Our volunteer Advisory Board provides strategic guidance drawing on their decades of experience in journalism, non-profit management, and veterans issues.
Board of Advisors
J.P. Lawrence is a downrange reporter covering Afghanistan and the Middle East for Stars and Stripes
Lawrence joined Stripes in 2018. He previously reported for the San Antonio Express and Albany Times Union. He has written in the U.S. and Africa for the New York Review of Books, Vice, the Intercept and the Associated Press. He served in the U.S. Army, where he deployed to Basra, Iraq in 2009. He then went to Bard College and Columbia University in New York.
Jen brings over 27 years of business experience in three sectors and several industries to JPG.
Jen's portfolio is diverse. She has consulted for numerous not for profits and small businesses over the years. She has found a niche by establishing JPG as a boutique shop that focuses on relationships and common values, missions and purposes. This approach creates a force-multiplication effect. She ensures the organizations she works have a foundation of operation excellence improving quality of life for those they serve.
Jen is known for her philanthropic efforts and for being a bulldog for those she serves. She founded the Steel Mags Sorority in late 2009 and was part of the founding team that established the Green Beret Foundation. She currently serves on the board of Dancing Angels Foundation, Captain Joseph House Foundation and is a founding board member for the proposed charter school, Prelude Preparatory School in San Antonio, TX. She also serves on Your Grateful Nation’s Board of Advisors for the Candidate Screening Committee and is a YGN mentor to transitioning Special Operation Forces service members. She is a member of Business Executives for National Security, Junior League of San Antonio, Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, San Antonio Rotary, and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
Jen has been featured in several publications such as Forbes and San Antonio Magazine. Jen has served on numerous boards and continues to do so. She has planned and executed hundreds of events raising millions for charities and has won numerous awards recognizing her patriotism and philanthropic work over the years. Most recently Jen has been nominated for Rice University’s Jones Citizen Award which will be announced mid-May 2019.
Jen graduated from Arizona State University (fork em'!!) with a BS in Business Administration majoring in Supply Chain Management. She received her Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in not for profits and public policy from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and an Executive MBA from Rice University (Hoot! Hoot!) in Houston, Texas.
With over 15 years of business experience, Melissa Pucino has worked in the finance sector for various industries. Over the past 10 years, Melissa has served on the board for her brother’s foundation, SSG Matthew A. Pucino Memorial Foundation, Ltd., assisting wounded service members and keeping Matthew’s legacy alive. She possesses vast experience in nonprofit accounting, financial management, human resources management, event planning and production, and operations management. As COO for the JPaq Group, she assists businesses and non-profits in all of these areas. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Suffolk University and is a Certified Project Master.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
Priya Sridhar is a general assignment reporter for KPBS. She comes to San Diego from San Antonio, Texas where she worked as a general assignment and investigative reporter for KENS5, a CBS affiliate.
Priya began her journalism career as a multimedia journalist for the NBC affiliates in Maine. She went on to work as a Washington correspondent for RT, an international news channel. She went on to work as the South Asia bureau chief and correspondent based in New Delhi, India.
After returning to the U.S., Priya worked as a video journalist for the Associated Press based in Chicago. She has also worked as a D.C. correspondent and morning show co-host for an international news channel, Arise, headquartered in Nigeria.
Some of her most memorable stories in her ten year journalism career include covering the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, MO for the Associated Press and Nigeria’s historic 2015 presidential elections.
Priya has a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s in international relations and history from Bowdoin College. Priya is also an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and serves as an Advisory Board Member of Military Veterans in Journalism.
