2023 Veterans Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program

In September 2022, Ed Carballo II joined the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as an Innovation Outreach Specialist – National Programs, working in the Office of the Chief Communications Officer.

Carballo transferred to the USPTO from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where he was the Chief of the Financial Services Division for the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic Regions, leading a team responsible for several lending programs targeting the commercial fishing industry, fishing vessels, shore-side processing facilities, and aquaculture projects across 19 states.

Prior to his role at NOAA, Carballo was the Deputy District Director with the U.S. Small Business Administration in Georgia, where his leadership consistently placed Georgia in the “Top Five” nationally in SBA lending programs.

Carballo has experience as an entrepreneur and has worked in the finance, service and utilities, technology, and healthcare sectors; he is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs connect with the resources they need in order to be fully successful.

Carballo is a U.S. Army veteran, having served multiple tours overseas, and he is a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and The American Legion.

Carlos Gutierrez started his career serving in the United States Marine Corps, working in the field of logistics. He completed two tours overseas, one of which was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Persian Gulf. Subsequently, Gutierrez held roles in the private sector, including several years as an Executive Team Leader with Target retail stores and Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at The University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley.

Additionally, Gutierrez holds a U.S. patent, was the founder of several companies, and has served as an advisor for several nascent-stage tech startups. He has written and managed grants that have been awarded a total of $1.73 million.

Gutierrez has served with several agencies within the federal government, including the Department of Energy, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Small Business Administration. Gutierrez also previously served as the Director of the Texas Veterans Business Outreach Center.

Gutierrez has a background in business development and program management in the private sector, state government, federal government, academia, and non-profit spaces. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in management from The University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and a Master of Science in technology commercialization from The University of Texas at Austin.

Maryam Khazraee is the CEO and Founder of RxPharmacist, a national provider of pharmacy licensure, certification, and continuing education test-prep. She is a licensed clinical pharmacist and graduated from the University of Florida with her Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD), and also holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Indiana University. She is highly passionate on giving back to future generations, and her company offers many training programs, internships, and rotations to support pharmacy students and pharmacists.

Jason Lott is the Attorney Advisor for Trademarks Customer Outreach at the USPTO, where he specializes in helping small business owners understand trademarks and the federal trademark registration process through live presentations, creative videos, and other multimedia platforms. He has been with the USPTO since 2000, previously serving as an examining attorney, and is a recipient of multiple career service awards.

Dorene and her team are responsible for managing and administering the USPTO Learning Management System and the USPTO Leadership Academy, and she chairs the agency’s Enterprise-wide Learning Council. Dorene has been with the USPTO since July 2015. Before joining this great organization, she was a career Soldier, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer Four. She spent the last 15 of her total 22 years of service as a legal administrator, culminating in her assignment as the Chief of the Administrative Division for the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency and Office of The Judge Advocate General. She also served as the first-ever Chair of the Legal Administrator and Paralegal Studies Department of the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources Administration and a BA in Human Resources Administration from Saint Leo University.

Brenton Peacock is the Director and a Business Analyst for the Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) serving the state of Florida. Brent has provided testimony for two U.S. Congressional hearings on behalf of the Veterans Business Outreach Center. The first in 2017 titled "Tech Talks: How SBA Entrepreneurial Development Programs have Evolved with Technology", and in 2022, "Military to Main Street: Serving Veteran Entrepreneurship." A successful entrepreneur himself, Brent’s work experience includes business counseling and teaching. Prior to assuming the Directorship of the VBOC in 2012, Brent was a Business Analyst with the Veterans Business Outreach Center. Prior to that, he was an instructor in Broadcasting/Communication Studies at Gulf Coast Community College, a Morning News Anchor for WKGC FM Public Radio for over five years, and an employment counselor at Workforce Center for 10 years before transitioning over to the VBOC in 2008. Brent earned a Master of Arts degree from American Military University in Management and Entrepreneurship, a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication/Business from Florida State University, and an Associate in Arts degree from Chipola Junior College.

Randall Shepard is an accomplished technologist and seasoned corporate executive. Educated as a spacecraft designer, with advanced engineering degrees from Georgia Tech and Stanford, Shepard has created and integrated innovative technologies throughout his career. In 2015, he acquired Cubic Global Tracking Solutions and rapidly assembled his entrepreneurial team under the RSAE Labs’ banner, specializing in global asset monitoring, tracking, and security solutions in commercial and government sectors worldwide. As RSAE Labs CEO, he is responsible for corporate management, advanced research, global sales, and intellectual property (IP) licensing. RSAE Labs currently has 29 patents and a variety of trademarks. Among RSAE's IP licensees is the U.S. Department of Defense, which is standardizing on RSAE Labs' cyber-secure IOT protocol, mist®. Shepard retired from the Air Force as an O-6 with 14 years active and six years reserve with duties as a senior pilot, United States Air Force Academy professor, and research engineer.

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill proudly represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1994, Congresswoman Sherrill spent almost 10 years on active duty in the United States Navy. She flew missions throughout Europe and the Middle East as a Sea King helicopter pilot, worked on the Battle Watch Floor in the European Theater during the Iraq invasion, and served as a Flag Aide to the Deputy Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Congresswoman Sherrill also served as a Russian policy officer and worked on the implementation of our nuclear treaty obligations and oversaw the relationship between the U.S. Navy and Russian Federation Navy. Congresswoman Sherrill attended law school after leaving the Navy in 2003, earning a degree from Georgetown University. She worked as a lawyer and eventually joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. As an Outreach and Re-entry Coordinator, Congresswoman Sherrill developed programs to help prevent crime in the community. These programs developed trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and helped people leaving prison to gain employment, housing, and education in order to restart their lives. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Congresswoman Sherrill worked to keep our communities safe, prosecuting federal cases and advising law enforcement on investigations. Congresswoman Sherrill holds a Bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy, a Master’s degree in Global History from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Law degree from Georgetown University. Congresswoman Sherrill sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the new House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Matt is a 26 year Air Force Veteran originally from Washington State, having served as a First Sergeant during the final five years in four different squadrons, one of which was at Kirkuk AB, Iraq. About a year and a half before Hurricane Michael, he began writing down stories from his life that made him smile - stories about his son, his dog, his Harley, his trip to Iraq, many First Sergeant stories, and more; kind of a motivational autobiography. About a month after the hurricane, on the advice of the awesome people at the Panama City VBOC, he self-published "You can Smile too!" through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon hoping to make people smile that he might never see. During the last 11 years, Matt has worked for the VA as an Outreach Specialist and during that time developed the philosophy of making every person he meets smile in order to make our world just a little bit better. To date, there are a little over 700 copies out in the public, and he often gives motivational presentations to local groups.