Ryan is a hockey enthusiast who founded the Warrior for Life Fund, a 501(c) 3 public charity, in 2012.  WFLF provides programs to support active-duty service members, veterans, and their families in the Virginia Beach area by connecting them through hockey and community involvement.   He has an in-depth understanding of the challenges of combat, extended deployments, disabilities, and the long-lasting effects of war.  With a grant from USA Hockey, he began the adaptive program in the fall of 2012.

Ryan is a retired Navy Captain with 26 years assigned to the SEAL Teams.  He is the former Commanding Officer of five Special Operations units: SEAL Team FOUR, Special Operations Command-Forward East Africa, Task Force 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, Task Force 17 in Mosul, Iraq, and a Tactical Development Squadron at Naval Special Warfare Development Group.  He has a proven and distinguished record of developing and leading high performing teams while conducting our nation’s most sensitive missions, cultivating relationships, and executing dynamic plans worldwide.

Frank Simonetti is an accomplished executive and former professional athlete with a distinguished career spanning both the sports and technology sectors. A graduate of Norwich University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Frank began his professional journey as a defenseman for the Boston Bruins, where he played four seasons in the National Hockey League.

Following his time in professional sports, Frank transitioned into the data storage industry, bringing the same discipline and strategic mindset to business that he demonstrated on the ice. Since 1996, he has served as Vice President and co-owner of Avatek Corporation, a firm specializing in enterprise data storage solutions. Frank plans to retire from Avatek at the end of 2025 to focus on his philanthropic activities.

Frank currently serves as President of the Boston Bruins Alumni Association, where he oversees operations, strategic partnerships, and philanthropic initiatives. He has been a member of the Bruins Alumni Team for over 35 years, leveraging the power of hockey to support charitable organizations throughout New England and beyond.

Frank was introduced to the Warrior for Life Fund through his involvement with the Bruins Alumni, becoming a board member in 2019, allowing him to further his passion of supporting military families and veterans through community engagement and hockey-based programs.  In early 2025, Frank transitioned from his board role to take on a more hands-on leadership position as Program Manager, overseeing Face Off for Heroes, a multi city hockey series that brings together NHL alumni, active-duty military, veterans, and their families for experiences that foster camaraderie and build meaningful relationships.

Storytelling is at the heart of Jayme Pastoric’s work in media and public relations. He holds a Bachelor’s in photography/journalism and a Master’s in strategic communications. He recently completed 24 years of Naval service, deploying numerous times with Naval Special Operations Forces, including a combat tour in Iraq with SEAL Team Two.  He is one of a handful of Department of Defense underwater photographers and is a third-generation military artist. His work has appeared in national and international publications, including USA Hockey Magazine, Time Magazine, and National Geographic. He bunkers down in Millington, TN, with his beautiful wife, Erin, and their two boys.

Geoff has practiced in the firm’s Norfolk office since 1997 and in the Kitty Hawk office since 2019. He concentrates his law practice in taxation, ERISA, employee benefits, business transactions, real estate, and international business matters.  His taxation practice focuses on corporate taxation, limited liability company issues, and international tax as well as state and local tax.  Geoff’s employee benefits practice concentrates on qualified retirement plans, executive compensation, and welfare benefits including multiemployer plans and governmental plans.  His business transactions practice is geared toward closely held business issues and international transactions.  Geoff heads the firm’s real estate practice in the Kitty Hawk office.  Geoff served as a Law Clerk for Special Master Richard B. Abell of the United States Court of Federal Claims from 1995-97.  He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the United States Tax Court.  Geoff provides legal advice and consultation to the Warrior For Life Fund.

Jessica Branham, LCSW has been practicing in the field of clinical social work for 14 years.  She earned her BA in psychology from James Madison University in 2006 and her Master’s of Science in Social Work from Columbia University in 2008.  With a strong focus on work with children, adolescents and families, Ms. Branham completed clinical rotations throughout New York City before permanently relocating to Virginia Beach.  She worked at Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters, supporting children and their families dealing with chronic and life changing illness.  For the last 10 years Ms. Branham has been embedded locally with the Navy focusing primarily on the wellbeing of those serving as tactical specialists in naval special warfare.  She developed expertise in care of those dealing with trauma and is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy for trauma, prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy and eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.  Working with a tactical population allowed her to also specialize in mental performance, leadership development and personal growth.  Ms. Branham is passionate about the health and wellbeing of those who are driven to perform in their chosen field whether that means traditional mental health treatment or enhancement of skills through performance coaching.  She provides care that is personally tailored to each individual and based on their specific goals.  Ms. Branham is currently the owner and operator of Balanced Growth Therapy and Consulting in Virginia Beach.  In this practice which opened in 2023 she provides treatment, mental performance enhancement and individual and group consultation.  Ms. Branham is married with two children and in her free time she enjoys being outside, traveling and spending time with her friends and family.

