VETSOCIAL25 Main Stage: “Strategic Ascent—Shaping Your Identity” with Nathan Wheeler.

A SOF veteran and founder of Strategic Ascent, Nathan shows veterans and entrepreneurs how to clarify identity, translate service-tested skills to business, and build a financial and leadership framework that scales.

Drawing on 11 years in uniform—including the 173rd Airborne Brigade and 10th Special Forces Group—plus stints training senior leaders for Space Force/USSPACECOM and consulting at Deloitte, Nathan outlines a mission-ready playbook: define the “why,” assess resources, make disciplined decisions, and execute with momentum.

You’ll learn

• How identity drives strategy—and revenue

• Converting military strengths into market advantages

• A simple decision cadence for high-stakes choices

• Financial pillars for sustainable growth

  
  

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When you need a light, sometimes you become one. In this VETSOCIAL25 talk, retired Navy Senior Chief Leah Stiles—Founder & CEO of SEA WAVES, the veteran-led nonprofit addressing eating disorders in the military—shares how she turned personal struggle into purpose and built a mission that saves lives. She unpacks what it takes to launch and grow an impact-driven nonprofit: clarifying your “why,” building community without stigma, and translating lived experience into measurable change.

Episode highlights

From pain to purpose: Leah’s journey and why the military community needs this conversation now.

19th News

Building SEA WAVES: mission, advocacy, and the blueprint for sustainable nonprofit leadership.

SEA WAVES

Creating safer spaces: language, partnerships, and practical steps any leader can take today.

SEA WAVES

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What’s your value—and can you prove it? In this VETSOCIAL25 talk, Treazure Owen breaks down how founders stand out in a crowded market by knowing exactly who they are and what they bring to the table. She walks through the anatomy of a winning capability statement—separating Past Relevant Experience from Past Performance—and shows how to operate with a clear “commander’s intent,” inventory your resources, and execute like a mission.

Episode highlights

• Define your unique value so your brand isn’t “just another” business.

• Build a capability statement with two distinct sections: Past Relevant Experience vs. Past Performance.

• Market from identity: you can’t sell what you can’t name.

• Apply mission planning to entrepreneurship: intent, resources, and disciplined execution.

  
  

Timestamps

• 06:34 — Capability statement 101: Past Relevant Experience vs. Past Performance

• 08:54 — “Commander’s intent” and treating growth like an operation

  
  

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