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What We Do

Empower AI uses innovative technologies and their specialized platform to support federal missions and empower agency personnel to solve unique government challenges​.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

Henry Moran - U.S. Army Veteran and Technical Recruiter

Sergeant First Class Moran says the Army was his family for 17 years, and now he feels the same way at Empower AI.

Ted Jennings - U.S. Army Veteran and Program Manager

During a 30-year career in the U.S. Army, Empower AI's Ted Jennings has just about done it all.

Michael Quevedo - Army Staff Sergeant and Facility Security Officer

Michael Quevedo is a protector- it's in his blood. He draws on these skills in his role as a Facility Security and Insider Threat Officer.

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Henry Moran - U.S. Army Veteran and Technical Recruiter

Empower AI’s Henry Moran remembers the day like it was yesterday. He was a senior in high school when his mom asked him to go pick up some lunch at a new restaurant one Saturday afternoon. While looking for the restaurant, he got a little lost in the New Jersey neighborhood and stopped into a nearby Army recruiter’s office for directions.


But the direction he received that day from the recruiter was a lot more than he bargained for.


“I signed up on the spot,” said Moran, who ironically, wound up serving 17 years in the Army, finishing his service as a recruiter.


At the time, Moran, who is now a senior recruiter for Empower AI, already had plans to attend St. John’s University later that fall. But the brief conversation with the Army recruiter that early summer afternoon made him think differently about his future.


“It was a casual conversation, but I trusted him,” Moran said of the recruiter. “We just talked, and he listened. And eventually when I became a recruiter, that’s exactly what I did, and I still do today. Talk and listen.”


But Moran noted that he almost didn’t make it to boot camp at all later that summer. While working on a summer job for the city, he contracted a horrible case of poison ivy on his legs, which required significant medical care, and he even had to walk with a cane.


“I told my recruiter what happened, and he was like, ‘Sorry that happened, but you better figure it out,’” Moran said. “I definitely wasn’t 100 percent when I went to boot camp, but I made it through.”


Indeed, Moran made it through boot camp in the scorching heat of Fort Jackson, S.C., and went on to serve his next 10 years in Hawaii, first at Schofield Barracks Army Base in Oahu, and then at nearby Wheeler Army Airfield. His job that first decade was in Human Resources, but he also deployed three times to Iraq during that period, one year for each tour.


During his time in Iraq, he was thankful he didn’t have to go “outside the wire” very often, but while stationed near Sadam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit in 2006, he’ll never forget the heavy bombings that came the day after Hussein was executed.


“It was intense,” he said. “We got bombed and bombed that day, and the ground shook constantly.”


Recruiting the Next Generation

During his last tour in Iraq, he got a letter from the Army that said he was going back to the states to be trained as an Army recruiter in Alabama, which at first, wasn’t something he wanted to do. He had already worked out his next assignment to return to Hawaii.

“It was obviously a big change, but it worked out great,” he said, adding that he stayed in Dothan, Ala., for four years, where as a recruiter, he was a welcomed member of the community.


“I enjoyed it so much – I really enjoyed those kids,” he said. “I could go to any high school or college in the area, and I could always tell who needed help. Families trusted me with their kids.”


Moran ended his Army career in Sterling, Va., where he had risen to the rank of E7 (Sergeant, First Class) and oversaw the office, which included all the Loudoun County high schools and colleges. He left the Army in 2017 and joined Empower AI a few months later. He still has that sense of mission and tackles it the same way each day.


“The Army was my family for 17 years, and now at Empower AI, I feel the same way,” he said. He added that he stays in contact with almost every recruit he helped enlist.


Today, Moran has more time to focus more on family, which is the most important thing to him. He has two daughters, one of whom is only 8 years old, but despite her young age, she’s already a top 5 golfer in the state of Ohio, where he lives today.


“She’s amazing, and everyone is in awe of her ability,” Moran said proudly, adding that he was caddying for her when she got her first eagle. “She was so stoked. It was a par 4 and she drove the green. She talked about it for weeks.”


Moran also finds time for his own hobby – bowling. He made the Army team twice during his time of service, and today, he boasts an average of 208.


On Veterans Day, he doesn’t have plans to get a free meal or get any special deals as a Veteran. But he definitely will reach out to his lifelong friends from his time of service and share some memories.


“We all deserve more than a free meal, but I don’t do any of that,” he said. “I know in my heart what I did, and how I did it. I will always have those experiences.”

Michael Quevedo - Army Staff Sergeant and Facility Security Officer

Empower AI’s Michael Quevedo is a protector. It is in his blood. “Two of my uncles served in the Army when I was younger- they kind of fell in the same career path,” he said. “One was a medic, one was infantry. After seeing the military life for them, I kind of fell into that same realm. The military was appealing to me, we have a military family.”


Quevedo served in the Army as a Staff Sergeant and Military Police Officer, following his family’s path. He draws on these skills in his current role as a Facility Security and Insider Threat Officer at Empower AI. “[I] ensure that we are not being attacked from within. It is very similar to what I was doing at the Pentagon, for my previous job, as a Security Analyst supporting cyber defense,” said Quevedo.

Quevedo believes it is an honor to celebrate Veterans Day and Military Families Appreciation Month. “I think it is very important to celebrate military families, and to honor the service from the members and their families,” he said. “It is a great sacrifice on the members and the family who has to support the service member. The challenges are great, being away from their families, and it brings large challenges to family dynamics. Mental welfare is one of the great challenges.”


For Quevedo, it’s important that non-service members realize how far-reaching the impact of sacrifice can be, especially when it comes to milestones often taken for granted. “It is a tremendous sacrifice, to be away for a large portion of the year, away from your family. It is very important to recognize that one of the hardships that come from missing time with family is missing birthdays and significant events” Quevedo explained.


As he reflected on his military family members, Quevedo radiated a great deal of pride: “I believe that Veterans Day shines a light on the service of service members across all branches. Our military service members are providing protection for the country, and there are many ways to do that. You can serve in combat, and you can perform administrative duties. Any way that we can recognize [these forms of] service is important, and Veterans Day is an important way to do that.”


When asked about his proudest moment of service so far, he did not hesitate to describe his graduation from U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy, at Fort Jackson, N.C.


“I had the pleasure of attending the Drill Sergeant Academy, which affords me the opportunity to achieve the lifelong dream,” he said. “My uncle served in the military, and he wore the Drill Sergeant hat, we associate that with someone who is extremely disciplined, and I wanted to emulate that. I was blessed, and able to serve as a Drill Sergeant and train the next generations of America’s sons and daughters in arms”


He fondly remembered his fellow service members and thinks about them often: “I believe that many members of the service understand selfless service. Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population currently serves, and they have put the needs of the country above their own, they understand that serving allows the idea of something bigger and important than yourself. Many people who serve understand the idea of being a leader, among your peers, and the community, and they learn to challenge themselves to be the best. I want to be the best, work in tandem with my peers, accomplish any mission; those are the things I bring to Empower AI.”

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