Flag Day Convening 2026
Flag Day Convening 2026
June 11, 2026
Aaron Hayman, Founder & CEO, SocialScout
Ellen Gustafson, Co-Founder & Executive Director, We the Veterans & Military Families
Keith Hotle, CEO, Stop Soldier Suicide
William Braniff, Executive Director, PERIL, American University
Speakers
Aaron Hayman
Founder & CEO
SocialScout
Aaron Hayman leads SocialScout, a boutique open source intelligence company that helps identify online threats to the veteran and military family community. He brings 15 years of experience in security threat analysis for federal and state governments, NGOs, and the private sector.
Ellen Gustafson
Co-Founder & Executive Director
We the Veterans & Military Families
Ellen is a proud Navy Spouse and Navy and Coast Guard Granddaughter. She is a Co-Founder and the Executive Director of We the Veterans & Military Families, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that empowers the veteran and military family community to showcase patriotic citizenship and strengthen democracy and is the organizer of the Vet the Vote Coalition. She is also the Co-Founder of the Military Family Building Coalition, the first non-profit supporting active duty military in building their families.
She previously co-founded FEED, Food Tank and co-directed the Summit Institute. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she worked at the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations World Food Program and ABC News. Ellen is the author of "We the Eaters: If We Change Dinner, We Can Change the World," has been a Fortune Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur and has given four TEDxTalks. She lives with her husband and three young children in Virginia.
Keith Hotle
Chief Executive Officer
Stop Soldier Suicide
Keith Hotle is Chief Executive Officer of Stop Soldier Suicide, an organization dedicated to preventing military suicide through suicide-specific treatment and supportive services and innovative technology. Hotle holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Wyoming and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas Law School, with 25 years of experience within the suicide prevention field. Throughout his career, he has focused on creating programs and services that meet veterans where they are, providing life-saving resources and support. Hotle is passionate about developing best-in-class systems that bring hope to veterans and empowering them to build healthy, fulfilling lives.
William Braniff
Executive Director
PERIL, American University
William Braniff is the Executive Director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University. He most recently served as the Director of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) at the Department of Homeland Security, implementing a public health-informed approach to targeted violence and terrorism prevention. Braniff previously served as the START director at the University of Maryland, the director of practitioner education at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center. Braniff spoke at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in February 2015, and the United We Stand Summit in 2022 and has testified before Congress on six occasions. He is a founding board member of We the Veterans and Military Families, an organization dedicated to strengthening American democracy.
William Negley
SoundOff
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Tim Murray
TAPS
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Emily Barson
GoFundMe
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Tom Baker IV
Principal Investigator
Ground Truth NC
Tom Baker IV is a twelfth-generation American and Navy veteran with a decade of active service. From 2022-2026, Tom served as the North Carolina State Lead for Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative he built a statewide threat monitoring network protecting election workers and civic organizations across three election cycles. He is the founder of Ground Truth NC, applying intelligence tradecraft to threats facing democratic institutions, and of Wake Forest Matters, a local accountability journalism outlet. Tom is a graduate of the Student Veterans of America Leadership Institute and a recipient of a VFW/SVA legislative fellowship.
Kate Lurie
Consultant
Brennan Center for Justice
Kate Lurie is a consultant with the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program where she focuses on election threats. She previously served as the Director for Election Security and Foreign Malign Influence at the National Security Council. Prior to that, Kate served as Staff Director for the Foreign Malign Influence Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. She previously led teams implementing counterterrorism programs and policy at the National Counterterrorism Center. Kate received her BA in Judaic studies from the University of Oregon and her MA in international relations and religion from Boston University.
Jenn Colton
Executive Director
Americans For.
Jenn Colton is Co-founder and Executive Director of Americans For. She is a political strategist and digital marketing expert with a decade of experience working with national electoral entities, advocacy organizations, and nonprofits. Prior to joining AF full time, she was Vice President at Trilogy Interactive overseeing the influencer and content creator practice. Jenn graduated from Duke University with an honors degree in Public Policy with a concentration in Policy Journalism.
Chris Purdy
CEO
The Chamberlain Network
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Diego Echeverri
Director of Advocacy
Secure Democracy Foundation
Diego Echeverri is the Director of Advocacy at Secure Democracy USA, where he leads state-level election policy and coalition engagement efforts focused on military and overseas voting, election administration, and bipartisan democracy initiatives. A U.S. Army veteran who served with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, Diego previously worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign and served as an aide to Governor Charlie Crist in Florida. Prior to his current role, he worked in advocacy and government affairs with organizations including Americans for Prosperity and Concerned Veterans for America, building coalitions across ideological lines. Diego also co-founded a men’s accessories brand that was featured in GQ and multiple times in Washingtonian magazine. He is married to his wife Sara, and together they have a son, a daughter, an English bulldog, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel; in his free time, Diego enjoys gardening and riding his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.