WITH THE BOOT, IT’S PERSONAL.

Andrew Ward is the Founder of The Boot, where he sets the organization's strategic vision, builds statewide and national partnerships, leads government and employer engagement, and drives fundraising. His focus is on positioning The Boot as Louisiana's premier military talent attraction and retention initiative.

A U.S. Army veteran, Andrew served six years (2001-2007) as an 11 Bravo Infantryman with the Louisiana Army National Guard's 256th IBCT "Tiger Brigade," earning multiple commendations during an 18-month Operation Iraqi Freedom tour to Abu Ghraib and Ghazaliyah. After years working directly with transitioning service members through the Acadiana Veteran Alliance, he saw too many skilled military families who wanted to stay in or return to Louisiana but lacked a clear pathway to careers and community. That inspired him to found The Boot with Governor Landry's Office and the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.

As a veteran himself, Andrew knows that leaving service is about much more than finding a job; it's about finding purpose, community, and a place to call home. He believes Louisiana has everything military families need to thrive, from its culture and affordable cost of living to its family-centered communities and deep appreciation for military service.

Andrew has lived in Lafayette since coming to college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and has enjoyed every minute of being an Acadiana native with his wife and five kids. On weekends, you can typically find him at the gym, on the tennis courts, or enjoying football in the fall.

Ben Armstrong is the CEO of The Boot, where he guides and supports the team as they deliver military transition and workforce development opportunities to recruit, retain, and return military talent in and to Louisiana.

A Marine Corps veteran, Ben served as a 6312 avionics electrician on the AV-8 Harrier and deployed aboard the USS Nassau with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2002-2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. His own transition out of service shaped everything that followed: after moving to Texas for college, he was charged out-of-state tuition despite holding the GI Bill, which led him to help successfully advocate the state legislature to give all veterans immediate access to in-state tuition. He went on to serve as the inaugural Director of Veteran Services at the University of Texas at Austin, as Commander of the NOLA VFW for three years, and with NextOp, a regional veteran employment nonprofit he helped expand into four states.

Ben experienced the difficulties of transitioning out of service firsthand in 2004, and while there are more programs and resources today, he believes the foundational challenges are the same. The answer, to him, is a human touch and a simple way for supportive people to get involved. In the end, as he puts it, he'll always be a simple Marine.

For Ben, Louisiana is a place with people who help you build success, who care about family and community, and where you can have a damn good time along the way. A proud girl dad, he lives on the Northshore with his wife and two young daughters, and loves the Louisiana outdoors, whether biking, working in the yard, or getting out on the water.

Mark Collazos is the Chief of Staff at The Boot, where he keeps the executive leadership team focused on the core mission of making Louisiana a premier post-military destination and facilitates director meetings to drive process, time management, and actionable decision-making.

Mark served 24 years in the Army as an infantryman before retiring, with combat deployments spanning the 3rd Ranger Battalion in Operation Just Cause, a Special Missions Unit in Operation Restore Hope and the Bosnian War, the 501st PIR in Operation Enduring Freedom, and 1/36 IN (Mech) in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He followed his military career with 17 years as an Operational Test and Evaluation analyst for the Army's Acquisition Corps, working in the dismounted night vision division.

For Mark, serving the military is a life purpose: his father served, he served, and both his sons served. He and his family know firsthand how hard the transition to civilian life can be, and he aligns deeply with The Boot's mission to retain, return, and recruit transitioning service members to Louisiana. Born, raised, and now living in Louisiana, Mark joined the Army out of high school and returned home after retiring at 42. Having lived across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, he can say without a doubt that Louisiana, with a culture as unique and diverse as anywhere on earth, is a fantastic place to raise a family and thrive as a veteran.

In 2021, Mark was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame for a lifetime of dedication to the Ranger and Special Operations community, and in 2024 he was named a Distinguished Member of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade. Happily married for 40 years, he has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and three granddaughters with one on the way. In his free time he enjoys old cars, riding dirt bikes, and spending time with family and friends.

Wade Franklin is the Director of Programs at The Boot, where he leads the team responsible for helping service members make Louisiana home after service. He ensures his team has the resources and capabilities to engage transitioning service members and connect them to community partners who can help with employment opportunities and other needs as they exit the military.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Wade served as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS Juneau and USS Gettysburg, and in 2009 deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. After separating from the Navy in 2012, he built a career spanning small business, the veteran-support sector, and management roles across Louisiana's equipment and distribution logistics industries. As Social Mission Director at American Veterans Group he managed the firm's veteran-community partnerships, work that led to the George W. Bush Institute's Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, where he met Andrew and Ben.

Like most of The Boot's staff, Wade's own transition amounted to little more than a pat on the back and well wishes. He wasn't ready, didn't fully understand how to set himself up for success, and figured it out largely on his own because he wasn't connected to the resources that could have helped, especially around employment. Improving that experience for other service members fulfills a personal desire to provide the very thing he wishes he'd had, while strengthening the veteran community one individual at a time.

Wade believes the hardest part of leaving service is deciding where to land, and that what most service members lack is a personal and professional network. Louisiana's communities already want to welcome veterans; The Boot simply created an access point for service members to tap into that, turning a job into an instant network of people and companies invested in their success. Having met and lived in DC, Wade and his wife moved to her hometown of Baton Rouge to start their family. They have two children under three who keep them busy, they're all-in on LSU sports (home-game tailgating is an all-day commitment), and Wade's current hobby is renovating the older home they recently purchased.

