about
NC VetBiz was formed to assist veterans, veteran professionals, and veteran business owners. As a member–operated association of veteran professionals and business owners, our intent is to develop and strengthen a veterans’ business network in North Carolina.
The Association is the voice in North Carolina for businesses owned by veterans and service–disabled veterans. By leveraging our collective, we are able to address business issues affecting our membership and work to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for the business community and North Carolina. Strengthening veteran owned businesses enables them to contribute to North Carolina’s economic vibrancy and empowers them to hire other veterans.
The North Carolina Veteran's Business Association, doing business as NC VetBiz, is a 501 (c)(3) association headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.
OUR HISTORY
What started as a casual conversation between two veterans about the challenges faced by veterans and as entrepreneurs in the workforce soon became the idea for a statewide 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated solely to veterans in business.
The North Carolina Veterans Business Association, Inc (d.b.a. NC VetBiz) was founded in April 2008, and incorporated the following month by Joe Marchesani, Chairman of the Board, John Wharton, Board Member, and John Kennedy, Board Member. The organization was originally headquartered in Charlotte, NC, and has grown to become the recognized private sector advocate and voice for veteran business owners and professionals.
REGIONAL STRUCTURE
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- MEET THE BOARD -
TANYA JONES
president (CHARLOTTE)
Tanya is the Founder and CEO of Interactive Advocacy (IA), providing unparalleled violence prevention training and championing cultural shifts for resiliency and recovery through theatrics and creative expression. Tanya is also an international speaker and a seasoned and creative violence prevention training professional with over 20 years of outstanding performance in many U.S. Federal Government organizations. But her story doesn't end there.
As an Army Veteran and trauma survivor, Tanya is also an author and the creator of "THIS IS NOT A GAME™," an interactive educational training series addressing toxic behaviors that impact our communities. Her journey with trauma has led her to advocate for social justice and effect cultural change, one organization and one community at a time.
Christian Kubista
Vice President (raleigh)
Christian Kubista is a U.S. Army Veteran, having served ten years as an officer in the Army Reserve. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, with his deployment back 2004. As an Army officer, Christian served in various capacities in command, Division budget officer, as well as Chief of Vendor Services during his deployment. He separated from service back in 2005.
Christian has successfully built a career in the financial services industry over the past 25 years. He currently works with Wells Fargo Advisors in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he serves in the capacity as branch manager for the Private Client Group of Wells Fargo Advisors. He has been with the company for 20 years, having served in various capacities as Associate Market Manager, Productivity Manager, as well as Product Manager in various departments within the firm. Christian has a high passion for leading and developing people to pursue their goals and building successful careers, skills that he has learned and experienced having served in the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond, where he earned a degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance. He resides in Raleigh with his wife and two children.
Mark Haupt, Sr., MBA
Founder (raleigh)
Mark M. Haupt, a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran, owns and operates Converged Services, Inc., a Professional Services company, headquartered in Raleigh, NC. He served as a member of the NC Governor’s Advisory Council for Small and HUB Businesses. He co-founded the NC Veterans Business Association in Charlotte, NC and serves as a Trustee of a large corporate Voluntary Employee Benefits Association. He is past President of the North Carolina Veterans Business Association, served on the Tammy Lynn Foundation Board of Directors and the Research Triangle Park Federal Credit Union Board of Directors in North Carolina.
Mark founded Converged Services, Inc. in 2008 after thirty years in the corporate world delivering telecommunications, data, and information technology products and services around the world.
A seasoned executive leader of global business development, customer service, and operations organizations, Mark has more than 37 years of global and domestic Information Technology and Telecommunications industry experience. He has introduced products and services in 13+ countries and directed operations teams in Europe, Asia, and South and North America of up to 350 employees.
Mark holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Upper Iowa University, and an Associate Degree in Electronic Technology from the Community College of the U.S. Air Force.
Joanna DeMott
Treasurer (WILMINGTON)
Joanna DeMott is a military community champion and the Founder and CEO of Green Zone Corporate Training, a training and consulting company that empowers organizations of every scale to successfully, attract, recruit, and retain military-connected talent Joanna’s career spans many different fields, including Federal & State Government, Federal
Government Contracting, Military Personal & Family Readiness, Higher Education, Non-profit, and Consulting.
Joanna serves as the Treasurer for NC Veteran Business Association, the Vice Chairman of the Jacksonville/Onslow Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee, the Program Director of Whole Vet’s Military Veteran Enablement Coalition, a Coach for The Honor Foundation, a speaker for Camp Lejeune Leadership Seminar, and a panel moderator for IVMF’s Onward to Opportunity Program.
