Meet the VetCTAP Team

Our team includes a wide range of business professionals, veterans, and Human Resources experts who will share their vast expertise and experience.

Sandra Silva Fichter

SPHR, SHRM-SCP

President, JBS Transition Experts

Sandra Silva Fichter is the owner of Fichter Silva Consulting,  "A Human Resources Services Company" offering a full spectrum of HR services since 2007.  Prior to 2007, Sandra spent 15 years in a variety of industries providing Human Resources expertise in such areas as talent acquisition, wage and hour law, employment development and strategic planning.

Sandra has a Masters of Human Resources and Organizational Development from the University of San Francisco, and a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) Certification.  Her management experience includes managing departments from 2 to over 800 employees; she is bilingual in English/Spanish.  

 Sandra served in the U.S. Army, both in the enlisted and officer ranks. She is one of the founders of JBS Transition Experts, and creator of the Career Transition Assistance concept from her personal experience as an Army veteran and from her interaction with job applicant veterans in her role as a Human Resources practitioner.  

Janis Whitaker

VetCTAP Executive Director and JBS Vice President

Since 2009, Ms. Whitaker has provided workshops in job search techniques. In 2011, she transferred those skills to work with to military and veterans transitioning into the civilian workplace. Janis is one of the founders of JBS Transition Experts.

Janis has authored the popular book, Interviewing by Example and has been a long time speaker, management trainer, and University adjunct faculty member. She has been quoted in numerous newspapers, magazines and other media, including Inc. Magazine because of her interviewing expertise.

Janis is also Sr. Learning and Development Professional with over 25 years in the industry. Janis is certified in numerous nationally recognized Leadership Programs and has traveled across the country providing leadership training to corporations, including several Fortune 500 Companies. She earned her Master’s Degree in Human Performance.

In 2017, Janis was honored to be a finalist in the San Diego Business Journal’s, “Military and Veteran Entrepreneur Awards”. She was also recognized by Senator Joel Anderson as a “California Hero”.  In 2019 Janis was a finalist for the Connected Women of Influence Award for "Women Breaking Barriers".

Her husband is a retired Air Force Officer.

Betsy Sheets

VetCTAP Program Manager and JBS Secretary

Betsy Sheets is a Career Development Specialist. Her professional career spans over 20 years in managerial and supervisory roles in non-profit and for-profit sectors. The last 12 years have been in career development where she has developed curriculum, taught hundreds of classes and workshops on career transition topics, managed large-scale job fairs, and provided one-on- one coaching.

A certified Federal Job Search Trainer and Federal Job Search Coach through the Federal Career Training Institute, Betsy has many years’ experience assisting veterans and college students with the federal job application and federal resumes, and has facilitated Department of Labor transition workshops on military installations in San Diego County. She maintains the level of Master Career Specialist through the National Career Development Association and Global Career Development Facilitator through the Center for Credentialing and Education. Betsy holds a Master’s degree from National University, a Bachelor of Science from Bridgewater College, a Bachelor of Arts from Wheeling Jesuit University.

She is active as a volunteer in her community and has been serving as Corresponding Secretary for San Diego PFLAG since 2011.  Betsy is the daughter of a WWII U.S. Army veteran and the spouse of a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

James Bond

JBS Board Member

During his eight year US Army career, James served in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Suwon, Korea; Ft. Stewart, Ga.; and Ft. Bliss, Tx. James went from leading soldiers as a non-commissioned officer to earn his M.A. in Education and supporting military- affiliated students in community college, non-profit, for-profit, and Research 1 institutions. Currently James serves as the Associated Director of Student Engagement with National University.

Prior positions include, the inaugural Coordinator of the Student Veteran Resource Center at UC San Diego, the Lead Student Veteran Access Advisor at Ashford University, where he developed military and veteran programs and services, facilitated faculty and staff trainings, and chaired the Military and Veteran Student Task Force.  James has also served with National University as the Retention/Transition Specialist in the Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success, where he coordinated student veteran transition initiatives, established VA work study and peer mentor programs, and chaired the Veterans Success Team.

Prior to his involvement in student veteran services, James worked for nine years as a Student Activities Advisor at Southwestern College.  In the military community of San Diego, he served as a board member on both the San Diego Veterans Coalition and the Veterans Association of North County each for two years.

Barbara Cogburn

JBS Board Member

A retired Marine and Iraqi veteran, Barbara retired in December of 2003. Prior to her retirement, she held a variety of positions in the Marine Corps including the Character Based Leadership Trainer to help improve leadership abilities. While in this position Barbara was able to positively impact over 8,000 Marines. After leaving the Marine Corps, she worked as a life and business coach helping her clients achieve personal, financial and business goals.

Barbara is a Senior Consultant for Results Practice at Franklin Covey and has worked with a variety of military clients, the utility industry, and has extensive coaching experience with small business owners. Barbara earned her Bachelor of Science in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Barbara is also a graduate of CoachU Core Essentials Program and awaiting her International Coaching Federation certification. She is currently enrolled in the Advanced Coaching program at CoachU working toward the Master Coaching Certification.

 She is a Past President and active member of her Women Marines Chapter and a Trustee and past volunteer for the Veterans Association of North County.

Mike Mahrenholz, HRM

Board Member

Mike is the Global Director of Human Capital for Proficio, Inc. a Global Cyber Security Firm in California, Spain, England, and Singapore. He served in the U.S. Army for 6 years and was an Airborne Infantry Soldier, 11 BRAVO. He also has been an Adjunct Professor at Brandman University teaching Graduate and Undergraduate courses in Business and Professional Studies. He and his company also partner with Wounded Warrior Project and Hiring Our Heroes. Mike earned an MBA in Human Resource Management.

