ROBIN KYEK (Volunteer)
Trauma specialist, pastoral counselor, trained diaphragmatic breath coach, support coach
Robin Kyek works with Operation Angel Wing as a Trauma Specialist and Pastoral Counselor and is an invaluable member of our team! Her support and tireless dedication to the OPAW mission reflect her passion for helping people in every aspect of their lives.
We are always amazed at her energy and thankful for her ability to listen and connect with those struggling and help lead them out of the darkness, fog, and chaos associated with surviving traumatic events.
Robin was raised in a military family, where her father served in the U.S. Army for twenty-six years. She is now the pastor of a church in a small, rural town in east Tennessee and lives nearby with her husband of twenty-two years and seven children (and eight rescue dogs!). Four of her children are also diagnosed with Autism and anxiety in varying degrees, and her compassion, dedication, and insight are evident in the amazing success and resilience of each and every one of them.
Robin does not judge people but instead possesses the wonderful gift of true listening and a genuine desire to help people understand their faith and connect to their God when they are ready, standing firmly on the belief that we are all God’s children. She appreciates the art of tattoos and self-expression and will be the first to tell you that there is not a sinless creature on the planet. She has made her journey through trauma and losing loved ones and truly understands what it takes to navigate traumatic stress and grief.
Robin is a prayer warrior, an advocate for those who suffer, and a true leader within her family and community. We are blessed to have her as part of our Operation Angel Wing family!
AMY VANDERPOOL (Volunteer)
Trauma recovery coach, holistic wellness counselor, RTM Administrator
Amy Vanderpool serves as a Trauma Recovery Coach, Holistic Wellness Counselor, and certified administrator of the Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories (RTM) protocol. She also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and advanced training in Holistic Techniques and Remedies.
Amy is a true Veteran military wife. She and her husband, Zeke (co-founder of OPAW), have been married for 29 years. With Zeke’s 23 years of service in the Army National Guard (including deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq), and his civilian career in Law Enforcement, Amy has lived the challenges of the warrior wife. She kept their world together through it all, raising their four children on her own during the long deployments and keeping the family stitched together through the hard times.
Amy also lost her younger brother to a tragic motorcycle accident in 2007 and has battled with her own journey through grief and depression. Her ability to connect to those who are struggling and help them through the darkness comes from a place of understanding, strength, and relevance.
With a passion for herbal medicine and natural remedies, Amy and her daughter, Molly founded their own business in 2022, dedicated to creating natural remedies for common maladies. She continues to educate herself and create natural and innovative answers to wellness challenges.
Always ready to jump in and do whatever needs to be done, our team is thankful for what Amy brings to the table her compassion for those that are suffering, her experience and ability, and her devotion to the OPAW mission!
TODD MILLSAPS (Volunteer)
Trauma Interventionist, NLP Practitioner, Logistics Director, support coach
Todd Millsaps serves as a Trauma Interventionist, NLP Practitioner, and is also OPAW’s Logistics Director. Todd grew up in Iredell County, NC. He and his father trained show horses from the time he was old enough to hold a reign until the age of 17 when his father was tragically killed in a horse training accident.
At the age of eighteen, Todd became a firefighter and served as a First Responder for fourteen years.
His own journey through the challenges faced by First Responders and the trauma of losing his father at a young age created a deep desire to help others through the devastating effects of traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. This desire inspired Todd to study and become a practitioner of Neuro Linguistics Programming (NLP).
Todd’s love for travel and big rigs led him to establish his own trucking company, specializing in logistics and transportation. He brings those skills into play by managing OPAW’s support and logistics at multiple venues each year. His constant commitment to our logistical needs, his truly impressive ability to connect with people of all walks, and his genuine desire and capability to help others to better ground make Todd an invaluable member of our OPAW team!
He is also a father to four amazing children and stays busy with his wife, Mary (the creator and co-founder of OPAW) on their farm in western NC.
Lisa McCranie (Volunteer)
Support Coach, Holistic Wellness and Nutrition coach, opaw veteran’s incentive project manager
Lisa works with Operation Angel Wing as a Support Coach, a Holistic Wellness and Nutrition Coach, and as a Project Manager over our Veteran’s Incentive. Her calling to work with those who are struggling has been forged by an amazing life of adventure and high performance, and her journey to overcome her own challenges and trauma.