Joanna currently resides in Surf City, NC with her Marine Corps veteran spouse and 3 children.
MIKE HEATH
Member at Large (Wilmington)
Mike is the President of Heath and Sons Management Services located in Wilmington, NC. He is a US Marine Corps Veteran. He has over 30 years leadership experience in the Military, Real Estate, and Construction business. His company is a supporter of the US Military, and veteran non profits and has pledged 1% of their annual revenue to nonprofits in Eastern NC. He and his wife, Mary have 3 sons and 6 grandchildren and enjoy spending their time with them and on their boat during the season.
Lindsay Hinger
Member at Large (Raleigh)
Lindsay Hinger is an Air Force Veteran, entrepreneur, and advocate. She served in the Air Force as a Logistics Readiness Officer on the Hickam AFB Flightline in cargo and passenger operations. She is the Founder of MilSO Box LLC., as well as the Founder and CEO of Gifting With Valor LLC.; a custom gift box service for military-centric organizations and businesses.
Lindsay’s advocacy includes experience as an Air Force Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, a North Carolina Guardian Ad Litem, and a foster parent. Today, her advocacy focuses on military spouse and veteran-owned businesses as well as mental health. She is a mentor to military spouses through the American Corporate Partners (ACP) Mentoring program.
She has 17 years of military and civilian logistics experience including air, rail, ocean, over-the-road trucking, warehousing, distribution, and supply chain. A small business owner since 2016, Lindsay is also a Bunker Labs RDU Cohort Graduate and IVMF’s VWise Program Graduate.
Lindsay earned her Cultural Anthropology degree and graduated from the Air Force ROTC program at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2004.
CRYSTAL MONTZ
Member at Large (Fayetteville)
Crystal A. Montz is the CEO and Founder of Dreams Made Realty Group, a real estate firm covering more than 300 miles of the United States. Crystal is an inspirational leader with a passion for helping others achieve greatness and success. She was born in Sanford, North Carolina and her natural aptitude for motivating those around her has enabled many to reach their highest potentials – something previously thought unattainable by them. She honorably served over 20 years in the Army Reserves and retired as a Chief Warrant Office and Human Resource Technician.
Crystal offers unparalleled knowledge on matters such as relocation assistance, military family housing guidance or property investment strategies for all clients alike.
Diana Potts
Member at Large (Fayetteville)
Diana Potts / Chief Operations Officer is a Veteran, a well-known author and speaker with more than 20 years of business development, economic development and proposal management experience. . To date, Ms. Potts has won her clients more than $17 billion in new contract awards both for her own business and her clients. Some of her Awards include:
Congressional Honors for Disaster Response and Recovery, The Congressional Medal of Distinction for Environmental Efforts, National Leadership Award, Businessperson of the Year for North Carolina, Business Advisory Council to the White House
Raven Coleman
Member at Large (raleigh)
Raven Coleman is the Owner/Operator of 4C: Central Carolina Cleaning Company Inc. a specialized bioremediation company that focuses on crime scene/trauma cleanup, decontamination, and restoration services. She is also the owner of Final Passage Transport, an end-of-life body removal/mortuary transport service. Raven brings over 20 years of Criminal Justice and industry-related experience. A former EMT in the US Air Force, Raven possesses a Master’s Degree in Justice Administration and has hands-on work experience in forensic and death investigations. She also holds a certificate in OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) compliance. Raven Coleman started 4C as a way to use her knowledge and expertise in the fields of criminology and forensics to help the people of North Carolina. Help comes in many forms with 4C especially during the most difficult times for some, from the biohazard division to the transportation division which recently expanded into the pet industry as well as a new location in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, she and her team of professionals are trained, dedicated, and not afraid to work hard and get their hands dirty. No job is too big or too small.
For the past 6 years until this past May, Raven was a full-time Lecturer at NC A&T State University where she taught future criminal justice professionals and forensics. Raven currently serves as the Commander of the only All-Female American Legion Post 540 in North Carolina (Cary, NC). Her passion for veterans both personally and amongst the business community is very strong. She uses her voice to advocate for those who have served and who are currently serving. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, eating good food, working out, listening to music, riding her motorcycle, and spending time with her 3-year-old fur kid Cane Corso Ruger and 11 y/o Boxer Mastiff Glock who crossed the rainbow bridge a few months ago.
