Bruce is a retired senior Air Force officer and seasoned nonprofit leader. He uses his years of leadership and organizational experience to guide the CGO Foundation through its launch and initial growth.

During his time in the military, Bruce served multiple tours as an A-10 pilot and test pilot, studied at the School for Advanced Airpower Studies, and was a White House Fellow. He joined RAND in 2016 after retiring from the Air Force and served as an officer for two nonprofits. The two nonprofits are the Colorado Mountain Club and United Charitable.

Outside of his work with the CGO Foundation, Bruce is the lead of the RAND Space Enterprise Initiative, a senior policy researcher, and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He also founded and leads Hike for Life, a social impact outdoor safety and education company based in Colorado Springs.

Melissa is a philanthropic champion, successful attorney, and military spouse. She brings a much needed civilian’s perspective to a veteran heavy board and acts as a litmus test to identify topics that need to be referred to the CGO Foundation’s General Council.

Outside of her work with the CGO Foundation, Melissa is a General Partner of R & R Elite Investments, LLP, a passionate crusader for social causes and an invited guest speaker at women’s leadership symposiums all over the world.

Melissa has practiced law for 25 years and been licensed in 10 jurisdictions. Her legal career began as a criminal prosecutor in Special Victims Units and focused on combating child sex trafficing at home and abroad. She was a Special Prosecutor in the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office, a Legislative Attorney for the Hawaii State Legislature, and served on Hawaii’s Ho’Ola Na Pua Executive Board of Directors for three terms.

She recently became a Founding Partner of Holon Law Partners, LLP, where she channels that same advocacy through her clients, mostly women entrepreneurs, with a desire to make the world a better place. 

Ben joined Maxar Intelligence in 2021 and serves as the Director of National Security Operations. Prior to joining Maxar, he served as the Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the 25th Secretary of the Air Force where he was a member of the Senior Executive Service and contributed to the creation of the United States Space Force. His civilian defense experience also includes service as a Special Assistant to the 23rd Secretary of Defense, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Engagement to the 24th Secretary of the Air Force, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. Ben’s unique experience brings a strategic perspective to the CGO Foundation and ensures that our initiatives align with the Air Force’s long-term objectives.

Ben is a combat veteran who served on active duty as a Marine Corps officer for eight years. He deployed to Helmand province, Afghanistan as a platoon commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Additionally, he was a Military Social Aide to the President of the United States and was selected to march in ceremonial events at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., including the iconic Friday Night Parade.

Ben is an MBA candidate in the class of 2024 at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He is a board member of Maxar’s For a Better World Foundation.

Bob is a retired Air Force Officer and industry leader with more than 35 years of organizational development experience. His specialty is in scaling startups from ideation to achieve growth and maturity.

Bob’s non-traditional Air Force career started as an enlisted weapons loader and culminated as an acquisition officer providing sovereign military solutions to our Iraqi and Afghan partners. Since retirement, he continued to support the Department of Defense at MITRE, developing revolutionary space capabilities enabling government agencies to radically alter U.S. National Policy on protecting our interest in space. Bob graduated from Minot State University in 2001 and from the AF Institute of Technology in 2007.

Bob rounds out his work-life balance with snowboarding, jeeping, and watching his son play hockey.

Craig Wills is a consultant specializing in defense issues, strategy, and innovation. He serves on the board of advisors for HTX Labs, a leading provider of extended reality content. He is also a director in the Air Warrior Courage Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to serving the aviation community. Craig retired from the US Air Force in 2022 as a Major General. During his time in the Air Force, he commanded the 19th Air Force as well as units at the wing, group, and squadron levels. He began his career as a Weapons Systems Officer in the F-15E and subsequently attended pilot training and served as an F-15C fighter pilot. He served six overseas tours including multiple tours in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. He is fortunate to have led and worked on a number of the Air Force’s most critical efforts of the past decade. Notably, he led the Pilot Training Transformation effort while at AETC, resulting in the introduction of numerous programs designed to modernize and improve Air Force aviation training, including Helicopter Training Next. While at PACAF, General Wills led a remarkable team of thought leaders and strategists in the development of the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept, building the narrative and concept of operations that underpin the Air Force’s ability to fight and win in the Pacific. Craig is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, and served as an Air Force Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

Craig is most proud of his wonderful wife Britt, and his two daughters Brooke and Audrey who served alongside him over the course of 32 years and 18 Air Force moves. He looks forward to continuing to serve the nation and the Air Force in a civilian capacity.

Melissa is a philanthropic champion, successful attorney, and military spouse. She brings a much needed civilian’s perspective to a veteran heavy board and acts as a litmus test to identify topics that need to be referred to the CGO Foundation’s General Council.

Outside of her work with the CGO Foundation, Melissa is a General Partner of R & R Elite Investments, LLP, a passionate crusader for social causes and an invited guest speaker at women’s leadership symposiums all over the world.

Melissa has practiced law for 25 years and been licensed in 10 jurisdictions. Her legal career began as a criminal prosecutor in Special Victims Units and focused on combating child sex trafficing at home and abroad. She was a Special Prosecutor in the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office, a Legislative Attorney for the Hawaii State Legislature, and served on Hawaii’s Ho’Ola Na Pua Executive Board of Directors for three terms.

She recently became a Founding Partner of Holon Law Partners, LLP, where she channels that same advocacy through her clients, mostly women entrepreneurs, with a desire to make the world a better place. 

Ben joined Maxar Intelligence in 2021 and serves as the Director of National Security Operations. Prior to joining Maxar, he served as the Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the 25th Secretary of the Air Force where he was a member of the Senior Executive Service and contributed to the creation of the United States Space Force. His civilian defense experience also includes service as a Special Assistant to the 23rd Secretary of Defense, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Engagement to the 24th Secretary of the Air Force, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. Ben’s unique experience brings a strategic perspective to the CGO Foundation and ensures that our initiatives align with the Air Force’s long-term objectives.

Ben is a combat veteran who served on active duty as a Marine Corps officer for eight years. He deployed to Helmand province, Afghanistan as a platoon commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Additionally, he was a Military Social Aide to the President of the United States and was selected to march in ceremonial events at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., including the iconic Friday Night Parade.

Ben is an MBA candidate in the class of 2024 at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He is a board member of Maxar’s For a Better World Foundation.

Bob is a retired Air Force Officer and industry leader with more than 35 years of organizational development experience. His specialty is in scaling startups from ideation to achieve growth and maturity.

Bob’s non-traditional Air Force career started as an enlisted weapons loader and culminated as an acquisition officer providing sovereign military solutions to our Iraqi and Afghan partners. Since retirement, he continued to support the Department of Defense at MITRE, developing revolutionary space capabilities enabling government agencies to radically alter U.S. National Policy on protecting our interest in space. Bob graduated from Minot State University in 2001 and from the AF Institute of Technology in 2007.

Bob rounds out his work-life balance with snowboarding, jeeping, and watching his son play hockey.