Warrior Gateway hosted an exhibit table, and participated in several of the breakout sessions featured during the summit.

“With approximately 1.8 million veterans across Texas, it’s vital that all organizations work together to address the unique needs of the military community,” Serena said.  ”The Veterans Summit provided an incredible platform for building partnerships and learning how to best impact the men and women who serve our country.”

In closing, Col. David W. Sutherland, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Warrior and Family Support, spoke about the resiliency, strength and courage of the military community.  Specifically, focusing on the “Sea of Goodwill” and the importance of partnerships.

Serena, who led Sutherland’s public affairs team while deployed to Divala Province, Iraq, from October 2006 through December 2007, was highlighted during the speech as the colonel highlighted the strength of the military community through the Army’s Warrior Ethos – “I will always place the mission first.  I will never except defeat.  I will never quit.  I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

“I am grateful to the Texas Veterans Commission for bringing all of these military-focused organizations together,” Serena continued.  ”Warrior Gateway is eager and looking forward to working with the many organizations we had the opportunity to learn about.”

Retweetables

#Texas #Veterans Summit focuses on coordination & collaboration to serve veterans: http://ow.ly/8ON1i @WarriorGateway

Focused on serving veterans through coordination and collaboration, the annual summit is put on by the Texas Veterans Commission, whose mission is to advocate for and provide superior service for veterans in the areas of claims assistance, employment services, educaiton benefits and grant funding that will significantly improve the quality of life of Texas Veterans and their families.

Connect with us!

If you are attending the Summit, stop by the Warrior Gateway table and say hello!  Meet members of our team, and learn more about our mision to support the military community and their families.

Engage with us on Social Media

Follow the Warrior Gateway Twitter and Facebook accounts for Summit updates and photos.

WarriorGateway.org is harnessing the power of technology and collaboration to help today’s veterans make better decisions about what government program or non-profit organization to go to for help.  Warrior Gateway leverages the social dimension by encouraging these “voices of the veteran” to include ratings about the quality and effectiveness of those services and to include short comments and tips to help other community members decide where to go.

We are dedicated to empowering our veterans to share their experiences and help the overall community but also, give them a voice to highlight those programs and organizations that are not meeting their needs.  Launched in March 2010, the Warrior Gateway is the only effort that is focused on providing these individuals with a forum to publically share their experiences.  It’s about time our veterans had a voice.

Warrior Gateway is growing our technology team and we are seeking a motivated Drupal engineer.  Here are the details of the position:

Tasks:

• Lead the web application development of multiple Drupal-based web portals
• Work on the development of our API & Platform strategy
• Develop Drupal modules for our partners and customers
• Work as part of agile team environment in a startup environment
• Able to take on tasks beyond your scope of responsibilities to achieve results
• Write code!  You will be responsible for developing features for our multiple web properties as well as the platform infrastructure

Technical Requirements:

• You must know & love Drupal inside and out as you will be the sole engineer in this position
• Experience managing multiple Drupal properties
• Experience building and managing Drupal modules

“Nice to have” Requirements:

• Mastery of XML & XML Schema
• Experience with XPath & XQuery
• Knowledge of MarkLogic Server and developing on the MarkLogic platform
• Substantial experience with Linux
• Experience building web applications using Java, Java Web Services, Javascript & JQuery
• Experience with JPA and/or Hibernate
• Experience with HTML,CSS and Web 2.0 elements
• Experience with Apache and Tomcat
• Deep experience with XML and related technologies
• Browser-side client technologies including AJAX, HTML, CSS, cross-browser compatibility issues, performance and optimization techniques
• Experience with agile software development (i.e.; Scrum)
• Ability to manage and respond to changes in priorities
• JPA/Hibernate, or similar Experience
• REST Web Service client and/or Server
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent
• Experience with Agile methodologies

General Requirements:

• Disciplined engineers who will….
  • Deliver code that can be maintained and extended
  • Follow architectural guidance
  • Test their code before they deploy it
  • Complete 100% of work tasks or notify in-house team of gaps in deliverables

• Communicative engineers who can deliver…..
  • Javadoc (or equivalent)
  • Class Diagrams
  • Flow & Sequence Diagrams
  • High Level Diagrams
  • Wiki or other site to tie work products together

Nice to have:

• Understanding of search technologies
• Understanding of semantic web and thesaurus management systems
• Experience in using JQuery, Dojo, Prototype or other JavaScript frameworks

Other:

• Interested in working for a aggressive start up with a non-profit mission
• Interested in supporting veterans and wounded warriors; former military experience a plus
• This position can be based anywhere in the Continental US

If you’re interested in joining the team, please provide a cover letter along with your resume.  In the cover letter, please tell us what inspires you about the Warrior Gateway and why you think you are the perfect applicant for this position.  This is a key position and a unique opportunity to join a growing organization with a uniquely inspiring mission.

