We’re passionate and experienced professionals who are committed to serving military veterans and providing them with the services and support they deserve. We are grateful for each of our team members, and empower them to deliver the highest level of care and assistance. Please take this chance to get to know them!
“All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in this Army play a vital role. Don’t ever let up. Don’t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.”
Direct donations are one of the best ways we can fight this battle together. Your gift goes straight to programming that helps veterans and their families get the support they need.
Niki grew up in Frederick County, Maryland and now resides in Washington County with her family. She graduated from Linganore High School, completed her BA at Hood College, and later earned her MBA from Mount St Mary’s University. After college, Niki served in the United States Marine Corps as an intelligence analyst supporting Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 in Twentynine Palms, CA. During her service she served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Upon completion of active-duty serve, Niki returned to Maryland working in housing and support of active-duty service members and their families. Her passion for the military and public service made the transition to Platoon 22 the perfect next step. Niki’s involvement started with volunteering and as a member of the Board of Directors, and later transitioning into a full-time employee.
Niki enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, especially anything outdoors.
Kelly Hartsell
Veteran Navigator
Kelly is a native of Charleston, South Carolina and shortly after high school her husband’s commitment to the United States Air Force landed them in Dover, Delaware where she first experienced the military lifestyle.Following his separation from active duty, they returned to Charleston and during this time she worked in property management and was a proud small business owner. When they decided to start a family, she took on numerous roles as a stay at home mom. In 2018, her husband’s career brought them new opportunities and they relocated to Frederick, Maryland.
Her husband, Josh, currently serves in the United States Air Force Reserves and works as a Federal Law Enforcement Instructor. As a military wife for the past 20 years, she has the utmost respect for our armed forces members (and their families!) and is passionate about supporting veterans.
When she’s not at Platoon 22, Kelly enjoys exploring the outdoors with her husband, two kids and their French bulldog.
Carla Kringer
Veteran Navigator
Carla is a native of Northeast Pennsylvania and currently resides in Frederick, MD with her husband, Joe. She holds a BA is Social Welfare from Bloomsburg University and MA in Secondary School Counseling from the University of Scranton. She worked as a high school counselor in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. She held a variety of social services throughout her career. As the spouse of a disabled veteran, she understands the challenges faced by Veterans and their families following military service. Her desire to support Veterans lead to her accepting the position of Veteran Navigator at Platoon 22. She enjoys exercising, crafting, reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband, their dog Buzz, two children and three grandchildren.
Shae Yamrus
Veteran Navigator
Shae grew up an Army brat. During her father’s 26 years of service her family lived in several states and overseas. Her father’s last station before retirement was here in Maryland.
Shae graduated from Thomas Johnson High School here in Frederick. Received her Associates degree in Graphic Design from Hagerstown Business College.
With Shae being a “Jack of all trades”, she took on many different roles after college. Such as freelance graphic designer, payroll specialist, receptionist, roller derby league president, staff member for the 72 Film Fest and a self-taught seamstress.
Giving back and serving others is one of Shae’s passions. She is ecstatic to have the opportunity to help Veterans find the serves they need.
She in her spare time loves exploring and shark tooth hunting with her husband and two children.
Caleb Sebra
President, Board of Directors
Caleb grew up in Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia and joined the Marine Corps in 2002. He served in the Marine corps for just under 6 years including a tour in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. After separating from the Marine Corps, Caleb began working as a contractor for the Department of Defense before eventually starting his own contracting company. In his spare time, Caleb enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife and 8 children, running, and riding his motorcycle.
Scott McCaskill
Vice President, Board of Directors
Scott McCaskill is the President and Founder of McCaskill Financial in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland. Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Scott moved to the U.S. to study at Norwich University – the oldest private military school in America. After moving to the Washington DC and Maryland area, Scott joined a private financial firm, eventually becoming a Director, Partner and then Owner of the company.
Scott is a firm believer in giving back to the Frederick and Military communities, and actively volunteers and serves on boards for many local non-profits and charitable organizations. As well, Scott is a member of the Old Fat Bald Guys (OFBG) organization, which is a group of like-minded individuals who enjoy playing hockey together while also supporting local charities. OFBG is honored to be involved with Platoon22, in honor of David Anthony “Tony” Johnson, a friend, teammate and veteran who tragically lost his battle with PTSD.
McCaskill Financial is a full service financial planning and investment management firm, with roots in the Frederick community going back over 40 years. They assist their clients with Education Planning, Tax Strategies, Retirement Planning and Investment Management. McCaskill Financial has been voted the “Best of the Best – Financial Advisor” by the Frederick News Post and “Best of Frederick – Financial Planning” by Frederick Magazine.
Bob Hambrecht
Treasurer, Board of Directors
Bob Hambrecht is a CPA who joined Platoon22 as Treasurer in September 2016. Bob is a Director in the Not-For-Profit and Education Industry Practice at CohnReznick, LLP. He has over 22 years of non-profit experience, principally in performing audit, tax and consulting services. Bob is in charge of planning, budgeting and directing of audits of not-for-profits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States and government auditing standards. Bob also has hands-on experience with not-for-profit tax issues and is responsible for facilitating the preparation of federal and state tax returns for nonprofit organizations, primarily with trade associations and charitable organizations in and around the Washington, DC metro area. Bob resides in Olney, Maryland with his wife and 3 daughters.
