Current Fellows
Samantha Lostia
Currently Seeking Placement
Samantha Lostia
Samantha Lostia is originally from Concord, California. During her time in college, Samantha interned for the House of Representatives in a district office. In 2011, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserves as a Landing Support Specialist and in 2013 a Maintenance Management Specialist.
Samantha graduated from the University of California Davis in 2015. While in the Marines, she was the training NCO for about 120 Marines and the Platoon Sergeant for about 30 Marines. Samantha discharged from the Marines in 2018. As a civilian, Samantha has worked with law firms since 2015, as a private corporate start up paralegal. She obtained her Masters in Public Leadership from the University of San Francisco in 2020.
Taylor Mauney
Currently Seeking Placement
Taylor Mauney
Taylor was raised in a working-class family in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2009 he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served as an Infantry Assaultman. Taylor deployed with 1st Battalion 2nd Marines in support of the 2010 Afghanistan surge. During his first combat deployment to Musa Qala, in the volatile Helmand Province, Taylor had the privilege of serving in a variety of roles including: point man, radio man, and rocket launcher gunner. His time in Afghanistan culminated with a promotion to squad leader. As a squad leader, Taylor led an eight Marine rocket section during an emergency deployment in support of operations in Libya during the Arab Spring collapse of the Muammar Gaddafi regime.
Following his service in the Marine Corps., Taylor worked for the Department of Homeland Security’s Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Division, Asylum section, handling attorney, client, and Congressional inquiries. While working full-time for DHS and attending night school, Taylor received a full-tuition leadership scholarship from the Posse Foundation to attend Dartmouth College. While at Dartmouth, Taylor double majored in government and history. Outside of the classroom, Taylor served as the vice president of Dartmouth’s Student Veterans of America chapter and started a podcast interviewing distinguished guests and senior government officials. While at Dartmouth Taylor interned for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, the Office of Sen. Rand Paul, and Google. Taylor graduated from Dartmouth College in 2020 and continues his service to his alma mater by acting as an admissions interviewer for first-year and transfer veteran applicants.
Taylor’s passions are focused on aiding transitioning enlisted service members into higher education. Having sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan, Taylor continues to be a vocal advocate for veterans who sustained TBIs during their military service.
Lou Feaman
Currently Seeking Placement
Lou Feaman
Lou graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2008 and commissioned as a Marine Corps officer. He served as an artillery officer, completing deployments to Afghanistan with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines as a Forward Observer, and with the Joint Information Support Task Force (Special Operations) as the Current Operations Officer. Lou then worked as the Operations Officer for the Headquarters Marine Corps Casualty Affairs Section. He completed Expeditionary Warfare School in 2016 and transitioned to the Marine Corps Reserves.
During his active-duty career, Lou worked on infrastructure, economic development, and governance projects in Helmand Province Afghanistan with interagency, non-profit, and foreign partners. His second deployment to Doha, Qatar supported multiple liaisons throughout the region embedded with U.S. Country Teams focusing on theater and regional level messaging in coordination with the Department of State. While at Headquarters Marine Corps, Lou was the primary point person for developing and communicating the Marine Corps’ policy on casualty affairs in line with DoD policy and public statutes and overseeing the case management of support to surviving family members.
Lou began working in the commercial security business as the operations supervisor for Siemens Smart Infrastructure for the Washington, DC market while completing his graduate degree in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University, graduating in 2019.
In his reserve career, Lou has served as an artillery battery commander, civil affairs officer, and most recently as a staff trainer with the Marine Air Ground Task Force Staff Training Program. His primary interest is the intersection between national security, economics, and foreign policy in an ever-changing world. He is looking forward to continuing his service to the nation by supporting the policy development and constituent services of our elected leaders.
Shawn Pierce
Senator Mark Kelly
Shawn Pierce
Shawn, originally from Kansas City, Missouri, enlisted in the United States Army and completed his basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky in 2009. He commissioned as an officer through Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia in 2009. Shawn’s past duty locations include Fort Jackson, SC, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Fort Leonard Wood, MO, Fort Drum, NY, and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, VA.
During his service on Active Duty, Shawn served as Commander of the Army’s two largest companies, “US Army Headquarters Company”, and “Headquarter and Headquarters Company, US Army Garrison”. In these roles, he commanded over 8,0000 Soldiers in the National Capital Region, including Soldiers assigned to the Pentagon, White House Agencies, the Military District of Washington, and other supporting agencies. He also served as the Chief of Protocol and Executive Officer for a Warrior Transition Unit (WTU), Director of Operations for General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, and as a Battalion Adjutant in the 3rd US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard).
Shawn possesses an in-depth knowledge of defense policy and is an advocate for service members and their families. Shawn earned a Master’s degree in Legislative Affairs at The George Washington University in 2020. His passion lies in drafting, supporting, and implementing policy impacting the lives of all Americans.