GEORGE COPELAND
Member at Large (Raleigh)
George is from Jacksonville, Florida, but also calls Randolph, Virginia home. In 1969 he was drafted to serve in Vietnam in the 44th Med – 82nd Airborne, where he trained as a Special Forces Combat Medic. Upon his return, he pursued a Bachelor in Business Administration and Secondary Education in 1975 at Methodist College. George also taught High School History and Economics as well as coached Football. In 1978 George worked for Coca-Cola Consolidated, where he managed operations. And was Vice President of Marketing and Sales Development. In 1990 George and his wife Sidney, Founded Atlantic Documentation Centers, a Digital Print Services company that was sold in 2000 to a Publicly Traded Company out of Detroit. Today you can find George at Southport Graphics, the most current venture, where he founded with his wife in 2010, a second Digital Print Services Company.
Bryan wiggins
Member at Large (raleigh)
liza rodewald
Member at Large (Fayetteville)
Liza Rodewald is the Founder and CEO of Instant Teams, a remote team marketplace that connects companies with military spouse talent.
She is a 4x entrepreneur and software engineer with over 16 years of technical experience. She currently leads Instant Teams with over 500 employees located globally.
Liza has raised over $15M in Venture Capital. She is in the top 3% of graduates from the Founder Institute, alumni of the Blue Startups Accelerator named one of the Top 25 SheEO, and a published Forbes author. She is also a member of YPO and NationSwell and serves as a mentor for female founders. Liza currently resides in Southern Pines, NC with her active duty spouse and 4 children.
rAffa gibbard
Member at Large (CHARLOTTE)
Raffa Gibbard is a seasoned construction professional with over a decade of experience in construction and contracting. She brings a wealth of expertise to every project she undertakes. Raffa’s background includes years of contracting with the Army, where she honed her project management skills and oversaw multimillion dollar projects such as roads, entry control points, and facility renovations. As a lieutenant, she ran a rock quarry before deploying to Afghanistan with a Route Clearance Battalion. While in Kandahar she
became involved in public affairs and contracting. She later had positions in command, safety, and as a liaison between agencies; all demonstrating her diverse skill set and adaptability. Her experience with the military instilled in her a deep commitment to excellence and an unwavering dedication to achieving results. Today, Raffa leverages her extensive background and leadership skills to deliver exceptional results for her clients.
Brave One Contract Agency has become a trusted name in the construction services industry, a company known for their attention to detail, quality workmanship, and exceptional customer service. She has assembled a talented team of professionals who are known for top-notch workmanship, attention to detail, and commitment to customer satisfaction.
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JEAN-PAUL DAME
Member at Large (WILMINGTON)
Jean-Paul Damé served as a 25P (Audio/Visual Television Production Specialist) in the US Armt through the “Stripes for Skills” program, which recognized my specialized skills and expertise in television production from Los Angeles, California. This program allowed me to contribute significantly to my military role, leading to my rapid promotion to the rank of Specialist after Basic Training.
My commitment deepened in 1991 when I reenlisted to serve during Operation Desert Storm, a testament to my dedication to serving my country. I honorably served until 1994, during which I worked on over 100 high-profile training and informational programs for various U.S. military institutions. My productions supported departments like the Department of Defense, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and Recruiting Command (Be All You Can Be) campaigns, significantly contributing to informing and training military personnel.
RON URRUTIA
Member at Large (WESTERN/ASHEVILLE)
Entrepreneur of three successful start-ups - Over 59 years’ experience in DoD C4I programs, which includes 35 years’ comprehensive experience in business practices, development, Program Management, Director of Operations, Owner/Operator of successful business providing System Engineering and Technical Assistance and Acquisition Logistics Management and Business Operations services to various customers in the DoD and subcontract(s) to large defense industry corporations.
Most recent experience in assisting OSD AT&L Rapid Acquisition processes to include developing alternative and optional acquisitions paths, participation in the management of Non-Traditional Assessments and rapid fielding implementation. Support to various Other Transaction Authority/Other Transaction Agreement Consortia introduced OTA to SSC Atlantic. Interface, exposure and familiarization training of government program and project offices. SME (Senior Systems Analysis) including operations planning; maintenance; design; program management; acquisition management; policy development; strategic business development; sales and IT system architecture; modernization; emerging technology; requirements analysis; system testing; certification and accreditation. 24 Year military career (U.S. Navy).
Jonathan Kendrick
Member at Large (WESTERN/ASHEVILLE)
Jonathan is a former Army Infantryman. Having served for 7 years, one of which was spent deployed in
Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom IV.
After his discharge, Jonathan used the GI Bill to go to North Carolina State University, then Campbell
Law. He is now a Real Estate Attorney practicing out of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and is the owner
of Kendrick Law, PLLC.