Lisa was an Air Force Pilot for thirteen years. She flew a host of military aircraft platforms, to include C-17, T-6, MC-12, and Twin Otter. After multiple combat deployments, she actively sought help for issues post-combat. Five years of seeking help brought no answers, and she was medically discharged for combat-related post-traumatic stress.
Upon leaving the military, she began competing for the Air Force in numerous sporting events, leading her to become involved in the Air Force Wounded Warrior program. She also represented Team USA at the Invictus Games. Her transition from military to civilian life allowed her to reinvent herself and reconnect to purpose. She attended culinary schools in the United States, Italy, and France. She traveled to India and Nepal, where she hiked to Mount Everest Base Camp and traveled the region. She then returned to the United States and earned a degree in Exercise Science and certification as a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach.
Lisa attended an OPAW event at Camp Robinson, Arkansas in early 2024 and found new levels of understanding and healing. Her passion to move through her own trauma and lead others to do the same is at the forefront of her amazing life and we are thankful to have her as a member of our OPAW team!
Jill Stephenson (Volunteer)
Support Coach, grief coach
Jill is a wonderful example of the amazing way that OPAW continues to be blessed by those that are impacted by our mission and then decide to become a part of our team and pay it forward. We are truly thankful to have her as an OPAW Warrior. She is a talented Support Coach and Grief Coach, and a truly gifted student and teacher of human connection.
Jill’s son, Ben, was killed in combat while serving in the U.S. Army. Her journey through grief has been incredibly tough, but it has forged a deep desire to help others find their way through the darkness as well. As a Gold Star Mother, she has mentored and walked alongside many who have lost family members and is even known in her son’s Army Ranger unit as “Momma Jill”. Her compassion and intuition with those who are struggling is truly remarkable.
She also has a wealth of experience in facilitating care groups and high-level events, managing risk factor and compliance programs, and is a highly accomplished motivational speaker, a talented writer, and a certified Chaplain. We are truly grateful for the depth and experience that Jill brings to our team and for the impact that she has had and continues to have for those in need of this mission!
Quitney Felps (Volunteer)
Support Coach
Quitney Felps is no stranger to a life of service. As a full time, Non-Commissioned Officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard, she dedicates her professional career to serving her Country and taking care of her fellow soldiers. Nearly a decade of experience in Human Resources and prior experience as a Law Enforcement Dispatcher and Detention Officer has given Quitney a deep understanding of the challenges that accompany a life of service, both professionally and personally.
Quitney has also navigated her own personal story with trauma and adversity. After working with OPAW and finding her way to a much better understanding of what it takes to overcome these challenges, she decided to become a part of our team and help others do the same. Her instinctive ability to connect with others and help them through the fog of trauma and anxiety is truly amazing and we are so thankful to have her working with us!
Shawn Holland (Volunteer)
Community outreach coordinator
Shawn is a great friend and partner to Operation Angel Wing. His passion to better the lives of our Veterans, service members, and first responders is a blessing to his community and all who know him. We are thankful for his support and dedication and excited that he is a part of our mission!
Shawn has dedicated his entire adult life in service of his Country and community. He is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the active Army Reserves, where he has served in leadership positions supporting natural disasters in his home state of North Carolina and other Civil Military Operations supporting units deployed across the world. Prior to that he earned his Army Ranger Tab, Air Assault Badge, U.S. Army Jump Wings and spent ten years on active duty with multiple deployments to the Middle East.
His civilian career is just as impressive and service-connected. Shawn is the Vice President of Seegars Fence Company of Rocky Mount, NC and passionately serves his community through the Disabled American Veterans Fence Initiative, installing fencing for disabled veterans with service dogs, free of charge to the Veteran. His impact is amazing, and he tirelessly supports suicide awareness and prevention training, working with Operation Angel Wing to provide training and assistance to First Responder and military organizations.
We celebrate Shawn and his incredible wife, Ashley and their beautiful military family and we are truly grateful to have them as part of our OPAW team!