Jonathan Haynes is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) with a master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Denver. With over eight years of experience, Jonathan specializes in high-performance coaching and mental skills training, working with elite athletes, military personnel, corporate leaders, medical professionals, and educators. His diverse clientele includes startup founders, executives, musicians, airline pilots, and more.

Jonathan’s extensive experience includes working as a resilience trainer for the United States Army and U.S. Air Force, serving as part of the U.S. Army’s Resilience Directorate at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). He has supported high-level units such as the 18th Airborne Corps, Special Operations, Combat Arms, and Combat Aviation. Additionally, he has served as a Cognitive Performance Specialist for the Department of Defense’s Human Intelligence Training-Joint Center of Excellence (HT-JCOE), where he contributed to enhancing mental performance and cognitive resilience in personnel across various critical roles.

Drawing from evidence-based techniques such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based interventions, Jonathan helps clients build resilience, enhance performance, and foster psychological flexibility. He also has extensive experience in leadership development, team dynamics, and resilience-building, offering support that empowers individuals and organizations to thrive in high-pressure environments.

Brian grew up in Carmel, Indiana, where hockey became a defining part of his life at an early age. From youth hockey through juniors and Division I, the game shaped the values of teamwork, discipline, resilience, and service that have guided him ever since. As Warrior for Life Fund’s Montana Ambassador, Brian is passionate about using hockey to strengthen the Special Operations community by connecting veterans, active-duty service members, and their families through mentorship, camaraderie, and community.

Brian is a retired Navy Commander who served 15 years in Naval Special Warfare, including multiple combat deployments with SEAL Team SEVEN and Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU). Before his military service, he played three seasons in the North American Hockey League with the Bozeman Icedogs and Youngstown Phantoms before playing Division I hockey at Bowling Green State University.

Today, Brian and his wife, Lauryn, are raising their three sons in Bozeman, Montana, where hockey remains a central part of their family’s life. He believes the rink is one of the best places to build character, forge lifelong friendships, and ensure no veteran or military family walks alone.

As a New Jersey native, Brian was raised with strong family ties to law enforcement and like many of his teammates and colleagues, was deeply affected by the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. After graduating from The Citadel in 2009, Brian deferred his commission for two years to sign a free agent contract to play professional baseball. Following (3) seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Newark Bears, and Somerset Patriots, Brian served as the Officer-in- Charge of the US Military All Star Baseball while awaiting orders to attend the US Army Aviation School of Excellence, where he earned his wings as a UH60 Blackhawk Pilot and named the Honor Graduate.

As a combat aviator, Brian completed multiple deployments to the Middle East before entering the National Guard, during which time he deployed numerous times to Africa, South America, and Iraq as a contractor with Blackwater. In 2016, he completed an inter-service transfer to the US Navy, where he served as a Troop Commander with Special Reconnaissance Team TWO and deployed numerous times supporting OGA missions across multiple theatres. His tours of duty represent the cross-section of a diverse range of individual experiences, strategic and operational readiness and a ubiquitous set of soft skills.
Brian received his MBA from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business in 2019 while on active duty as a plank owner of Naval Special Warfare’s Future Concepts & Innovation Directorate. In this role, he served as a direct report the Admiral as a uniformed subject matter expert on advanced technology trends with the potential to deliver competitive advantage across the USSOCOM enterprise.

Following multiple years building and expanding NSW’s emerging technology portfolio, Brian transitioned from Active Duty and while still serving as a Reservist with SEAL Team 17, was named the first Chief Innovation Officer to Wentworth Financial and its venture holdings company, Irongate Capital. After the company’s successful acquisition in 2021, he returned to active duty, recently appointed as the Commander, Naval Special Warfare TF UxS, overseeing all autonomy and robotics initiatives for the SEAL teams.

Brian skillfully leverages his comprehensive knowledge of the finance, government and professional sports industries to foster new and relevant partnerships with elite talent that transcends traditional norms. In addition to his commitment to uniform, Brian regularly takes part in external seminars, keynote speaking engagements and leadership symposiums for advancing technologies, national security, human optimization and organizational performance. He continues to coach baseball part-time at San Diego State University and advises multiple MLB organizations to optimize performance and leadership for their players, coaches and front office personnel.

Annie is the founder and owner of Cortex Initiative. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist through the Brain Injury Association of America and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Old Dominion University with a minor in Special Education, and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from James Madison University. Annie started her career as a middle school special education teacher and a multi-sport coach. She later became an outpatient SLP in a local hospital system, where she treated patients with a vast range of medically complex diagnoses, was the lead SLP for both the ALS and MS clinics at a nearby neurology practice, and co-facilitated a support group for people with Spasmodic Dysphonia. In addition to outpatient therapy clinics, she has worked in acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation settings, long-term care facilities, and skilled nursing facilities.