Susan Kenedy
Secretary, Board of Directors
Susan Kenedy is a Public Information Officer for Montgomery County, Maryland. In her role she maintains positive relations between Montgomery County and the public while providing the media and public with accurate and timely information relating to public interest. She is responsible for media relations, writing and editing press releases, creating ceremonial documents and correspondence, and organizing special events.
Susan is also the face of County Cable Montgomery where she serves as a producer, reporter and liaison to the community. Her 25-plus years of service has contributed to the County’s transparency through news style reporting on a weekly basis, and through that work she has established herself as an effective storyteller. Throughout her career Susan has won numerous awards, most recently a 2020 NATOA Award in the Social Issues Documentary category, a 2019 Alliance for Community Media Award for Public Affairs, a 2018 NATOA Award in the Public Health Documentary category, a 2017 NATOA Award and SAAVY Award for her documentary on the heroin epidemic, and a Capital Emmy in 2015 for her short format program that focuses on economic development in the Washington D.C. region.
Susan started her career as a journalist in Princeton, New Jersey, after graduating from Iowa State in 1984 with a degree in broadcast journalism. She and her husband Steve, a 1983 aerospace engineering graduate of ISU, have five children. Since 2015 Susan has been involved in raising and training service dogs for Warrior Canine Connection, a Maryland non-profit that provides service dogs to veterans.
John Nowell
Board of Directors
John Nowell served in US Army Airborne and Infantry units in Europe, Asia, and North America. He is currently the Chief Executive at CarrTech LLC, an innovative Life Science startup with several key products that will disrupt and improve the delivery of parenteral medicines worldwide.
John also serves as a partner in Akeso Ventures, a life science investment management company focused on Maryland, DC, and Virginia. He is Vice Chairman of the Frederick Innovation Technology Center, a life science Incubator. He is a former President, Board of Trustees, Harvard Episcopal Chaplaincy.
John lives in Frederick Maryland with his beautiful wife Kelly and their 17 year old Jack Russell/Chihuahua attack dog, Scout.
James Churchill
Board of Directors
Jay grew up in Iowa and served in the United States Marine Corps for six years. Upon completion of his active-duty service, Jay returned to earn his PhD at Indiana University where he studied brain structural and functional changes following nerve injury. Jay then conducted postdoctoral research focused on brain mechanisms of aging at the Beckman Institute. Jay was an Assistant Professor in St. Louis for five years before moving to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 2007 where he provides scientific oversight and management of research projects and leads multiple high-visibility efforts. As a Senior Advisor to the NIMH Director, Jay has leadership roles both within the NIH and in collaboration with DoD and the VA. In Jay’s spare time, he enjoys pickleball, umpiring fastpitch softball, collecting and restoring antiques, and the outdoors – all with his family.
Alex Uphold
Board of Directors
Alex was born and raised in Frederick County, Maryland and now resides and owns an Insurance and Financial Services agency in Thurmont, MD. She graduated from Thomas Johnson High School and went on to graduate from The University of Maryland University College with a bachelor’s degree in Management and Certificate in Management Foundations. In 2022, Alex earned the title of Frederick Maryland’s “Top 40 Under 40” people to watch and 2022 Top Female-Owned Insurance Agency.
Alex comes from a long line of family and friends who have served and are serving in all branches of the military and feels a deep personal connection and empathy for our heroes. Her grandfather was a Major in the Army during WWII, and her brother, Army Infantry combat veteran served in Afghanistan. Her husband, Zach served in the Air Force Reserve as a Plane Mechanic/Crew Chief. Working with Platoon is Alex’s way of giving back and paying it forward in honor of her family.
Alex enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 girls who keep her busy with sports schedules and weekend trips to Deep Creek Lake.
John Loveless
Board of Directors
John Loveless was born and raised in the “Ole Line” state of Maryland. He enlisted in the USN in 1989 and served on the Aegis Cruiser CG-56 “USS San Jacinto”. While on board he qualified as a “Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist” and received numerous medals while serving during Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm. John has held several senior leadership roles with major corporations like Nortel, Avaya & currently with Extreme Networks. John is married to his high school sweetheart Jennifer. They have 5 beautiful children and live in Ijamsville, Md.
Jackie
Facility Service Dog
Jackie was born June 10, 2018 at Warrior Canine Connection in Boyds. MD. She was donated by South East Guide Dogs to become a service dog in training. Due to her infectious personality and draw to interacting with people it was decided that serving as a facility dog would be the best career path for Jackie. Jackie is named after Navy LT Jaqueline Melvin.
She currently resides with her handler, Associate Director Niki Falzone, and will be the face of the Platoon Veteran Services Center. Make sure to stop and say “hi” when visiting the center. Her favorite trick is “wiggle, wiggle” but be prepared for puppy loving! I can’t wait to meet you soon.