Our Team
Orion is a non-profit organization, founded by leaders with broad experience in school administration, admissions, law, business, and military affairs.
Orion’s Directors
Eric Peterson - COFOUNDER, DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT
Eric has worked in schools for nearly 30 years, 13 of which he spent as the headmaster of an elite American boarding school. An attorney by training, he is also an author, speaker, and a consultant and advisor to independent schools and their Boards. Eric’s father and brother served as officers in the US Army.
Lisa Molinari - COFOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Lisa is a licensed attorney, book author, and military family columnist for Stars and Stripes, the newspaper for the US Armed Forces at home and abroad. As Navy spouse to Francis for 35 years, and as a mother of three, Lisa understands the impact of frequent PCS moves on military children, and the challenges of finding quality, stable educational opportunities.
Krista Peterson - COFOUNDER, DIRECTOR, CHAIR of Scholarship Grants & Scholar Selection Committee
Krista has spent her career working with students in independent schools. She has been a college counselor, an advisor, and an admissions professional. Most recently, she has been the director of admissions at an independent school. Krista’s father served as a member of the storied 10th Mountain Division of the US Army.
Francis Molinari - COFOUNDER, DIRECTOR, CHAIR of Audit & Finance Committee
Francis is a retired United States Navy Captain, having served in naval intelligence for 28 years. Francis was assigned to multiple joint commands, where he worked closely with service men and women from the Army, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. He now works as Senior Director of Crisis Management at Charter Communications.
Victoria Serra - DIRECTOR, BOARD SECRETARY
Victoria joins Orion Military Scholarships as the daughter of two Air Force Pilots, raised with an understanding and respect for the sacrifices the members of our Armed Forces, and their families, make daily. In high school, Victoria attended Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Boarding school provided her with an opportunity to meet students from all over the world and build friendships that will last a lifetime. She is excited to support Orion's unique mission to provide the children of active military families a consistent and uninterrupted high school experience!
Martin Guay — DIRECTOR
Marty Guay is the Vice President, Business Development, at Stanley Black & Decker. In this capacity, Marty creates business value opportunities by working with startups, academia, venture capital, and global corporations. He has worked with innovation communities, universities, incubators, and accelerators across the world. Concurrently, he is working on workforce development, economic development, and advanced manufacturing strategies in Connecticut and in the United States. Marty is the Chair of the Connecticut Board of Regents. He earned a bachelor’s degree and M.B.A. from the George Washington University, and also completed the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
Benjamin Backsmeier - DIRECTOR
Benjamin Backsmeier is a Divisional Vice President at Medcor. In addition, Benjamin continues serving as an Army Officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Masters in International Security Studies from the University of St. Andrews, and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Benjamin is married to his wife, Jennifer, and they have three children.
Wayne Farmer - DIRECTOR
Wayne has over two decades of experience advising foundations, philanthropists, and families. While at Arabella Advisors, Wayne worked with the most significant global grant-making institutions, including the Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Knight Foundation, helping his clients secure global legacy opportunities, film projects, and complex planned giving structures. He works with many single and multi-family offices, private foundations, donor-advised funds, endowments, and trusts to leverage existing assets into significantly larger gifts, creating new philanthropic capital using life insurance, arbitrage, and leveraged finance.
Tammy McCreary Moore - DIRECTOR
Tammy is a military spouse and Senior Executive Advisor at the American Red Cross-National Headquarters, Service to the Armed Forces and International Services Division. In this role, she provides strategic, operational, and policy guidance in executing worldwide humanitarian service delivery to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Veterans, their families, Caregivers, and Survivors. Tammy is a National Council Member of the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle Society, a community of women leaders and philanthropists who advance the American Red Cross mission. She also serves as Consultant for the Defence Medical Welfare Service and British Red Cross in the UK and is a founding board member of the Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN).
Lukasz Stolarski — DIRECTOR
Lukasz's impressive career in sourcing and supply chain management spans over two decades, with a wealth of expertise in cost reductions, contract negotiation, strategic planning, and global teams leadership. His experience in the NATO has earned him accolades and international recognition from high-ranking officials, which attests to his deep knowledge and understanding of the military environment.
