Your Veterans: Skilled Workers for Job Creation and Growth

Speakers Include:

Rhett Jeppson
Associate Administrator
US Small Business Administration
Office of Veterans Business Development
Washington, DC

Rhett Jeppson's wide ranging experience includes extensive military service and small business management. As a result, he was appointed as the Associate Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Veterans Business Development in April of 2012. Rhett, in addition to serving our country in the United States Marine Corps, comes from a family of small business owners. He has held various roles in the Florida state government, including the Department of Business & Professional Regulation and a stint as the Director of State Purchasing. Rhett leads the US Small Business Administration's efforts to support veteran businesses and entrepreneurial development and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.


Tom Stellman
President & CEO
TIP Strategies, Inc.
Austin, TX

Tom Stellman is founder and CEO of TIP Strategies and leads high-impact economic and workforce consulting engagements throughout the country. As developer of TIP's model of Talent, Innovation, and Place, he helps clients identify their core value and build consensus around strategies to promote economic health. He is the lead author of TIP's Automotive Profile, the Invest in Texas Business Guide, and the Texas Manufacturing Skills Gap. Tom's recent projects include developing strategies for leveraging military veterans for economic development in Louisville, KY (Fort Knox); Killeen, TX (Fort Hood); Wichita Falls, TX (Sheppard Air Base); Clarksville, TN (Fort Campbell); Calhoun County, AL (Anniston Army Depot); Northeast Texas Workforce Board (Red River Army Depot); Escambia County, FL (Naval Station Pensacola); and Okaloosa-Walton Counties, FL (Eglin Air Base). In partnership with the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance, he helped establish the Veteran's Inventory Proje ct (a system to document skills and preferences for military personnel separating from service) which has been implemented at Fort Hood, Fort Campbell, and Fort Knox.