New Hoover Veteran Fellowship Cohort Plans Work Spanning Health, Workforce Development, and Civic Reform

Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA)-The Hoover Institution is pleased to announce the 2026-27 cohort of the Bochnowski Family Veteran Fellowship Program (VFP).

These ten veterans make up the sixth cohort since the fellowship launched in fall 2021. They bring a broad range of skills and experience serving in the US armed forces.

Fellows were selected based on their demonstrated leadership, success in their professional careers, the viability of their proposed capstone projects, and their shared values with the Hoover Institution, especially their commitment to advancing freedom.

The program is designed for military veterans who are working to advance initiatives that will affect meaningful change in their communities. During their time in the program, fellows will draw on the resources and expertise of the Hoover Institution and Stanford University to expand their networks and develop actionable solutions to policy challenges through their capstone projects.

All members of the VFP have served in the US military within the past two decades. They come to Hoover ready to approach complex policy challenges with the resourcefulness and positivity they acquired while serving the nation.

In 2023, the VFP was excited to announce that the program was endowed through the generosity of the Bochnowski family.

"Each year, I am impressed by the caliber of the Veteran Fellows and their commitment to making a positive difference in their communities," said Jim Bochnowski, an Army veteran and Hoover Institution overseer. "We are proud to support their continued service to our nation and to help accelerate the impact of their work through the Hoover Institution."

This year's class will take on pressing national challenges through capstone projects. Examples include a focus on child nutrition in Georgia public schools; raising private capital for investment in American Indian tribal territory; preparing veterans for careers in rural healthcare administration; and training Tennessee workers for jobs in the growing AI and quantum computing workforce.

The fellowship includes gatherings during the academic year at Stanford University and Hoover's Washington, DC, offices. The program will launch this fall, followed by a February 2027 presentation of the fellows' capstone project proposals to the VFP Advisory Council. Two additional modules will give fellows time to advance their projects and connect with their cohort and the broader Hoover and Stanford communities.

At the end of their one-year fellowship, participants will join program alumni at Hoover's annual Roll Call. The event will showcase current capstone projects and provide an opportunity to connect with the Hoover community about their experience in the Veteran Fellowship Program.

The 2026-27 VFP class includes the following ten veterans:

Alex Bertelli is CEO at HavenLock, an access control technology company. He is a Shark Tank Season 10 alum who worked at Asurion and Amazon and served in Tennessee's Economic Cabinet. A former US Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment aviator with nine deployments, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the George C. Marshall Leadership Award. His capstone project focuses on workforce development and the AI and quantum training pipeline in Tennessee.

Lindsey Chrismon is cofounder and CEO at Oply, an AI-powered home maintenance platform serving homeowners nationwide. A 2014 West Point graduate and First Captain, she spent nine years as an Army aviator, flying Apache attack helicopters before becoming the first woman in Army history to pilot the AH-6M Little Bird with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Her capstone project focuses on preserving residential housing stock condition and value.

Rachel Costello is executive director of the FORGE at the University of California, San Diego, a mission-driven initiative launched in 2025. She is a national security architect and ecosystem builder dedicated to accelerating dual-use innovation. She bridges academia, industry, and government to strengthen the regional defense industrial base and prepare mission-ready talent. She brings her experience as a thirty-year Navy veteran and tech executive at Tesla Motors.
Her capstone project focuses on defense innovation and commercialization improvements that minimize bureaucratic friction.

Ted Delicath is a senior advisor at Unite America. He is the fortunate product of a mother who made the best of a bad situation, enabling him to help those with good intent drive impact. As of 2026, he's regularly helping Unite America and the start-up Parallax. He is a former active-duty military officer and currently serves in the US Army Reserve. He's most proud of the Andrew Weishar Foundation community that he and his friends started after their best friend (Andrew) passed away from colon cancer. His capstone project focuses on civic reform through online platform development.

Sham Firdausi is deputy CFO at Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. He is a healthcare executive, entrepreneur, and US Army veteran. His experience includes finance leadership within a nearly $5 billion public health system, previously serving as a hospital CFO, and leading financial planning and analysis for a $12 billion health plan. He also founded an artificial intelligence healthcare start-up. His interests connect healthcare financing, technology, and public policy to improve access and strengthen nonprofit and mission-driven health systems. His capstone project focuses on how healthcare financing and technology can improve access to care for populations in need.

Giselle Sterling Futrell is executive director of the National Veterans Art Museum, the only US museum dedicated to art by artists who have served. A first-generation American, she deployed to Afghanistan as a Marine. She was the first woman and first Latina named Boston's Commissioner of Veterans' Services. Her capstone project focuses on amplifying the cultural contributions of veterans to remind all citizens that democracy asks something of each of us.

Caleb Presmy is a healthcare operations leader at Ascension, where he leads organizational readiness for an enterprise resource planning transformation across 118 care sites. He is a Marine Corps veteran, a Project Management Professional, and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
His capstone project focuses on building pathways for veterans into rural healthcare leadership.

Dakota Robinson is a senior associate at Squadra Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on national security and cyber. He graduated from the US Military Academy and served as a US Army military intelligence officer. He previously worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and was cofounder and CFO of NOMADX, a deep-tech start-up. His capstone project focuses on private capital investment for tribal communities.

Natasha Ryan is director of strategic operations at Xtreme Solutions, Inc., an Atlanta-based cybersecurity and national security firm. A retired US Army chief warrant officer 4 and Black Hawk pilot, she brings mission-focused leadership to every challenge she takes on. She is a Pat Tillman Scholar and cofounder of the Lunch Ladies, a nonprofit that pays off school lunch debt and advocates for school meal funding reform across Georgia. Her capstone project focuses on reducing food insecurity for children in Georgia public schools.

Craig Starcher is vice president at Front Line Advisory Group, where he improves government operations through improved operations and technology, better data, and staff training. He builds systems and teams that help organizations serve their communities better. He served eight years as a Marine Corps finance officer, overseeing budgets up to $4 billion and leading financial software development. Through Black Cadoodle, he helps nonprofits strengthen operations, develop leaders, and build fundraising capacity. He holds an MBA from East Texas A&M University and a master's in human resources management from Liberty University. His capstone project focuses on modernizing permitting for small and rural jurisdictions.

For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, [email protected] .

To learn more about Hoover's Veteran Fellowship Program, click here.