Shawn continues to serve in the US Army as an officer in the Washington, DC National Guard.
Patrick Miller
Rep. Susan Wild
Patrick's bio
Originally from East Liverpool, Ohio, Patrick joined the United States Air Force in 2011. He’s an eight year active duty Air Force veteran and current member of the Air Force Reserves. While assigned to the 898th Munitions Squadron in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Patrick served as a Nuclear Weapons Team Member maintaining the most powerful weapons in the United States military’s stockpile. He was also stationed in Germany in support of NATO’s nuclear sharing and deterrence mission as a Nuclear Weapons Team Chief. Returning to Albuquerque from Germany, Patrick was assigned as a Senior Munitions Controller, responsible for groups of Airmen in direct support of nuclear weapons operations across the base. During his service, Patrick discovered a passion for policy and a desire to help other service members and veterans through the use of policy.
After leaving active duty, he moved to Omaha to study Political Science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. While studying in Omaha, Patrick got involved with his local Student Veterans of America chapter where he was elected Vice-President and was selected to attend the 2019 Student Veterans of America Leadership Institute in Washington, DC. Additionally, he worked with Student Veterans of America as policy intern during summer of 2020 as part of a program with The Washington Center. Since then, he’s been working as an Implementation Consultant with Fiserv in Omaha.
Matt Sobecki
For Country Caucus (Rep. Van Taylor)
Matt Sobecki
Matt was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. In college, he became a Spartan at Michigan State University (MSU) where he graduated with a BA in international relations with a minor in computer science. Immediately following graduation in 2016, he commissioned as an Army officer via MSU’s Army ROTC program and headed to Fort Benning, Georgia to complete infantry officer training. After training, Matt headed to Europe where he was assigned to the 2d Cavalry Regiment in Germany. He served as a platoon leader, company executive officer, and battalion planner. Following the completion of his tour in Europe, Matt had an encore tour at Fort Benning for his final year of active duty military service at Fort Benning with Army Futures Command. He tested and evaluated new technology that the Army was considering adopting. Upon leaving active duty, Matt transitioned to the Army Reserves where he continues to serve as a Civil Affairs officer.
Matt’s undergraduate education and military experience have furthered his interest and passion for public policy. Having experienced the front-line implications of U.S foreign policy at the micro level, he is interested in the opportunity to help shape foreign policy at the macro level. Matt is also interested in the study of renewable energy systems, and the intersection of new technology and public policy in the 21st century.
Matts Wilcoxen
Rep. Jimmy Panetta
Matts Wilcoxen
Matts Wilcoxen is originally from Norwalk, Connecticut and grew up in the St. Louis area. During his time in college, Matts interned on a U.S. Senate campaign in Connecticut, for the House of Representatives both on the Hill and in a district office, and worked as a Field Office Manager for two successful congressional campaigns.
Matts graduated from Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville in 2016 and commissioned as an Armor officer. After training at Ft. Benning, Matts was assigned to the 1st Armored Division as a Tank Platoon Leader. Matts deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Spartan Shield where he later became the Company Executive Officer. Upon return from deployment, Matts was selected as the Headquarters Company Executive Officer and later as Aide-de-Camp to the Deputy Commanding General and Acting Senior Commander of the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, TX. Matts left active duty in April 2020 to work in communications consulting for tech clients in the San Francisco area. Matts remains in the Army Reserve as a Civil Affairs officer.
Luke Opyd
Rep. Joe Cunningham
Luke Opyd
Originally from Coal City, Illinois, Luke enlisted in the Navy as an Aviation Electrician in 2008. The majority of his naval career was served in Japan, completing 12 deployments to regions including the South China Sea, Southeast Asia, and Australia. He was part of the first search and rescue operations during Operation Tomodachi, and completed a variety of other missions. While serving in the Navy, he graduated with highest honors from Post University with an associate’s degree in Accounting. He then graduated with distinction from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations.
A passionate advocate of education, labor, and veterans, Luke has assumed various roles of leadership in organizations such as Service to School, Student Veterans of America, and the Warrior-Scholar Project with the goal of empowering student-veterans at top academic institutions and ensuring they have the tools and resources needed to succeed. Being a recent student-veteran graduate, Luke brings extensive advocacy experience regarding student-veteran concerns at top academic institutions. Most recently, he advised Ivy League university administrators on student-veteran success and recruitment, leading to a significant increase in student-veterans at top academic institutions throughout the country.
In 2018, Luke was recognized for his veteran advocacy efforts by Student-Veterans of America as a Student-Veteran of the Year Finalist. He has experience on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Fellow for Senator Duckworth, where he advised the Senator in the areas of national defense, labor, higher education, civil rights, and veterans issues. He served as President of the Ivy League Veterans Council from 2017-2018. Luke eventually plans on continuing his studies by way of law school and a master’s degree in Public Administration.