Email all applications with a resume and cover letter to: resumes@warriorgateway.org with Drupal Engineer in the subject line.  Applications without a cover letter will not be looked at nor considered.

Las Vegas, NV January 13, 2012

For the third year in a row, Project Gratitude brings 19 families of fallen service members to Las Vegas to be recognized as “Honorary Miss Americas” at the 2012 Miss America Crown Celebration on Friday, January 13. For the grand finale, the families will watch the Miss America pageant (live on ABC 6 PM PST) Saturday night from their VIP seats.

“Warrior Gateway is honored to be a sponsor of Project Gratitude in supporting the wives, daughters and mothers of our fallen military members. Initiatives such as Project Gratitude show how communities across the nation can step up to work together and support the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. As the Project Gratitude sponsor for the Miss America Crown Celebration Gala, we are proud to join these families of our fallen in Las Vegas for the Miss America pageant,” said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warrior Gateway. “Warrior Gateway remains committed to supporting all members of the military community as they return home and seek out their new normal life.”

“Got Your Back Network is pleased to partner with the Miss America Organization to provide a very unique and “once in a lifetime” experience for surviving wives and their daughters. Shared experiences are the highlight of memories and we are happy to be able to plan, organize and implement the Project Gratitude event.” said Kathleen Gagg, Executive Director of Got Your Back Network. “We thank all volunteers, contributors and organizations that have made Project Gratitude possible.”

“We started Project Gratitude out of a deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude and highest respect for the ultimate sacrifice that was made by our nation’s fallen heroes and their families,” explains Sharlene Hawkes, former Miss America and President of Remember My Service Productions. “By recognizing each of the women and their daughters as honorary Miss Americas–and giving them the VIP experience that Miss Americas have received over the years–it is just our way of doing what we can to pay tribute to these great Americans.”

See press release on PR Web at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9107694.htm

For more information about the event, please visit the Warrior Gateway Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/warriorgateway

For real-time event updates and photos, please follow Warrior Gateway on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/warriorgateway

“We started Project Gratitude out of a deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude and highest respect for the ultimate sacrifice that was made by our nation’s fallen heroes and their families,” explains Sharlene Hawkes, former Miss America and President of Remember My Service Productions.  ”By recognizing each of the women and their daughters as honorary Miss Americas – and giving them the VIP experience that Miss Americas’ have received over the years, it is just our way of doing what we can to pay tribute to these great Americans.”

Project Gratitude is a great example of how communities can step up, work together, and support our military community and their families.

“Warrior Gateway is honored to be a part of Project Gratitude in supporting widows and daughters of our fallen military members.  Initiatives such as Project Gratitude show how communities across the nation can step up to work together and support the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.  Alongside Got Your Back Network and The Miss America Organization as well as other partners, we are honored to join these families of our fallen in Las Vegas for the Miss America pageant,” said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warrior Gateway.  ”Warrior Gateway remains committed to supporting all members of the military community as they return home and seek out their new normal life.”

Keep in touch with us throughout the week for updates, photos, and much more:  Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare

If you would like further information on Project Gratitude, please visit the Got Your Back Network website.  If you are interested in supporting the initiative, please click here.

This past year, Warrior Gateway received two significant recognitions for our work to date.  In February of this year, I was selected as one of Federal Computer Weeks Federal 100, the top executives from government, industry and academia who had the greatest impact on the government information systems community in 2010.  While the award recognizes the individual, it was the hard work of the entire Warrior Gateway team that lead to that recognition, an impressive feat for an organization that was less than 2 years old at the time of the award.  We have been nominated again this year and I am hopeful that our continued innovation will put us at the top of the list again.

In May, we were also invited to participate as part of a small working group on veterans issues by the Clinton Global Initiative – America.  The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was founded in 2005 by President Bill Clinton and is a non-partisan organization that convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.  This is the first time CGI has focused on veterans issues and I am proud that we were included as thought leaders in this space.  We have been invited back and plan on attending again in 2012.

