Veteran Benefits Guide Expands Management Team to Bolster Expertise Behind Its Commitment to Serving America’s Veterans
Additions Include Appointment of Alain Monroy, former Director of Global Partnerships at Vegas Golden Knights, to New Position of Director of Strategic Partnerships and Juan Molina to New Position of Director of Operations.
Las Vegas (September14, 2023) – Veteran Benefits Guide (VBG), which helps Veterans across the U.S. to navigate the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) disability compensation benefits process, today announced the addition of two executives to its management team as the company continues to expand expertise to enhance services and fulfill its mission of supporting America’s military Veterans.
The appointments mark the third time this year that VBG has grown its management ranks. At the start of 2023, the company named Lisa Kalkes, formerly at Optum, as Chief Marketing Officer; and last month, the company hired Donato Clay, formerly at Ethos Veterinary Health, as Chief Operating Officer. All of these new hires are Veterans or from a Veteran family.
Today’s management announcements include:
Alain Monroy, a U.S. Army Veteran, will serve as VBG’s new Director of Strategic Partnerships. He joins VBG from the Vegas Golden Knights (VGK), where he was the Director of Global Partnerships. Before VGK, Alain was an Associate Director of Corporate Partnerships at Year Up, a workforce development non-profit organization and previously a Vice President in Commercial Banking at JPMorgan Chase. Alain brings more than a decade of experience in developing strategic cross-sector partnerships. In addition to his many years of experience in the private sector, Alain also served as a captain in the U.S. Army at various locations, including Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina, Northern Afghanistan and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne, Air Assault and Ranger Schools and earned a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science and Military Science & Leadership from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Alain will report directly to VBG’s Chief Marketing Officer, Lisa Kalkes, and lead the strategic development and optimization of brand strategies through partnerships and other endeavors. He will also be responsible for aligning VBG with other like-minded Veteran organizations that put Veterans first.
Juan Molina has joined VBG as the Director of Operations. He recently served as an Operations Support Manager at National Veterinary Associates (Ethos) and brings nearly a decade of experience in healthcare and operations. Juan comes from a U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force Veteran family and holds a Master’s in Health Administration from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint Louis University. He will report to VBG’s Chief Operating Officer, Donato Clay, and be responsible for managing VBG's core operations, helping to ensure that VBG continues to meet and exceed its goals.
“We are thrilled to add Alain and Juan to the VBG team and to further tap Freddie, Jonathan and Preston’s combined expertise to help bolster several key areas of our organization,” said Josh Smith, CEO of Veteran Benefits Guide. “Their roles are foundational to the work we are doing to strengthen the company’s operations and Veteran-focused partnerships so that we can continue to provide best-in-class services in support of the Veteran community.”
VBG also announced the following promotions of high-performing employees:
Freddie De Yong has been promoted to Director of Business Operations. In this newly created role, he will help the organization set its goals, develop strategic plans, and manage production and business analytics. Prior to this promotion, Freddie served VBG as Director of Operations.
Jonathan Mills, a U.S. Army Veteran, has been promoted to Director of Training and Organizational Development. He will oversee VBG’s new hire product training, as well as its employee education, leadership development and health and wellness programming. Prior to this promotion, Jonathan served VBG as Manager of Training and Organizational Development.
Preston Ramirez has been promoted to Associate Director of Information Technology (IT). He will oversee the information technology of the organization, managing IT resources and improving processes to increase efficiencies for the company. Previously, Preston served VBG as Product Manager.
Headquartered in Las Vegas, with an additional office in San Diego, VBG’s workforce has grown to about 200 employees since the company was founded in 2015. VBG’s expertise has enabled the company to help 35,000 Veterans nationally receive an average increase in annual disability benefits of $13,000 -- benefits they likely would not have received without VBG’s support.
About Veteran Benefits Guide
Veteran Benefits Guide (VBG) enables Veterans to receive the full disability benefits they have earned from their service in a timely manner. Since its founding in 2015, VBG has helped 35,000 Veterans to receive a combined increase of $5.5 billion in lifetime benefits. VBG’s trusted, national network of independent and credentialled medical service providers ensures that Veterans submit fully developed, accurate claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which avoids the need for appeals, speeds up the final benefits decision and reduces the VA case backlog. VBG is based in Las Vegas, Nevada and also has offices in San Diego, California. Learn more at vetbenefitsguide.com
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Media Contacts
Lisa Kalkes, VBG
Christine Dunn, Seven Letter
617.646.1044