocate,
The AWP Network
Programs & Initiatives
Missy Meyer
Director of Community Integration
Emily Jeansonne
Project Lead,
SGBK
Krystal Garcia
Program Specialist,
Operation Deep Dive™
Allison Williams
Training Manager
Community Branches
Jessy Lakin
Program Lead
Alaska Warrior Partnership
As a veteran of the United States Army, Jessy Lakin served as a Forward Observer with two combat tours to Sadr City Iraq (06-08, 08-10) with the 1st Brigade Combat Team 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. He has spent his civilian career giving back to veterans in Alaska, volunteering with multiple veteran organizations and creating opportunities for Alaska warriors to thrive.
Jordan Rashea
Case Coordinator,
Alaska Warrior Partnership
Bernie Tyler
Program Lead
Diné Naazbaa Partnership
Bernadine (Bernie) Tyler serves as the Program Lead for the Diné Naazbaa Partnership program, supporting Navajo Nation veterans, their families, and caregivers through the America’s Warrior Partnership Community Integration Model. Bernie was born, raised, and lives on the Navajo Nation in Shiprock, New Mexico. Her clans are Many Hogans born for Red Running Into Water and her grandparents are the Water Flows Together and Bitter Water clans. Bernie is an Army veteran and was inspired to travel when she went abroad to Beijing, China after her senior year to play volleyball. She served as a Microwave Systems Operator/Maintainer (MOS 31P). After the Army, she worked in information technology and administration. Bernie has utilized her career and life experiences to assist veterans in her community for the last fifteen years. She now brings this knowledge and fluency in her Navajo language to DNP to increase support for her fellow veterans on the Navajo Nation. Lastly, she enjoys going to NFL games to support her team, the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as cooking, figuring out complex puzzles and tending to her three fur animals.
Karen Shirley
Community Coordination Associate,
Diné Naazbaa Partnership
Matt Hall
Program Lead
Indy Warrior Partnership
Matt Hall is an active US Army Reserve Officer with over 28 years of service. He most recently served as a Civil Affairs officer at CENTCOM, and before that completed two tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. At home in Indianapolis, he previously worked as the City Director of Veteran Affairs and as a Veteran Service Officer.
Abby Pequignott
Community Coordinator,
Indy Warrior Partnership
Keith Manley
Program Lead
Panhandle Warrior Partnership
Throughout a robust career in the United States military, Keith Manley retired as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician, having deployed to Southwest Asia, Europe, and Central America in combat and humanitarian missions. He has spent much of his civilian career in project and program management, business development, and training. Keith is an alumnus of Troy University, where he received a B.S. in Business Resource Management.
Kenneth Thompson
Case Coordinator,
Panhandle Warrior Partnership
Roy Dobbins
Program Lead
Permian Warrior Partnership
A veteran of the United States Army, Roy began his career in Air Defense Artillery as a Vulcan Cannon Gunner, going on to serve as a Network Engineer with NSG in Washington D.C. He has spent much of his civilian career as an Information Technology Director. Roy received his bachelor’s degree from Grantham University of Engineering and is currently working towards a Masters in Mental Health Counseling at the University of Texas Permian Basin.
Breanna Durner
Case Coordinator,
Permian Warrior Partnership
Lewis T. Hinojos Jr.
Outreach Coordinator,
Permian Warrior Partnership