While 2010 was focused on our launch of WarriorGateway.org, our innovative consumer web portal for veterans, 2011 will be marked as the year we revolutionized the military non-profit sector by creating the G.I. Network, the only no cost technology infrastructure for government and non-profits alike serving the military community.

We have spent most of this year developing and piloting the G.I. Network and to not spoil the public launch scheduled for mid-January let’s just say there is nothing like it available today.  With over 200,000 non-profits included in the initial launch of the G.I. Network, we are going to make a significant jump forward in helping local communities connect to the Sea of Goodwill.  We have already signed up several partners and look forward to working with them in 2012 to connect the veterans in their community with the local resources that exist to support them.

To sign up to learn more about the G.I. Network, please visit: www.GINetwork.org

My philosophy has always been to focus on achieving results and allow those results to speak for us.  Warrior Gateway will always stay primarily focused on supporting our community and achieving results and partnership rather than self-promotion.  This corporate ethos is what defines us and I believe elevates us above the others that follow the go it alone approach.  We will continue to allow our results speak for themselves and look forward to announcing even more partnerships in 2012.

Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year!

Where: Union Pub, Washington, D.C

When: January 7, 2012 4pm-8pm

RSVP to the event by visiting the Cook-Off Facebook page.

Social Media

Follow the Chili Cook-Off live on Twitter by following: @DC_Chili and searching #DCChili

Retweet this message to help spread the word: Please attend 2nd Annual Wild Card Chili Cook-Off on Sat. Your $10 supports @WarriorGateway: http://ow.ly/8jmGV #veterans

Like Chili and Football? Cook-Off will benefit military, veterans, and their families. Learn more: http://ow.ly/82CyR @WarriorGateway

WarriorGateway.org is harnessing the power of technology and collaboration to help today’s veterans make better decisions about what government program or non-profit organization to go to for help.  Warrior Gateway leverages the social dimension by encouraging these “voices of the veteran” to include ratings about the quality and effectiveness of those services and to include short comments and tips to help other community members decide where to go.

We are dedicated to empowering our veterans to share their experiences and help the overall community but also, give them a voice to highlight those programs and organizations that are not meeting their needs.  Launched in March 2010, the Warrior Gateway is the only effort that is focused on providing these individuals with a forum to publically share their experiences.  It’s about time our veterans had a voice.

Warrior Gateway is growing our technology team and we are seeking motivated software engineers.  Here are the details of the positions:

Tasks:

• Work on web application development of warriorgateway.org web portal
• Work on the development of our API & Platform strategy
• Work as part of agile team environment in a startup environment
• Able to take on tasks beyond your scope of responsibilities to achieve results
• Write code!  You will be responsible for developing features for our multiple web properties as well as the platform infrastructure

Technical Requirements:

• Mastery of XML & XML Schema
• Experience with XPath & XQuery
• Knowledge of MarkLogic Server and developing on the MarkLogic platform
• Substantial experience with Linux
• Experience building web applications using Java, Java Web Services, Javascript & JQuery
• Experience with JPA and/or Hibernate
• Experience with HTML,CSS and Web 2.0 elements
• Experience with Apache and Tomcat
• Deep experience with XML and related technologies
• Browser-side client technologies including AJAX, HTML, CSS, cross-browser compatibility issues, performance and optimization techniques
• Experience with agile software development (i.e.; Scrum)
• Ability to manage and respond to changes in priorities
• 2 to 5 years of software engineering experience
• 2+ years of experience building web applications using Java, Java Web Services, Javascript & JQuery
• JPA/Hibernate, or similar Experience
• REST Web Service client and/or Server
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent
• Experience with Agile methodologies

General Requirements:

• Disciplined engineers who will….
  • Deliver code that can be maintained and extended
  • Follow architectural guidance
  • Test their code before they deploy it
  • Complete 100% of work tasks or notify in-house team of gaps in deliverables

• Communicative engineers who will deliver…..
  • Javadoc (or equivalent)
  • Class Diagrams
  • Flow & Sequence Diagrams
  • High Level Diagrams
  • Wiki or other site to tie work products together

Nice to have:

• Understanding of search technologies
• Understanding of semantic web and thesaurus management systems
• Experience in using JQuery, Dojo, Prototype or other JavaScript frameworks

Other:

• Interested in working for a aggressive start up with a non-profit mission
• Interested in supporting veterans and wounded warriors; former military experience a plus

If you’re interested in joining the team, please provide a cover letter along with your resume.  In the cover letter, please tell us what inspires you about the Warrior Gateway and why you think you are the perfect applicant for this position.  This is a key position and a unique opportunity to join a growing organization with a uniquely inspiring mission.