Col. Willy Buhl (Ret.)

Military Liaison

Willy retired from the Marines in 2016 after a distinguished career. He is a Senior Executive Leader with strong community outreach experience and a career dedicated to serving others. Willy is a graduate level instructor for Davis Defense Group, where he teaches Captains and Majors at Expeditionary Warfare School and Command and Staff College Distance Education Program, Camp Pendleton, CA. 

Brian Gilden

Sr. Facilitator and Coach

Brian started volunteering with VetCTAP in 2013.  He retired from the Marine Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel in Oct '11 after just over 20 years of service.  A CH-53E "Super Stallion" helicopter pilot, Brian's last major assignment was as the Executive Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 16, MCAS Miramar.  He previously served in a diplomatic capacity as the Marine Corps Attaché at the U. S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain.  Brian is currently an ERJ-175 pilot for Envoy Air in Chicago and a private investigator for Baker Street Group in San Diego.  Previously, he was the owner of Express Employment Professionals, a recruiting and staffing agency in northeast San Diego; a Senior Business Process Manager at Lytx, Inc.; and an Engineering Technical Steward at Caterpillar, Inc.  He holds a MBA and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.​​

Fred Rose

Sr. Facilitator and Coach

Fred Rose has spent 40 years working in a variety of industries across the USA. These include automotive, power conversion, golf, and medical devices. His positions varied from Manufacturing, Human Resources, Recruiting, Training, and Logistics. He earned a BS degree from Indiana University in Production Management and an MBA from National University.

Fred presents the Interview Skills Workshop in the VetCTAP workshop series and is a consultant in the job interviewing process.

Mr. Rose is the managing partner of an LLC that manufactures and sells veterinary products. He also coaches a Special Olympics Golf Team, loves to travel, and enjoys an occasional round of golf. 

Mike Plue

Facilitator & Coach

Mike has been with SAP Ariba for five years and is currently a Director working with existing customers to transition them to the cloud.  SAP is the world’s fifth largest software company and primarily focuses on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Prior to joining SAP, he spent two years working in Mongolia on several entrepreneurial projects.  Mike has also owned his own company here in San Diego.  He also spent five years with IBM as a consultant and assisted with interviewing undergraduate and graduate employment candidates.

Mike spent four years on active duty with the Marine Corps and is active with other Veteran’s organizations including the Travis Manion Foundation, The Mission Continues, The Veterans Beer Club and the Semper Fi Injured Marine Fund.  Mike has been with VetCTAP since 2016.

Mary Schwalen

Facilitator & Coach

Mary Schwalen is a Training and Organization Development professional and certified Leadership and Life Coach.    She has a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls and is certified as an Integrative Coach by New Ventures West in San Francisco.  Her career has involved building learning systems in industries including biotech, electronics, telecommunications, automotive and financial services.  These systems have helped increase team and leadership effectiveness and build engaged company cultures to achieve business objectives. 

Mary is also a dedicated coach with a focus on leadership, career and life change.   She seeks to help clients increase their self awareness, insight and confidence in order to move through transitions and reach personal goals.

Mary has volunteered with VetCTAP for more than four years and enjoys working with transitioning military members and their spouses at an exciting transition point in their lives.   She instructs the Face-to-Face Networking workshop and is a phone coach for VetCTAP graduates.

Dana Hofseth

Facilitator and Coach

Dana Hofseth has worked with VetCTAP since 2012 and been in the Human Resources (HR) world for over 18 years. He understands the challenges of transitions as he has had a career change from pastoral ministry to the Human Resources field. Dana holds the HR industry’s highest certifications and leads the HR and Administration team for the National Association of Music Merchants, a local membership non-profit organization supporting the music industry. Dana deeply values the dedication and service of those who have served in our military and is grateful for the opportunity to assist with their transition to the civilian workforce.

Jon Aasted

Facilitator

Jon Aasted is a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy Reserves and a Recruiter for the City of Carlsbad. In the military Jon is an Intelligence Specialist and Command Career Counselor. Jon specializes in recruiting, and training and development, and is a true believer in networking and LinkedIn for all aspects of the job search.
 
Jon has a Bachelors Degree from California State University San Marcos in Political Science and is working on his Masters in Public Administration from San Diego State University. When he isn’t working for the City or the Navy, going to school, and mentoring Veterans, he is probably spending quality time with his wife and son, or catching up on sleep.

Marci Stafford

Facilitator and Coach

Marci Stafford, SHRM-CP, LMFT is a management consultant, leadership coach, and licensed mental health clinician. She holds professional certifications in both Human Resources and in the Employee Assistance field, where she has focused her career since 1997. As Clinical Director of Reliant EAP, Marci and her team help organizations respond to crisis, mitigate risk, manage performance, and restore productivity when behavioral health issues impact the workplace. 

At VetCTAP, Marci presents the Networking Skills workshop and is a coach for the resume and interviewing modules. Marci’s father (Navy), grandfather (U.S.A.F), and father-in-law (Navy) served in the military. She is grateful to our military veterans and for the opportunity to assist in their career transitions.

Jennifer Mardon

Facilitator and Coach

Jennifer is an experienced HR leader with over 20-years’ experience in the Telecommunications and Hospitality industries.  Her areas of expertise include employee relations, diversity and inclusion, training and development, employee engagement, recruiting, risk management and compensation and benefits.   Jennifer has degrees in both Organizational Management and Hospitality Management and maintains two professional HR certifications.

Jennifer was born and raised in Toronto and moved to San Diego as a young adult.  Seeing palm trees, sandy beaches and blue skies cemented the deal and she’s never looked back.   Jennifer has two grown daughters and besides volunteering for VetCTAP, she loves yoga, reading whodunnits and spending time at the beach.