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About Us
Forged in Service, United in Purpose - An All-Veteran Led Organization
Kevin Doffing created Project Vanguard in early 2024 to create a community of veterans in clean energy. He is currently CEO of the organization, which aims to connect veterans with clean energy careers and organize veterans to speak up for clean energy projects and policies.
Kevin is a former Army infantry officer who deployed to combat in Ramadi, Iraq, as an Infantry Platoon Leader with 2nd Infantry Division. His passion for clean energy began when he left the military, and has only increased as an industry sales executive, public speaker and writer on energy transition topics.
One of Kevin’s first steps into the energy transition was launching the Renewable Energy Alliance – Houston. Drawing on his experience organizing veteran communities, he helped establish the city’s first renewable energy trade group, fostering connections between professionals in a historically fossil-fuel-driven region, advocating for an All of the Above Energy strategy.
He went on to become a fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. Today, he leads the organization’s Veterans Advanced Energy Program, a part of the Energy & Defense practice at the non-partisan think tank focused on the intersection of energy security and national security.
Our Team
Meet the folks running Project Vanguard
Kevin Doffing
CEO/Founder
Kevin is a former Infantry officer of the U.S. Army where he was deployed to Iraq. He's an all energy advocate, having owned an oilfield supply company for over a decade. His passion for clean energy began when he left the military and has only increased as a public speaker and writer on energy transition topics.
Landon Redmon
Operations Manager
Landon served as a Sergeant with the Army National Guard. He found his entry point to clean energy through volunteering for a veterans energy transition program. His volunteering led to a role with a solar project developer.
Chamai Shahim
Arizona Community Leader
Chamai began her career as a CH47 helicopter mechanic in the Army National Guard in Oregon. She found her entry point to clean energy through her role as a Strategic Futures innovation Manager at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce where her work influenced shaping the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
Paul Haberlein
San Francisco Community Leader
Paul started his career as an officer in the Navy. He is currently the Vice President of Operational Excellence at Pattern Energy Group.
Alex Yachanin
San Diego Community Leader
A U.S. Naval Academy and Stanford graduate, Alex served as a nuclear surface warfare officer in the Navy. After seven years on active duty, he got his start in the energy industry through a Skillbridge internship with EDF Renewables. He currently lives in San Diego and continues to work at EDF as a senior project developer, where he leads the development of wind, solar, and battery storage projects across the Western U.S.
Jared Cherni
Colorado Community Leader
Jared started his career in the Coast Guard, and launched his career in renewable energy by participating in General Electric's Junior Officer Leadership Program (JOLP). He went on to hold roles at GE, Invenergy, and now at Stella Energy, where he is involved in project development.
Michael Dunn
Washington, DC Community Leader
Michael enlisted in the Army and served 7 years in the Army and National Guard. After his military service, he returned to school, earning his bachelor's and MBA. He found his way to clean energy while working in the Energy Practice at the Boston Consulting Group. Now he leads market intelligence activities for Qcells, where he plays a key role in shaping market strategy and evaluating policy impacts within clean energy.
Truong Le
Chicago Community Leader
Truong is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Following his naval military service, he transitioned to the electric utility industry, starting as a grid operations supervisor. Based out of Chicago, Truong currently serves as the head of regulatory compliance for a global independent power producer (IPP) specializing in wind, solar, and battery storage operations. He is also currently a committee member of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) technical standards committee (NERC RSTC) and a Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) board member, contributing to the development of industry standards for renewable energy integration and grid reliability.
Eric Rivera
Indiana Community Leader
Eric enlisted in the Marines in 2001 and later the Army National Guard in 2012. He earned his master’s degree from Purdue University Global and has worked in various leadership positions in the consumer goods, automotive, agriculture, and polymers industries. He joined the clean energy industry in 2020, managing wind farms in Ohio. From 2022-2024, he assumed responsibility for wind farms in Indiana, Ohio, and New York. He now oversees wind and solar farms in southern Indiana and Ohio.
Mary Coyne
Boston, MA Community Leader
Mary found her way from the US Navy submarine force to offshore wind via the GE Junior Officer Leadership Program. She has held roles across operations, contract negotiation, and business development within the renewable industry, and currently uses all those skills as part of RWE. Mary is happy to reside above water for the foreseeable future and is based on Boston’s South Shore.
William Hossain
Minnesota Community Leader
William served eight years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear reactor operator and other roles. He was stationed in Saratoga Springs and San Diego before pursuing his MBA at the University of Minnesota. William is an asset manager for onshore wind and solar farms around the midwest at National Grid Renewables (pending name change) headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. William started a Veteran ERG at NG Renewables and is building a Veteran Rotation Program to bring more veterans seeking energy industry experience into the renewable energy space.
Nick Martocci
Washington Community Leader
Nick is a veteran of both the Marines and the Army Reserves. After leaving the military Nick joined the clean energy industry as a wind technician. He continued to rise in the field, eventually starting his own wind technician training company in Las Vegas, NV.
Jessica Olena
Western New York Community Leader
Jessica found her way into clean energy through a SkillBridge internship with DNV after completing 14 years in the U.S. Navy as an Engineering Duty Officer. At DNV, she supported offshore wind engineering assessments. Based in Western New York, Jessica has currently transitioned to a full time business degree program at the University at Buffalo.
Ginger Cutler
New York City Community Leader
Ginger is a former MV-22 pilot in the Marine Corps. After leaving active duty, she moved back to her hometown of New York City to begin her civilian career at Palantir Technologies. Ginger currently works at Voltus, a virtual power plant/distributed energy resources company, where she helps clients get paid to support the electrical grid through demand response.
Steve Bravo
Upstate New York Community Leader
Steve is a former Navy SH-60B helicopter pilot. After his military service, he joined General Electric's Junior Officer Leadership Program (JOLP), later moving to Fluence, and eventually landing at NYSERDA with a focus on supporting the commercialization of energy startups.
Kyle Charpie
Houston Community Leader
Kyle is a former submarine nuclear electrician who spent 10 years in the U.S. Navy. His experience on a submarine, where resources are limited, inspired him to pursue renewable energy, recognizing that Earth’s resources are also finite and must be used efficiently while seeking sustainable alternatives. Based in Houston, he is a Regional Utilities Manager for Miller Bros.
Tony Manning
Austin, TX Community Leader
Tony is a former Marine Corps Intelligence Officer. After his military service, he pursued an MBA in Denmark, and now works in renewable energy project development. He lives and works in Austin, Texas, developing wind, solar, and battery projects across the Southern United States.
Josh Bice
Utah Community Leader
Joshua is a former Army combat medic. After his service, he transitioned into tech and sustainability and helped start up and lead multiple ventures in the renewables distributed generation sector. Currently, he works as the Development Manager for utility-scale solar & energy storage at rPlus Energies in Salt Lake City.
Keithan Rogers
Washington State Community Leader
Keithan Rogers is currently an intelligence Master Sergeant in the Washington Army National Guard. He has served for 20 years, 12 of them spent activated within the Guard. In his civilian life, Keithan works for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on National Security and Energy issues. Keithan holds a Master's from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.