Email all applications with a resume and cover letter to: resumes@warriorgateway.org with Software Engineer in the subject line.  Applications without a cover letter will not be looked at nor considered.

This is an important position at Warrior Gateway and this individual will serve as a member of the dynamic management team, providing the strategic vision and leadership necessary to plan and execute a partnership plan that ensures Warrior Gateway’s continued growth.

This is an ideal opportunity for a highly motivated, entrepreneurial and strategic-minded individual to build a new function by leveraging the organization’s successful track record in creating partnerships and expanding on its solid base.

Key responsibilities of the role:

• Supporting the development and execution of partnerships with other NGO and governmental organizations
• Leading the communications with partners and other strategic contacts
• Contributing to the idea-generation process by identifying potential resources and partnerships as well as new opportunities for current partners
• Managing development of success stories, as well as online and offline content to communicate the breadth and benefit of partnering with the Warrior Gateway
• Managing data on all past, current and potential contacts
• Coordinating Warrior Gateway’s involvement in various non-profit and veteran-focused coalitions

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS: An ideal candidate will bring the following professional experience and personal characteristics:

• A passion for and commitment to the mission of Warrior Gateway
• An ability to communicate effectively the critical need for solutions to the eliminate the gaps in connecting the Sea of Goodwill to those in the military community
• Deep desire for networking and relationship building
• Innovative strategic thinking coupled with a keen intellect and curiosity
• Excellent written, presentation and communication skills and the experience and inclination to be an effective, outgoing spokesperson for Warrior Gateway
• Exceptional organizational skills with an eye for detail; the highest degree of professionalism and follow-through
• A collegial, consultative and team-building approach that puts others at ease and engenders trust; the ability to actively listen, with an appreciation for nuance in communication
• Unquestioned integrity and a commitment to the highest ethical standards
• The intellectual strength and curiosity to understand and appreciate the varied and complex pursuits of the product and program staff and the ability to translate that understanding to the layperson
• A friendly and supportive working style that brings out the best in colleagues
• An optimistic outlook and a flexible, innovative nature
• A sense of humor
• Candidate would ideally be located in the Washington, DC or San Francisco, CA area though not required
• This position requires travel
• Those with prior military experience encouraged to apply

COMPENSATION: Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Warrior Gateway offers a comprehensive benefits package.

If you’re interested in joining the team, please provide a cover letter along with your resume.  In the cover letter, please tell us what inspires you about the Warrior Gateway and why you think you are the perfect applicant for this position.  This is a key position and a unique opportunity to join a growing organization with a uniquely inspiring mission.

Email all applications with a resume and cover letter to: resumes@warriorgateway.org with Community Partnerships in the subject line.  Applications without a cover letter will not be looked at nor considered.

WarriorGateway.org is harnessing the power of technology and collaboration to help today’s veterans make better decisions about what government program or non-profit organization to go to for help.  Warrior Gateway leverages the social dimension by encouraging these “voices of the veteran” to include ratings about the quality and effectiveness of those services and to include short comments and tips to help other community members decide where to go.

We are dedicated to empowering our veterans to share their experiences and help the overall community but also, give them a voice to highlight those programs and organizations that are not meeting their needs.  Launched in March 2010, the Warrior Gateway is the only effort that is focused on providing these individuals with a forum to publically share their experiences.  It’s about time our veterans had a voice.

Warrior Gateway seeks a Chief Operating Officer / Chief Development Officer to create, lead and implement a fundraising strategy that will increase the Warrior Gateway’s ability to expand current and untapped funding sources as well as identify and prioritize new possible funding streams.  Reporting to the CEO, the COO/CDO will provide overall direction, coordination and implementation of the organization’s fundraising operations.  This is a hands on role!

This is an important position at Warrior Gateway and this individual will serve as a member of the dynamic management team, providing the strategic vision and leadership necessary to plan and execute a development plan that ensures Warrior Gateway’s continued independence.