Nicholas Nelson — DIRECTOR
Nicholas Nelson has 18 years of experience as an investor and operator across defence and national security. Currently, Mr. Nelson is a Partner at MD One Ventures, the first dual-use technology focused VC fund in the UK, with 14 investments into European dual-use technology startups. Prior to this, he founded the first defence technology investment syndicate in Europe, Offset Ventures. Mr. Nelson has served in leadership roles in Europe and the U.S. at multi-billion-dollar aerospace & defence companies and a major research and development centre. He also worked as a strategy manager for a leading management consulting firm, after starting his career in government service. In addition to his investment role, Mr. Nelson is Senior Fellow for Emerging Technology & Policy at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a leading transatlantic think-tank, a lecturer at the Georgia Institute of Technology (US), and an elected Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Joe Bruns — DIRECTOR
Joe Bruns is the Global Head of Procurement and Expense Operations for Checkout.com where he responsible for leading the strategic sourcing, accounts payable, and payroll functions for the organization. Prior to this role, his career spans over two decades in the pharmaceutical, technology, and healthcare industries focused on leading transformative business process optimization initiatives that have resulted in financial and operational improvements. He served in the U.S. Army for four years, holding various leadership roles with progressive responsibilities. Joe earned a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Biology from American University and an MBA from Babson College. He and his wife Jenn have three children and live in New Jersey.
Orion’s Advisory Council
Becky Porter - ADVISOR
Dr. Becky Porter has been the CEO of the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) since 2019. Prior to leading MCEC, Becky served in all three components of the the U.S. Army — the Washington National Guard, the U.S. Army Reserves and on active duty. She retired at the Rank of Colonel. Becky is a 1983 Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Washington, where she holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University. She earned a Masters of Arts in counseling psychology from Chapman University and a Masters of Science in national security and strategic studies from the National War College. She also earned a certificate of nonprofit management from the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy in 2020. Becky and her husband, John, also a retired U.S. Army officer, live near Fort Cavazos, Texas.
Walter “Ted” Carter, Jr. - ADVISOR
Prior to his current role as the President of the Ohio State University, Ted Carter was President of the University of Nebraska. Before these two collegiate appointments, Ted served on active duty in the United States Navy for 38 years, achieving the rank of Vice Admiral. Before his military retirement, Ted was Superintendent of his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy, and President of the U.S. Naval War College. Carter is a naval flight officer with more than 6,300 flying hours, having received both a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star. He and his wife Lynda have two adult children.
David Gragan — ADVISOR
David is the Chief Administrative and Strategic Operations Officer of the National Association of State Procurement Officials, and has served at the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in the private sector with Oracle, Accenture, and CGI. He is a Fellow in the National Contract Management Association and the National Academy of Public Administration. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and served as a US Marine.
Besa Pinchotti - ADVISOR
Besa has held leadership positions at the National Military Family Association since 2013. Her passion for our military began during her time as a reporter and television news anchor. From North Carolina to Texas and Eastern Europe, her assignments opened her eyes to the military experience for service members and their families. Besa has spoken on behalf of military families around the country and internationally. To amplify NMFA’s work for military families, she also met with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, who wanted to publicly thank America’s military families for their sacrifices in ensuring the country’s freedom and independence. While in Eastern Europe, Besa was also honored with the Elena Gjika award for her philanthropic work and the Madeline Albright award for her support of military families in the United States and abroad. Besa lives on Capitol Hill with her Marine veteran husband and their three children.
Raleigh Smith Duttweiler - ADVISOR
Raleigh grew up in a military family, married into the military, and is now raising three military kids of her own. Her passion for supporting our military began when she interviewed her grandfather about his experience fighting in the Battle of the Bulge for a third grade project. A former reporter, Raleigh’s work has been featured on National Public Radio and in the New York Times, USA Today, Military.com, and others. Raleigh is Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Military Family Association (NMFA), where she supports the partnerships, programs, communications, and research teams. She has served on the White Oak Steering Committee and as co-chair of the Communications Committee for The Military Coalition. A proud Barnard College alumna, Raleigh completed her graduate work at Columbia University and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tom Lawson - ADVISOR
Tom is a managing director of Bank of America Private Bank Philanthropic Solutions Group. In addition to serving on the Foundation’s Board, he is a board member of the Winston-Salem Foundation, Haiti Outreach Ministries Advisory Board, Mount Tabor Baseball Backers, and Sigma Upsilon Alumni Association. Tom is married to Megan (Carrier) and they have two sons, Will and Charlie.
Benjamin Patton - ADVISOR
Benjamin Patton is the Founder and President of the Patton Veterans Project. The youngest grandson of WWII’s General George S. Patton Jr., Ben is co-author of Growing Up Patton: Reflections on Heroes, History and Family Wisdom (Berkley-Caliber, 2012). Formerly a producer and development executive at New York City’s PBS affiliate, he also operates Patton Productions, LLC, a full-service video production company. Ben has a Masters Degree in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University-Teachers College and a BA from Georgetown University. He and his family split their time between New York City and Garrison, NY.