Meg Krause is an Army veteran, ASAP comedienne, and communication strategist extraordinaire. Meg served more than ten years as a medic in the United States Army, including overseas tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and first met ASAP as a Comedy Bootcamp student in 2017. Meg is a Vice President at Reingold, Inc., with a focus on brand advancement, member and audience engagement, and direct marketing campaigns. Prior to this, she was the Director of Veterans Programs at the American Council on Education. She has represented brands with media outlets including CNN, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and NPR, sharing stories of veteran transition and perseverance and fostering support for her community. Meg’s nickname in basic training was Private Giggles and she believes humor is a powerful conduit of humanity. She is a proud graduate of Penn State University, an avid baseball fan and dog lover, and a self-proclaimed “honeybadger”.

Blayne is a West Point graduate, former Green Beret and highly effective business leader across a variety of industries and capacities. For over 20 years, Blayne has built teams and communities through a deep understanding of, and focus on, culture and leadership. Whether serving in corporate, small business, or nonprofit roles, his focus has remained on the people. Today, Blayne is a co-Founder and Principal at Applied Leadership Partners. Blayne was also the first Executive Director of Team Red, White and Blue, scaling the organization from 3 to 212 cities. He’s also the former President and current board member at GORUCK. Blayne was the inaugural recipient of the George W. Bush Institute Military Service Citation for exemplary leadership both during and beyond service.

Oscar Montes is the Chief Executive Officer for Magellan Federal and a former Program Director for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). At Magellan Federal, Oscar develops strategic and operational plans to grow the business, optimizes and improves services to all clients, and leads a team of over 3,000 professionals. While at CMS, Oscar led an operation spanning seven states and 4,000 contract employees. His efforts helped millions of Americans obtain health insurance. Oscar holds a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy, an M.B.A. from Georgetown University, and recently retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve. He has logged over 2,000 hours and 400 carrier landings in the F-18 Hornet.

Carter Bays is the co-creator, writer, and executive producer of the popular comedy series How I Met Your Mother, which was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards. His other writing credits include Oliver Beene, American Dad!, and the Late Show with David Letterman. Along with HIMYM co-creator Craig Thomas, Bays co-founded the band The Solids, and their songwriting work has most recently been featured on Sesame Street. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Bays lives in New York City with his wife and three children.

James Schenck is President and CEO of PenFed Credit Union, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia. PenFed Credit Union is America’s second-largest federal credit union, serving 1.8 million members worldwide with over $25 billion in assets. PenFed offers high-yield online savings accounts and market-leading certificates, checking, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, and a wide range of other financial services to the national defense community and all who support them. Since becoming CEO in April of 2014, James has led PenFed’s asset growth from $17 billion to over $25 billion, increased membership from 1.3 million to over 1.8 million, and generated $856 million in net worth — a 45% increase over the previous 5 years. In a nationwide vote conducted by Credit Union Magazine in 2017, James was elected the National Credit Union Hero of the Year. And in 2018, James was recognized for his leadership in earning the Large Business Philanthropist of the Year Award for greater Alexandria, Virginia. James also serves as CEO for the PenFed Foundation in Alexandria, which has raised over $35 million to help military veterans heal their wounds, pay their bills, own their first homes, and start their own businesses. As part of PenFed’s leadership team since 2001, James led most of PenFed’s operating divisions. From 2011 to 2014, he was Executive Vice President at PenFed and President of its wholly owned subsidiary, PenFed Realty. In past years, he ran the credit union’s daily operations as COO and Chief Administrative Officer. James began his credit union career in 1999 as a volunteer, serving on the Board of Directors of West Point Federal Credit Union and Pentagon Federal Credit Union. James volunteers for many other charities and business groups. He serves on the boards of the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Symphony Orchestra, Armed Services Arts Partnership, Northern Virginia Technology Council, Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV). He also served as Co-Chairman of the International Red Cross’ Salute to Military Gala. During his military career, James flew Black Hawk helicopters in Korea and trained other Army aviators as a night vision goggle instructor pilot. He served on the Army Staff in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, and was later selected to serve as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. He received the Legion of Merit for his contribution to the Army by overseeing the creation of the $453 million Army University Access Online educational initiative. Prior to his assignment to the Pentagon, James taught Economics and Finance at the United States Military Academy. James is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and West Point. In 2015, James was selected by HillVets as one of the 100 most influential and impactful veterans in the United States. James is an avid pilot and loves adventure.

Margaret Vanderhye was the most recent Executive Director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA), a position she was appointed to by Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2014. During her tenure, she significantly expanded the roles and partnerships for arts therapy and wellness programs at the state and local levels. Prior to leading VCA, she served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2008-2010 representing the 34th District. Ms. Vanderhye is also an Advisory Council member for Our Military Kids, Inc., an organization that supports the school aged children of National Guard and Reserve personnel deployed in the war on terrorism. Until her 2014 appointment to lead VCA, she served as Vice Chair and Development Co-Chair of the McLean Project for the Arts. She has advocated at the local, state and/or federal levels on behalf of these groups. Ms. Vanderhye also serves on the State Board for UVA’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. Margaret has a degree in political science from Northwestern University and a M.A. in economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She and her husband Robert live in McLean, Virginia and have two grown children.