Joe Wynn
Board Chairman
Civic & Business Leader; US Air Force Veteran Director Vets Group Training Academy Chairman NAACP Veterans Affairs Committee Member of Mayor’s Veterans Advisory Board Treasurer, VET-Force
Civic & Business Leader; US Air Force Veteran Director Vets Group Training Academy Chairman NAACP Veterans Affairs Committee Member of Mayor’s Veterans Advisory Board Treasurer, VET-ForceaJoe founded the Vets Group in 2004, as a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. for Veterans to achieve economic empowerment through Education, Training & Entrepreneurship. In 2010, Joe established and manages the Vets Group Training Academy that offers occupational skills training for high demand occupations in the Information Technology (IT) industry for veterans, their families and persons of limited means. The academy is certified by the DC Education Licensure Commission, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and partners with Cisco, Microsoft, and CompTia.
Veterans Advocate: Serving the Washington D.C. community for 20 years; Joe was previously appointed as a Commissioner on the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission by Leader Nancy Pelosi; Chairman of the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee for the NAACP; and a member of the Mayor’s Veterans Advisory Board for the District of Columbia. He has received recognition awards for his advocacy as Veterans Small Business Champion of the Year for the Small Business Administration (SBA), VET-Force, Blacks in Government, the United Black Fund and MEA Magazine.
Legislative Liaison: As Special Advisor to the Director of Government Relations for the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Joe consults on matters relating to Veterans Employment, Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He serves as National Vice-Commander and Legislative Liaison for the National Association for Black Veterans (NABVETS), and serves on the Executive Committee for the Veterans Entrepreneurship Task Force (VET-Force), composed of over 200 organizations and affiliates, to monitor the impact of legislation on small business programs for veterans.
Educational Attainment: Using the G.I. Bill, Joe attended the University of DC and Howard University, completing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, a Master’s degree in Business, and two years toward a Doctorate in Organizational Communications. He also graduated from the Computer Learning Center majoring in Computer Programing and certified as a Microsoft Computer Specialist.
Military Service & Past Experience: A Vietnam-era veteran, Joe served with the 66th Strategic Missile Squadron stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base South Dakota and received an Honorable Discharge. Designed and managed a pre-apprenticeship program for veterans with the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Managed projects for Veterans with disabilities for the Service Disabled Veterans Business Association at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
Ron S. Washington
Board Treasurer
Business & Civic Leader; USMC SDV Veteran, Owner/Pres. AirGo USA & Maximum Mtgs 10 yrs Cofounder Young Entrepreneurs Souring to Success, President, NABVETS Las Vegas Chapter.
Ron is a seasoned business professional with a wealth of experience in communications, marketing and sales. He is the retired Chairman of the Board for AirGo, a construction, facility support & product distribution company, based in Las Vegas, NV with offices in Atlanta. The company is a verified SDVOSB, and Ron is a decorated, U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam, combat veteran.
He has a B.S. degree in Business from Chicago State University, Chicago, IL, and a Master of Science in Communication (MSC) degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He belongs to several commerce, communication, public relations and industry specific professional associations.
He is a keynote speaker, workshop trainer and subject matter expert on communications, marketing & sales, emerging market consumer and community issues, as well as veteran and other small business development strategies. He resides in Las Vegas, NV.
P. Kelley Dunne
Board Member
US Army Veteran, New Vets Group Board Member, Vice Chairman (4-year term starting May 2019)
Kelley Dunne is the current President and CEO of Novation Services, a national wireless and telecom services company. Kelley is also Co-Founder and Chairman of Warriors 4 Wireless (W4W). W4W is a non-profit formed to bridge the gap between the demand for trained and deployable wireless technicians and qualified servicemen and women eager to transfer the skills they’ve learned in the military to civilian careers.
Kelley was previously designated by then FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski as the leader of the a national broadband adoption initiative – Connect 2 Compete bringing more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He is recognized as an industry pioneer in deploying some of the first 4G broadband wireless capabilities across the country.
Additionally, Kelley has served as the President and CEO of One Economy, a 12 year old global non-profit that brings broadband and technology to underserved communities in the United States and in 14 countries around the world. Prior to One Economy, Kelley was the founder and CEO of Digital Bridge Communications Corporation from 2005 – 2010. Digital Bridge is a provider of broadband wireless to small and medium-sized communities.
In addition, Kelley served as an enlisted serviceman and later as an Army Officer in the US Army’s Signal Corps. He received his BS degree in Communications Systems Management from Ohio University and his MS degree in Information and Communications Sciences from Ball State University.
Kim Harwell
Board Member
Business Leader: CEO, DB Commercial Gp, providing IT, Cyber Security, and Database services for Gov’t and contractors. Mbr Minority Bus. Supplier Diversity Council Capitol Region. Board Mbr US Veterans Chamber of Commerce.
Kim Harwell is a consummate entrepreneur. He maintains more than thirty years of business and technological expertise in the government, telecommunications, and marketing fields. Kim has founded and led organizations that have generated an aggregate of several billions of dollars in revenue. Kim regularly writes articles for United States Cyber Security Magazine, and has written articles for numerous other publications. Also, Kim has written numerous E-Books on government contracting and is in the process of writing his new book, “The Blueprint to Government Contracting”. Kim Harwell is a highly sought after speaker, trainer, sales coach and expert in the areas of sales, business, government relations, and technological advances.
Kim is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of National Bid Network (NBN) and its subsidiary GovPurchase. NBN’s mission is to provide user friendly research tools, business training, consulting services, and B2B business development tools for commercial businesses, government contractors, and government officials, in a profitable manner, at an affordable price. The results will be to save billions of tax dollars for the American people, provide more opportunity for small business, which in turn, will create more jobs, and boost the US economy. One of the primary ways we achieve this is by owning and providing the most comprehensive government contracting online data tool. GovPurchase is the largest databases on government contracting (www.govpurchase.com).
GovPurchase assists thousands of companies worldwide in doing billions of dollars annually in federal, state and local prime contracting, subcontracting, teaming and commercial business. This is performed via the GovPurchase online tool (www.govpurchase.com), the world’s largest database on government contracting, combined with excellent customer training and support. Corporations such as Bosch, Colt Defense, Exide, Smith and Wesson, Brunswick, DB Consulting Group, and thousands of other large, mid-sized, and small businesses worldwide count on GovPurchase for critical government contracting business development and research information. Government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, The Department of Justice, TSA, The Army, The Navy, and others use NBN to locate and verify government contractors for set-aside and other opportunities.
In 2014, National Bid Network was nominated for the Maryland Business of the Year, by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the Maryland Office of Military Affairs. Also in 2014, GovPurchase was a finalist for DC business of the year and Kim was a finalist for DC Businessman of the Year as nominated by the DC Chamber of Commerce.
Kim has one son, Kim, a graduate of Northwestern University and Detroit Country Day. Kim was also a four-year starting wide receiver at Northwestern, and had some professional football experience.
Rhonda Smith
Board Member
Strategic Consulting, including business plan & sales strategy development. Program Oversight. Research and obtain new funding sources.