In an effort to further support its mission, operation and significant growth over the past 12 months, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) has announced the transition of three team members to new roles.
Raymond Toenniessen, founding director of operations & development, has been appointed director of new initiatives & external relations. He is charged with cultivation and development of all new projects, programs and strategic initiatives for the institute, working in partnership with related IVMF departments where the programs will eventually reside. He will continue to work with senior leadership to lead the IVMF’s advancement strategy and serve as a liaison to the external advisory board. Toenniessen recently graduated with his MBA from the Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
With the appointment of former Burton Blatt Institute senior vice president Gary Shaheen as IVMF director of employment policy, Mirza Tihic has taken on the role of director of program services. Formerly IVMF director of employment programs, Tihic will now oversee all post-engagement support of veterans and military family members who have completed training through the institute’s portfolio of entrepreneurship programs. He is charged with developing and expanding the IVMF’s current portfolio of resources to aid program graduates in their transition to business ownership to create an even greater focus on post-engagement support. He will oversee all aspects of the national EBV-Technical Assistance Program (EBV-TAP), which helps EBV graduates realize and accomplish their professional and personal goals by providing mentors and corporate resource providers to help launch their businesses. In addition, he will interface with IVMF education program managers, external program directors and stakeholders to further post-program support of veterans and military family members engaged with the IVMF.
Nadine Austin, formerly IVMF office coordinator, has been promoted to administrative & financial operations manager. In this capacity, Austin will assume responsibility for budget planning and tracking, spending and accountability of all IVMF accounts in partnership with senior leadership and management, execution and preparation of all financial activity reporting functions for the IVMF, including externally funded projects. She will manage all day-to-day human resources functions, policies and procedures and assist with the organization and management of the physical space of the institute.
“As the institute grows, we are eager to best leverage the expertise of these outstanding and dedicated staff members. We are proud to have Ray, Mirza and Nadine transition into their new roles and excited to see them continue the hard work that they have been doing on behalf of the IVMF and our nation’s veterans,” says Daniel Savage, IVMF chief of staff.
