Chaka Wade serves as an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s global structured credit division. He joined J.P. Morgan in 2017 from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy estate, where he was a managing director focused on the unwinding of Lehman’s securitized products derivatives exposure. Prior to Lehman, Chaka worked at Citigroup Global Markets in Global Structured Credit Products.

Previously, he worked in structured credit at Natixis, and the Munich office of State Street Bank.Chaka began his career as an Army Military Intelligence officer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Andrew J. Brennan is a graduate of West Point, holds an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. A former Army Aviation Officer deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, he led a UH60 Blackhawk platoon, in addition to staff work for his aviation battalion after pinning Captain.

Upon leaving active service, he worked in private sector logistics before pursuing his MBA. Andrew is active with a few local Veteran organizations in Pittsburgh and served for two years as a Veteran advisor to the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System’sInnovation Board, whose focus is improving how the VA delivers healthcare to Pittsburgh’s Veteran population. A reformed marathon distance runner, Andrew enjoys playing pick-up hockey, watching the Pittsburgh Penguins win Cups and is an avid long-distance hiker & outdoorsman with more than 1,700 miles of our Nation’s long trails behind him. Related to Veterans issues and the GWOT Memorial Foundation, Andrew has testified before Congress, been published in Armed Forces and Society, The NY Post and Military Times. He has been interviewed on, or contributed to, pieces for the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Fox News, The Associated Press, Stars and Stripes, We Are The Mighty, Task and Purpose, The San Diego Union Tribune, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and various other local news outlets.

Angie Tang is Senior Advisor of Asia Value Advisors, a leading venture philanthropy advisory firm based in Hong Kong. She was Executive Director of the Committee of 100 (C100), a Chinese American leadership organization for the advancement of US-China relations and Asian American community progress.

In 2001 President George W. Bush appointed Ms. Tang to serve as a spokesperson and regional executive of the U.S. Department of Labor. Ms. Tang was formerly a cabinet official in the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and a policy advisor to New York City Council President Andrew Stein. She was elected Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the Board of Directors of several not-for-profit organizations. Currently a Trustee of Berkeley College, she is a recipient of several leadership awards including the 2013 Above & Beyond Chairperson Award from New York’s City & State policy magazine. Ms. Tang is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Princeton University and Columbia Business School and fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and Spanish.

Director of Candidate Selection

Mikaela has a deep commitment to education. During the 2011 legislative session, she interned with the Florida Senate and focused on Higher Education policy analysis. Mikaela then joined Teach for America, where she taught 10th grade English and served as the English Department Chair and Teacher of the Gifted and Talented. Previously, Mikaela was the Senior Product Manager at IBM Watson for their flagship K-12 offering.

Mikaela is a graduate of Stanford University with a Masters in Business Administration and Education. She currently works as a Consultant at Bain & Company.

Director of Partnerships

Commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer from the United States Military Academy in 2013. Served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom as a Battery Fire Direction Officer. Passionate for servant leadership, earned the III Corps Volunteer of the Quarter at Fort Hood, the Francis P. Hesselbein Award for Servant Leadership, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. Geoffrey ended his military service as Diversity Admissions Officer at West Point.

Geoff is currently Associate at McKinsey & Company, and holds an Masters in Business Administration from UC Berkeley.

Director of Finance

A native of Sarasota, Florida, Carlton was  commissioned as an Armor officer from the United States Military Academy in 2013 with a BS in Sociology. Carlton served in a variety of capacities as a US Army Officer including time as a buffalo soldier in the 9th Calvary Regiment. Carlton is passionate about empowering people to build better futures for themselves.

Following service, Carlton accepted an Associate Banking role in ABS Banking & Finance with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He currently is an Executive MBA Candidate at the Wharton School. 

Creative Design Director

Jennifer graduated from Texas State University where she majored in Communication Design. She’s spent the past 5 years working as a software designer and as the daughter of two teachers, she finds the education industry to be the most rewarding. Her work on IBM Watson Education’s flagship K-12 offering is currently being used in school districts nationwide. Jennifer resides in NY, New York and works as a UX Designer at Google.

Candidate Operations Support

Aaron commissioned as an Infantry Officer from the United States Military Academy in 2013. He served at Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA, as a Stryker Rifle Platoon Leader, Assistant Operations Officer, and Company Executive Officer. He is currently completing his Master's of Science in Organizational Leadership at Columbus State University, GA.

Director of Operations

Mr. Perkins graduated and commissioned from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY where he majored in Environmental Engineering. Mr. Perkins served five years on active duty in the U.S. Army as an engineer officer upon his commissioning. He led a sapper platoon, served as an executive officer, and spent two years in USACE as a project manager.

Mr. Perkins has lead high risk exercises and managed daily and future operations within a company. He also has experience coordinating multimillion dollar projects involving local and state agencies, regulatory divisions, third party advisors and contractors. He is currently a construction project manager in the Kaiser Permanente Georgia Region.