Annie has extensive clinical experience in general speech pathology with the adult population, including disorders of speech, language, cognition, voice, resonance, and swallowing. Her specific interests include working with clients who have suffered brain injuries, brain tumors, strokes, or have progressive neurological diseases, as well as clients with disorders of the voice.  She has dedicated much of her career to developing and refining materials, resources, and interventions that help strengthen the cognitive and language abilities of high-performing military service members and civilians with a history of mild traumatic brain injury.  Annie enjoys educating family members on the impact of TBI and regularly collaborates with other professionals nationwide to ensure superior care for her clients. She is nationally certified with leadership and clinical supervision experience.

Annie is the proud mother of a young son, two stepchildren, and the best doodle-dog, Bobo. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, traveling, and volunteering with her husband’s military hockey charity, Warrior for Life Fund.

Kerry Collins has over twenty years of leadership experience across sports, nonprofit organizations, media, and community engagement. As a respected executive and skilled relationship builder, Ms. Collins dedicated more than 22 years to the Boston Bruins, most recently serving as Senior Director of Community Relations. In this position, she developed and managed charitable projects, community programs led by athletes, and significant partnerships that benefited youth, families, veterans, first responders, and underserved groups across New England.

Kerry has built a strong reputation for strategically aligning mission-driven organizations, corporate partners and athletes to advance shared goals and measurable outcomes. She has collaborated extensively with national and local charities, cultural institutions, and community leaders, and currently holds leadership and advisory positions advancing philanthropy, sports, and cultural projects.

Ms. Collins’ engagement with the Warrior for Life Fund developed organically from her tenure with both the Boston Bruins and Bruins Alumni, where she worked closely with military service members, veterans, and families through various community and hockey-based initiatives. This experience highlighted the value of fostering shared experiences between athletes and military personnel, reinforcing meaningful connections. She brings this strategic, relationship-driven approach to Warrior for Life Fund, emphasizing the recognition of service, the strengthening of community bonds, and the development of programs that build trust, camaraderie, and lasting engagement.

Beyond her professional achievements, Ms. Collins is a passionate world traveler who has explored all seven continents, a committed runner with multiple marathons and half marathons completed, and an active participant in the Boston Irish Dippers weekly winter polar plunge group. She remains dedicated to service, mentorship, and leveraging sports and community involvement to drive positive change.

Diane is a nonprofit fundraising strategist with more than 30 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations serve people facing significant challenges. Over the course of her career, she has raised millions of dollars to support people with physical disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, mental health challenges, developmental disabilities, individuals who are blind or Deaf, and people experiencing homelessness. Diane enjoys working side-by-side with nonprofit leaders to engage donors and advance high-impact fundraising initiatives.

One of the most life-changing experiences of Diane’s life was volunteering on a 367-mile wheelchair race across Alaska, where she supported a paralyzed Navy SEAL who went on to win the race. Each morning the racers covered 26–40 miles before everyone packed up camp, moved to the next stage of the race, cooked dinner, and settled into their tents for the night. What Diane remembers most is the sense of community that developed along the way, with athletes and crew working side-by-side and everyone doing their part to make the whole adventure possible.

Diane lives outside Boston with her 115-pound Newfoundland dog.

Claire serves as the Accountant for Warrior For Life Fund, where she manages accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and financial analysis to support the organization’s daily operations and long-term growth. After providing financial support services to Warrior For Life Fund for the past 24 months, Claire was recently promoted to Accountant, reflecting her expertise, attention to detail, and commitment to ensuring the organization remains a responsible steward of donor resources while advancing its mission. She is passionate about bringing clarity, structure, and accuracy to financial information, helping organizational leaders make informed decisions and remain focused on serving warriors, veterans, and their families.

Prior to joining Warrior For Life Fund, Claire established accounting systems and managed financial operations for dozens of organizations throughout the Hampton Roads region. Her experience includes supporting growing organizations, streamlining accounting processes, strengthening financial controls, and developing efficient systems that improve both accountability and organizational performance.

A Virginia native, Claire earned her degree from the College of Business at James Madison University and completed a minor in Nonprofit Studies. Her educational background and passion for mission-driven work have helped shape her commitment to supporting nonprofit organizations that make a meaningful impact in their communities.

Claire resides in Virginia Beach with her husband, Carter. Outside of work, she enjoys spending as much time as possible outdoors, exploring the coastal beauty of Hampton Roads, and sharing a good cup of coffee with family and friends. Through her dedication to financial excellence and service, Claire plays an important role in helping Warrior For Life Fund continue to grow its impact and support those who have served.

