CMSgt (Ret) Dr Emily Shade was raised in Oregon, joined USAF in 1994, and retired in 2018. Married to Jeromy, they have a 14-year-old son, Kambell, in the house and daughter, Kiyana, who is Active Duty USAF and stationed at Fairchild AFB. Dr Shade is currently serving as the civilian Director of A9 for the Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. She's an avid reader, beekeeper, and hiker.

Captain Pierce Risinger is a USAF Maintenance Officer who is transitioning to the Acquisition field. He received his commission in 2021 from the United States Air Force Academy. He has held a variety of maintenance assignments at the squadron and group levels supporting F-16C/D and HH-60G/W maintenance. During previous operational assignments, he led combat sortie generation, aircraft maintenance, as well as logistics and sustainment operations in combatant command AORs. Captain Risinger has deployed in support of Operations INHERENT RESOLVE and SPARTAN SHIELD.

CMSgt (Ret) Dr. Keith Castille currently serves as co-owner of C2H, LLC and independent contractor advising on force development, policy creation and implementation, and a wide range of business solutions. Keith is a retired veteran, having served 28 ½ years to this great nation as a valued member of the United States Air Force. While on active duty, Keith served in the highest enlisted grade as a Chief Master Sergeant. His last position was the Senior Enlisted Leader, Office of the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Talent Management Cell, Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia.

With more than three decades of work experience in the human resource field, Keith has developed and honed skills in transformational leadership, organizational culture, instructional system design, and workforce education. His mission is to empower each generation of leaders to thrive in a complex and dynamic world.