Leadership
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Our Founder & CEO
Hernán Luis y Prado
Hernán Luis y Prado served in the United States Navy for 15 years as a Hospital Corpsman and then as a Surface Warfare Officer. Hernán saw three combat tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is a graduate of the Navy Surface Warfare Officer School, where he completed the Chief Engineering Officer and Combat Systems Officer curricula. His personal decorations include the Navy Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon, as well as various unit and service awards.
An accomplished businessman and civic leader, Hernán was recognized by the White House as a “Champion of Change” for Workshops for Warriors’ extensive efforts and notable achievements in helping veterans successfully transition from the military into advanced manufacturing careers.
In 2014, Hernán received the “Keith M. Turnham Humanitarian Award” in recognition of his military service and his continued commitment to serving the communities of San Diego. In 2015, Hernán was recognized by the California State Legislature as the “80th Assembly District for 2015 Veteran of the Year,” and more recently, “CEO of the Year” by the San Diego Business Journal in 2017.
In 2022, Hernán was selected by the SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration) as the Small Business Person of The Year for the state of California. Hernán will be a featured TEDx San Diego speaker in 2023.
Board of Directors
Amanda Barber
Amanda Barber is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Texas and is a registered Professional Engineer (Mechanical). She currently serves as a Commander in the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps in San Diego.
Rick Biben
Rick spent over 40 years in government and industry positions. Mr. Biben retired in late 2016 as the CEO/President of Gibbs & Cox, Inc., the leading independent naval architecture and marine engineering firm in the United States. His previous executive positions included Senior Vice President at SAIC; Vice President at CSC (now within GD); Sr. Vice President at Anteon (now GD); and Sr. Vice President at Northrop Grumman. Mr. Biben is active on a number of boards and holds leadership roles within the Shipbuilders Council of America.
Richard Eger
Richard Eger (USN) entered defense contracting consulting after a 31-year career at SAIC where he was Senior/Sector Vice President and Deputy President, with responsibility for 10,000 employees and $1.3B in revenues. His governance and regulatory expertise supports Workshops for Warriors’ efforts to secure federal funding.
Kevin (Ed) Murphy
Kevin (Ed) Murphy spent 21 of his 31 years at SAIC serving as Senior Vice President for Strategic Transactions. He specialized in mergers & acquisitions, including divestitures and equity joint ventures. His expertise in finance, strategic transactions, and defense contracting supports Workshops for Warriors’ strategic growth strategy.
Mike Shoemaker
Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, Ret., has over 20 years of senior executive experience leading complex and diverse organizations ranging from 250 to over 82,000 personnel culminating as the Commander of all Naval Air Forces. He is currently Vice President, Strategic Planning at Lockheed Martin, Aeronautics.
Ethan Weinstein
Ethan Weinstein holds a law degree from Pepperdine University. He specializes in transactional law and corporate governance, and also serves as General Counsel for Workshops for Warriors.
Peter Zierhut
Peter is the Vice President, Outside Operations for Haas Automation, Inc. Mr. Zierhut’s career at Haas spans more than 33 years, with experience including management positions in manufacturing, sales, marketing, and IT. He is a senior-level manager at Haas and is responsible for oversight of Haas Automation’s HTEC-branded education program comprising more than 2,000 institutions around the world that utilize Haas machine tools for educational purposes.
Pete Peterson
Pete, over the last 50 years, has owned and operated companies involved in many different factions of business to include public accounting, real estate development, and health clubs, and, generally, holding the position of chief financial officer and/or managing partner. He is semi-retired from the company he started in 2005, PFW Holdings, LLC, which owns and operates Planet Fitness franchises in four states. His background and expertise helps support WFW’s efforts in construction, financial analysis, and expansion of its facilities and operations.
Board of Advisors
Our Advisory Board is comprised of industry leaders who make themselves available in support of our mission. They provide guidance on issues including machining education, nonprofit governance, fundraising, and other matters.
Greg Altman
VP District Manager, US Bank
Lyle Anderson
President, C&H Machine
Dick Arendsee
Retired Executive
Rich byer
President, Bycor Construction
Marc Edwards
Philanthropist
Tuck Forsyth
Board Member, San Diego Social Venture Partners
Doug Harris
President, HE&M Saw
Elizabeth Kautzmann
Chairwoman, FMA Industrial Laser Council
Jerry Kroetch
President, Scotchman Industries
Kathy Looman
Gene Haas Foundation
Jeff Metts
President, Dowding Industries Inc.
Brenda Miyamoto
Vice President, Reliance Steel & Aluminum
Vivian Moreno
San Diego City Councilmember, District 8
Judy Oliphant
David Pelling
Tsuha Foundation
John Phillips
Principal, Fish & Richardson
Joe Riel
Executive Business Consultant, Dassault Systemes
Steve Short
President, Xebec Deburring Technologies, LLC
Steve Sprigg
Former Sr. VP Engineering, Qualcomm
Craig Vogel
VP Sales, Lenox/Stanley Black & Decker
Ward Wilson
Director, San Diego Office, The Boeing Company
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Workshops for Warriors
2970 Main Street
San Diego, CA 92113
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