Laurie Wood is a Navy Veteran, Deputy Sheriff, law enforcement/firearms instructor, and stand-up comedian. In 2012, Wood fell from a roof while training academy recruits for the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office. The resulting spinal cord injury left her paralyzed. She took up sled hockey with the Warrior For Life Fund as part of her rehabilitation. Finding success, she played on the USA Women’s Sled Hockey team for three years, winning Gold in Ontario at the inaugural International Women’s Cup. Currently, she plays on two teams: the USA Warriors for disabled veterans and her beloved Warrior for Life Fund team in Virginia Beach.

Since her injury, Wood has worked as a Human Systems Integration Specialist for Cape Henry Associates, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business specializing in manpower and personnel analysis and training. She also was a firearms instructor at Colonial Shooting Academy in Virginia Beach. Through it all, she’s held onto her grit and optimism, always ready for the next challenge.

Wood lives in Virginia Beach with her son Gavin, who is following his mother’s footsteps and serving in the Navy.

Tina Ormsby is a passionate relationship builder and dedicated to helping others. She thrives in team-building environments and group gatherings, where she believes there are no strangers, only friends she hasn’t met yet. Tina is honored to be part of the Warrior for Life Fund (WFLF) family and looks forward to connecting with others at future events. With nearly ten years of experience working part-time in a customer-focused role, Tina excelled in multi-tasking, customer service, quality control, efficiency, cleanliness, organizing, ordering, pricing, and communication. She truly enjoyed working in an environment committed to caring for its customers and fostering repeat business. 

Ryan Hodge is a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief with over 20 years of military service, including leadership roles supporting advanced communications, technology integration, and mission-critical operations. Throughout his career, he specialized in delivering reliable, secure technology solutions while leading teams and managing complex technical programs.

As the IT & Systems Administrator for Warrior for Life Fund, Ryan is responsible for the organization’s technology infrastructure, including Microsoft 365, networking, cybersecurity, audio/visual systems, access control, and day-to-day technical support. His focus is on ensuring that staff and volunteers have dependable technology that allows them to concentrate on serving veterans and their families.

Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, an Associate of Science in Information Systems, and industry certifications including CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+. He is also a proud graduate of The Honor Foundation’s Group 72 leadership and transition program and is currently pursuing an MBA to further strengthen his leadership and business expertise.

Driven by a servant-leader mindset, Ryan believes technology should simplify work, strengthen security, and empower people—not become a barrier to accomplishing the mission. He is proud to support Warrior for Life Fund’s commitment to improving the lives of veterans through reliable technology and trusted partnership.

Tricia is a highly experienced Physical Therapist with more than two decades of dedicated practice in neurological rehabilitation, with a special interest in Parkinson’s Disease. She earned her Master of Physical Therapy degree from Old Dominion University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has built her career around advancing care for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, ALS, balance and vestibular disorders, and other complex neurological conditions. She is a Certified PWR! Moves Specialist and Rock Steady Boxing Coach and has held past certifications in both LSVT BIG and Vestibular Rehabilitation.

Throughout her career, Tricia has been recognized for her ability to build and elevate programs that improve patient outcomes and expand access to specialized care. She has assisted and led the development of multiple multidisciplinary clinics and neurological programs. Her leadership includes creating system-wide clinical protocols, designing Parkinson’s- and ALS-specific treatment pathways, and mentoring therapists to strengthen the quality and consistency of care. She also teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Old Dominion University assisting in course work with a focus in neurology, is a lead lecturer on the evaluation of Parkinson’s Disease, and leads a special topics course on the evaluation and treatment of Parkinson’s Disease. Additionally, she serves on the board for Empowerment Neurofitness and Wellness and assists with leading the local Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease Support Group.

Tricia is known for her empathy, compassion, collaboration, and unwavering dedication to her patients. She believes that every person deserves to feel supported, understood, and empowered throughout their therapy journey. She takes time to listen, explain, and tailor each treatment plan so patients know exactly what to expect and feel confident in their progress. Her goal is always to help her patients achieve their highest level of function and aide in them remaining active in the ways that matter most to them. Patients describe Tricia as compassionate, knowledgeable, and deeply invested in their success. She is honored to walk alongside each person she treats and is dedicated to helping them achieve meaningful, lasting improvements in their daily lives.

Dean is a native of Sault Ste. Marie, MI. He has been playing hockey since the age of 2.  He reached the level of Junior A tier II playing for the Flyers in Thessalon, Ontario, Canada.  Dean served in the United States Navy and retired after 20 years. Dean has not stopped playing hockey since he put on his first pair of skates.  His coaching experiences include various youth hockey teams and ODU’s hockey team before becoming the head coach for the WFLF sled team.  Dean is an excellent communicator and an outstanding instructor. His ability to inject humor at almost any time helps create a relaxed and enjoyable learning environment.