Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) – The Hoover Institution is pleased to announce the 2024–25 class of its Veteran Fellowship Program (VFP).
This is the fourth class since the fellowship was launched in fall of 2021. The 2024-25 group comprises ten veterans, representing five branches of the US armed forces.
Veterans were selected based on demonstrated leadership qualities, success in their professional careers, the viability of their proposed capstone projects, and their shared values with the Hoover Institution, especially the commitment to advancing freedom.
The program is designed for military veterans who are motivated to effect meaningful change in their communities. During their time in the program, veteran fellows will have the opportunity to leverage the resources and expertise of Hoover and Stanford scholars, expand their networks, and advance efforts to find 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, during the years surrounding the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the declaration of the war on terror. As demonstrated in previous cohorts, these veterans’ service to the nation is unremitting. Moreover, they come to Hoover with a high level of skills, dynamism, and intellectual curiosity to grapple with complex policy challenges.
Last year’s class took on a variety of policy challenges with their capstone projects, including work to leverage unused land owned by places of worship for affordable housing construction, introducing basic cognitive behavioral therapy to military training processes, and working to resettle and support Afghan migrants in US communities.
“The defining characteristics of our US military veterans make them natural leaders in a wide array of areas essential to the protection of democracy and national security to ensure that all are free to pursue the American dream,” said Hoover Institution director Condoleezza Rice. “The Hoover community will benefit greatly from the experience and wisdom acquired from their service to this nation.”
The fellowship program will involve various gatherings in the coming academic year at the Stanford University campus and Hoover’s Washington, DC, office. These include the program launch in June 2024; a presentation of the fellows’ capstone project proposals to the VFP advisory council in September 2024; and three modules, in which they can work on their capstone projects and connect with other members of their cohort and the broader Hoover and Stanford communities. At the end of their one-year fellowship, members of the cohort are invited to attend Hoover’s Spring 2025 Retreat, which will provide them with an opportunity to engage with Hoover leadership and donors about their experience in the Veteran Fellowship Program.
The 2024–25 VFP class features the following ten veterans:
Michael Arnold served twenty-four years in the US Army and retired in 2017 as a colonel. He is a senior executive with an extensive background in public-sector strategic change management, human resources reform, and talent management. He most recently served as the deputy director of the US Army Talent Management Task Force. Arnold was a 2014–15 Hoover National Security Affairs Fellow. He holds an undergraduate degree from La Salle University and a MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Haotian Bai is an immigrant, a US Army veteran, and a pioneering entrepreneur in the third-party reproduction and legal services sectors. He is founder of Patriot Conceptions and TrustUS, and his businesses prioritize supporting military families and ensuring privacy in legal processes, underscoring his commitment to service and innovation. He holds a master of science from Iowa State University.
Jeremy W. Cannon, MD, SM, retired as a colonel from the US Air Force reserves in 2023. Cannon is a professor of surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a practicing trauma surgeon and a surgical researcher in Philadelphia. He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a trauma surgeon. He holds degrees from the US Air Force Academy, Harvard Medical School, and MIT.
Jeff Chapman served as an Intelligence Officer in the US Navy for a total of 12 years (6 years active; 6 years reserve). His professional background includes executive roles across commercial and public sectors, and he is the founder and CEO of Babel Street, which he led from inception to significant growth and ultimately a successful acquisition. He holds degrees from the US Naval Academy, Harvard University, and the University of Virginia.
Jonathan “JD” Due is a twenty-year veteran of the US Army. He currently serves as the executive director of the Center of Military Transition at the Mason School of Business at William & Mary. Due has served extensively in the nonprofit space, including as the director of programs and scholarships at the Pat Tillman Foundation. He is a graduate of the US Military Academy and holds a MA in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Robin Johnson served over twenty years in the US Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. She is a certified humor professional who uses a cognitive behavioral theory–based approach to improving psychological performance. Johnson is a TEDx speaker, an instructor for the Institute for Defense and Business, and a thought leader on the applied and therapeutic use of humor for mental health and suicide prevention. She holds a BA from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Webster University.
Sean Singleton spent six years as a US Air Force acquisitions and protocol officer (active), before spending seven years as a special investigator (reserve). He serves as managing principal of Oglethorpe Capital LLC and an independent director of WaFd Bank. Singleton has a bachelor of science from the US Air Force Academy and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Mary L. Tobin is a US Army combat veteran with more than twenty years of leadership development, community engagement, and public speaking experience. She is the director of programs at More Perfect Union and previously served in the Biden-Harris administration as the senior advisor for wounded warrior, veterans, and military family initiatives for AmeriCorps. Tobin is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and the New York Institute of Technology.
William Treseder served ten years in the US Marine Corps. He is the cofounder and chief operating officer of BMNT, a government innovation company, and an adviser to multiple defense tech startups. Treseder also currently serves in the Marines Reserves as the chief strategy officer of the Marine Innovation Unit. He holds a BA from Stanford University.
Clint Trocchio served as a military pilot and budget examiner in the US Coast Guard for twenty-two years. He is the chief clerk of the US Senate’s Committee on Appropriations, and chair of the US Senate Federal Credit Union’s Supervisory Committee. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Coast Guard Academy and master’s degrees from Spring Hill College (MBA) and the George Washington University (MPA).
For more information on the Hoover Institution’s Veteran Fellowship Program, click here.
For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, jmarsch@stanford.edu.
