Our Board of Directors
Stand Beside Them, Inc. is fortunate to have a Board of talented, creative, connected, and enthusiastic members who care about veterans and are willing to share their ideas and expertise.
(Please hover your mouse over each member to view their bios.)
Stephanie Richmond has had a multifaceted career: attorney, journalist, talent agent, entrepreneur, and life coach are all roles she’s held. Her most rewarding position to date, however, is Founder and CEO of Stand Beside Them, Inc. (SBT), our nonprofit that provides free coaching services to military service members and their spouse/caregivers transitioning back to civilian life. Stephanie worked with Naval Commander (ret.) Everett Alvarez, Jr., former POW, Vietnam, 9 ½ years) during her three-year stint as Assistant General Counsel at the Peace Corps. Decades later that friendship/mentorship would be the primary motivating force behind her founding of Stand Beside Them. In 2011 Stephanie had completed training/certification at NYU as a personal coach, specializing in coaching people through transitions (career change predominantly). One fateful day she came across an in-depth, eye-opening report entitled: “A Needs Assessment of NY State Veterans”. Realizing instantly that many of the unmet needs of transitioning veterans could be helped with coaching, she gathered up seven other certified and experienced coaching colleagues from her coaching classes at NYU. Stephanie also contacted her old Peace Corps colleague Everett Alvarez for advice, and with the group’s encouragement the nonprofit Stand Beside Them was born in 2013.
STEPHANIE
RICHMOND
President
Randy Chase is a retired US Army Colonel who served for 25 years in multiple leadership positions, including commanding a 450 person Artillery Battalion. He is also a certified leadership and development coach. For many years at the UBS Leadership Institute, Randy provided support to the firm’s top 600 global leaders through leadership programs, cultural change initiatives and coaching. From 2009 until 2012, Randy had global responsibility for Executive Coaching and Managing Director development programs. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Sociology from Northern Illinois University, a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Randy has also served as a President/Board member of several nonprofits.
RANDALL
CHASE
Vice President
Sheila Wall, MSW, (owner of In Synchrony LLC) is a Certified Executive and Life Coach assisting individuals in career transitioning and work/life integration, facilitating personal transformation and greater engagement in work and life. Sheila is also a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) consultant. Formerly a Vice President and Senior Risk Management Consultant, Sheila worked 18 years in domestic and global risk management with AIG, Sedgwick and Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. She has worked with senior management within global and domestic client companies. In the non-profit sector, Sheila was a therapist and served on several non-profit boards. She holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from New York University and a BA in Psychology from Penn State University. Her coaching certification was awarded in 2005 by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). She is a GetFive Certified Career Coach and holds a PCC credential from the International Coach Federation. In 2007, Sheila completed DISC assessment training. Currently a member of the International Coach Federation, CT Chapter, she served as President from 2015-16 and Past President from 2016-17.
SHEILA
WALL
Treasurer
Dana Sundblad is a marketing and communications executive with more than 25 years of industry experience. Past roles have included CMO at Hayward Score and Director of Communications at Castilleja School. She has also held leadership positions at several technology startups including Model N, Rapt, and @theMoment. She began her marketing career at Clorox. She serves on the boards of the Wellesley College Students' Aid Society and San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden. She received her BA from Wellesley College and MBA from Harvard University, Graduate School of Business Administration.
DANA
SUNDBLAD
Secretary
A U.S. Army veteran, Jere has been a coach/mentor with SBT since its inception. After serving as a First Lieutenant (Vietnam in 1968), he worked for forty years as a psychotherapist in New York, where in addition to his clinical practice, he mentored veterans. Retired in 2014, Jere lives in Salt Lake City. Jere is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and does pro bono work with veterans and their families.
JERE
WILE
Kris is an expert in Military Hiring and Retention and Veteran Leadership Development Programs. A US Army veteran herself, and a West Point graduate, Kris was Director of Military Initiatives at General Electric (GE) for many years. She has taught transition workshops for over 5000 veterans, and personally assisted hundreds of veterans in their quest to obtain meaningful careers in corporate America. She has also helped multiple Fortune 500 companies set up and grow their military programs, and has been a friend and supporter of SBT since the very beginning.
KRIS
URBAUER
Mark is an Air Force veteran who for more than 20 years has been a leadership coach and organization consultant. As a coach, he helps leaders and managers identify their strengths, communicate more effectively, collaborate better, manage others, and handle stress. He has a particular interest in helping people set better boundaries and limits with others. Before starting his work as a coach he had a career at National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He holds BA and MA degrees in Sociology from Rutgers University and an MS degree in Organization Development from American University. Mark is also an International Coach Federation, Professional Certified Coach (PCC).
MARK
SACHS