This is an ideal opportunity for a highly motivated, entrepreneurial and strategic-minded individual to build a new function by leveraging the organization’s successful track record in fundraising and expanding on its solid base.

The Chief Operating Officer / Chief Development Officer is a broad role focused on the following:

• Managing the day-to-day operations of the entire Warrior Gateway team
• Coordinating Warrior Gateway’s involvement in various non-profit and veteran-focused coalitions
• Supporting the development and execution of partnerships with other NGO and governmental organizations
• Leading the communications with partners and other strategic contacts
• Contributing to the idea-generation process by identifying potential resources and partnerships as well as new opportunities for current partners
• Managing development of success stories, as well as online and offline content to communicate the breadth and benefit of partnering with the Warrior Gateway
• Managing data on all past, current and potential contacts
• Working collaboratively to research, develop, execute and establish evaluation metrics for all opportunities

Key responsibilities of the role:

• Facilitate the creation and implementation of a multi-million annual fundraising plan for Warrior Gateway, including long-term income goals and strategies, in consultation with the CEO and the Warrior Gateway Board
• Maintain and manage relationships with existing individual, foundation and corporate funders
• Research, identify and cultivate new foundation, individual and corporate sponsor prospects; develop compelling proposals and reports as needed; support CEO outreach to prospects and donors; and pitch prospects alone and/or with the CEO or Board members
• Identify and explore opportunities for corporate and individual support with an emphasis on unrestricted giving, further diversifying funding streams, while ensuring the Warrior Gateway’s continued independence and reputation for breakthrough thinking
• Advise and coach the CEO, staff and Board members on solicitations and the development of prospect cultivation and donor stewardship activities, enabling them to successfully raise funds and meet the ongoing challenges of a first-rate institution
• Advise the senior staff on ways to expand income and exposure from conferences and meetings
• Ensure the highest quality in fundraising communications and promotional materials, including proposals, applications, correspondence, reports, budgetary and program information, and monitoring.

Required Skills:

• Excellent writing, communication, presentation and interpersonal skills
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Entrepreneurial spirit and an ability to think beyond the traditional
• Resourceful, innovative, and forward-thinking
• Ability to meet deadlines and juggle several projects in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to work long hours when necessary
• Ability to be a team player
• Awareness and understanding of the landscape of the veteran community (including resources, non-profits, government support, etc.)

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS: An ideal candidate will bring the following professional experience and personal characteristics:

• A passion for and commitment to the mission of Warrior Gateway
• Demonstrated record of progressively responsible experience in a non-profit fundraising position, preferably at the Director level.  Experience using both traditional and online strategies is preferred.
• An ability to communicate effectively the critical need for solutions to the eliminate the gaps in connecting the Sea of Goodwill to those in the military community
• Deep desire for networking and relationship building
• Innovative strategic thinking coupled with a keen intellect and curiosity
• Sophistication, with the intellectual depth and maturity to coach and work with dynamic executives, staff, Board members and others in development-related activities
• Excellent written, presentation and communication skills and the experience and inclination to be an effective, outgoing spokesperson for Warrior Gateway
• A strategic and comprehensive approach to planning and decision making; the ability to back assertions with facts and data; a strong management record with proven success in producing results
• Exceptional organizational skills with an eye for detail; the highest degree of professionalism and follow-through
• A collegial, consultative and team-building approach that puts others at ease and engenders trust; the ability to actively listen, with an appreciation for nuance in communication
• Unquestioned integrity and a commitment to the highest ethical standards
• The intellectual strength and curiosity to understand and appreciate the varied and complex pursuits of the product and program staff and the ability to translate that understanding to the layperson
• A friendly and supportive working style that brings out the best in colleagues
• An optimistic outlook and a flexible, innovative nature
• A sense of humor
• An undergraduate degree is required; an advanced degree or CFRE certification is preferred
• This position requires significant travel
• Those with prior military experience encouraged to apply

This is an executive level role, depending on experience.   If you’re interested in joining the team, please provide a cover letter along with your resume.  In the cover letter, please tell us what inspires you about the Warrior Gateway and why you think you are the perfect applicant for this position.  This is a key position and a unique opportunity to join a growing organization with a uniquely inspiring mission.

Email all applications with a resume and cover letter to: resumes@warriorgateway.org with COO/CDO in the subject line.  Applications without a cover letter will not be looked at nor considered.