Melissa Sanderson

Melissa serves as Executive Director of the Military Spouse Program at Hiring Our Heroes,where she leads the vision, strategy, and national expansion of initiatives that advanceeconomic opportunity for military spouses. She drives enterprise-wide programinnovation, oversees research and advocacy efforts, and forges high-impact partnershipsacross the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to remove employment barriers anddeliver scalable workforce solutions for military families.Prior to Joining Hiring Our Heroes, Melissa built and led the end-to-end talent acquisitionfunction at Freedom Learning Group, a private equity–backed EdTech company. Sheestablished and designed the recruiting strategy, workforce planning capabilities, andscalable hiring infrastructure to support rapid, sustained growth. Her leadership enabledthe development of a high-performing, mission-driven talent organization aligned to thecompany’s expanding global footprint.Earlier in her career at Capital One, Melissa held roles spanning Technology, RiskManagement, and Human Resources, where she partnered closely with senior executivesto drive strategic talent initiatives. She played a pivotal role in executive recruiting, helping to build the company’s Retail Bank leadership team, and was instrumental in launchingCapital One’s first military-focused recruiting strategy. Melissa was raised in a military family at Fort Meade, Maryland, and is a military spouse.

Jen Martin is the Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Instant Teams, where she leads strategic partnerships, brand growth, and marketing initiatives that connect businesses with an untapped workforce of military spouses and remote professionals.

With more than 12 years of experience in marketing, business development, and community building, Jen is passionate about the power of human connection to drive business growth. Her approach combines relationship-driven marketing, strategic partnerships, and community-led growth to build brands that people want to be part of.

As a military spouse of 18 years, Jen brings a unique perspective on resilience, adaptability, leadership, and navigating career growth through constant change. She is a passionate advocate for creating opportunities, empowering others, and proving that community isn't just a feel-good initiative. It's a business strategy.

Megan Fraser is a military spouse and graduate of the FourBlock program. A marketing operations professional and visual artist, Megan’s industry experience spans K-12 and Higher Education, military operations, and small business where she leads efficient and effective programs (always with a creative flair). A certified project manager, Megan now manages the military spouse career readiness program she once participated in. Having trailed her Air Force officer spouse to stations in Europe, Asia, and the U.S., she intimately understands the career challenges military spouses face in, and the great benefits they bring to, the workplace.

Wendy McClinton is the Chief Executive Officer of Black Veterans for Social Justice. A New York City native, she served a decade in the U.S. Army during the Desert Storm Persian Gulf era. She leads BVSJ’s work across career pathways, economic stability, wellness and community leadership for veterans and their families. She has served as National Vice Commander of the National Association of Black Veterans and as a member of the NYC Mayor’s Veterans Advisory Board and the VA Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. She holds an executive certification in nonprofit management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and was conferred a Doctor of Humanities in 2022 for her service to veterans, their families and the community.

Mar Leifeld is Warrior Canine Connection’s Assistant Director of Mission Based Trauma Recovery programs. He began training future service dogs in a volunteer capacity in 2004 and later went on to train service dogs in a professional capacity in 2016. Mar’s primary motivation for working in this industry has always been the desire to serve individuals with disabilities through highly skilled service animals. When Mar first came to WCC in 2020, they were blown away by the organization’s unique mission model; using service dog training as an animal assisted therapeutic intervention for all members of the military community. Mar knew immediately that Warrior Canine Connection’s program was where he wanted to be and joined the team as a Service Dog Training Instructor, with a primary focus on delivering MBTR training sessions to veterans and active duty. Mar began overseeing WCC’s MBTR programs in 2022, and they now have the honor of supporting WCC’s No-Fail mission nationwide.