Lindsey Russ is the Marketing & Events Director at The Boot, where she runs all of the organization's marketing, supports staff across the state, and plans the Louisiana Community Experiences (LCEs) and the external partner events The Boot supports throughout the year.

Her background spans retail, advertisement and promotional sales, association events, investor development, and campaign and social media management. Her years in construction and business associations connected her to economic development and the business community across Louisiana, building the relationships and regional roots that now help The Boot grow its footprint and open doors for the people it serves.

Lindsey has always loved what makes Louisiana one of a kind: the food, the fun, the history, and the hospitality, along with the economy, industry, and tourism that keep it moving. At The Boot, she gets to tie all of it together, showing service members and military families why there's no better state to build a career and call home.

A lifelong Louisiana resident, Lindsey grew up in Metairie and earned a degree in Communication Studies from LSU. She lives in Baton Rouge with her husband and two children, and stays active through her kids' school and the event committee for The Spritz, a spring benefit supporting The Retreat at Quarters Lake, an all-inclusive grief center opened by The Hospice of Baton Rouge. On weekends, you can find her at her kids' sports games, spending time with family, dinner with friends, community events around Baton Rouge, and, in the fall, at LSU games cheering on the Tigers.

Jeff Leger is the Success Director at The Boot, where he leads the case management team guiding transitioning service members and their families through every step of their employment journey, from intake to career exploration to placement. His focus is on making sure the team delivers the highest level of support, compassion, and professionalism to everyone who comes through the door, because The Boot doesn't just help people find jobs, it helps them build new lives.

Jeff enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1997 as an 0151 Administration Clerk, stationed at MCAS Miramar, California. When his Marine Corps contract ended in 2001, he immediately joined the Louisiana National Guard, deploying in 2004-2005 and later reclassifying as a 35M Human Intelligence Collector, supporting HUMINT operations, source management, and intelligence collection. He served until his retirement in 2023, spending his final 12 years in recruiting, which became one of the most meaningful parts of his career. After retiring, he worked several recruiting roles but kept feeling something was missing, until the opportunity to join The Boot brought his work full circle: after a career spent bringing people into the military, he now helps them build their next chapter after service.

For Jeff, the chance to help his brothers and sisters in uniform is like no other. Service members share a bond that's hard to explain, a common language and an understanding that they show up for one another, and taking on this role was a no-brainer. It feels to him like he never left the military; he just exchanged his uniform for civilian clothes. The team at The Boot is tight, mission-driven, and committed, and he still gets that same sense of service in a different capacity.

To Jeff, this is Sportsman's Paradise: the food, the festivals, the culture, the people. He's been all over, and while there are beautiful places everywhere, he believes Louisiana has a little piece of all of them rolled into one. A proud resident of Eunice, Louisiana, a place that reflects everything he loves about this state, Jeff is a happily married father who, when he isn't helping service members build their next chapter, can usually be found in a deer stand or on his tractor working his land. For him, helping veterans transition here isn't just a job, it's personal.

Hannah Carey is the Barksdale Air Force Base Ambassador for The Boot, working day to day with a large pipeline of service members exiting service at Barksdale or returning home to Northwest Louisiana from other states. She serves all branches, walking alongside transitioning service members throughout their journey, briefing TAP and ETAP transition classes, and hosting job fairs and monthly socials that help them build the connections and network they need to land well. Behind that work, she cultivates the strategic partnerships that open doors, from the Shreveport-Bossier Military Affairs Council and the North Louisiana Economic Partnership to the Committee of 100 and the area chambers of commerce, moving companies from passive to active in their support of veteran hiring and advocating for more SkillBridge-certified employers across the region.

Hannah also serves as the 2nd Bomb Wing Honorary Command Chief, working alongside base leadership to better understand Barksdale's service members and help bridge the gap between the base and the Northwest Louisiana community. It's a role that gives her instant credibility with the very people she serves.

Hannah found this niche unexpectedly, through her own job search. As a former military spouse, she felt the weight of a 23% spouse unemployment rate, more than five times the national average, and she knows what it's like to move to Louisiana from another state and struggle to find work without the right connections. It was the leaders of Northwest Louisiana who connected her to the role she holds today, and overcoming that hardship is exactly what drives her to make sure every transitioning service member and military spouse has someone to walk beside them.

To Hannah, Louisiana is unlike any other southern state, with a culture all its own and, more importantly, a community that genuinely cares. She's seen how dedicated Shreveport-Bossier's leaders are to retaining military talent, and she believes that when people make the effort to get connected here, Louisiana opens its arms and brings them home successfully. A lifelong learner and volunteer, Hannah stays active in her church and community, can often be found working with her hands or cheering on football, and plays the flute. Born in Florida, she moved to Louisiana in 2022 and is proud to call this her permanent home, and prouder still to be a mom.

Lamar Narcisse is a Success Manager at The Boot, where he supports transitioning service members with connections to employment, education, and training opportunities across Louisiana, many of which they might not otherwise know exist. As he puts it, he's "boots on the ground."

A U.S. Army veteran, Lamar served as a Biomedical Equipment Specialist (68A) and as a sergeant leading medical maintenance operations as an NCOIC, deploying with the 10th Field Hospital at Fort Carson, Colorado in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2021-2022, where he supervised soldiers and kept life-saving medical equipment mission ready. Before The Boot, he earned a bachelor's degree in Communications from LSU and worked his way up in the oil and gas industry from operator to engineer while completing a master's in Human Resources. His military experience taught him to lead teams, solve problems, and build relationships under pressure, and that naturally led him to the work he does now.

Lamar's connection to the mission is firsthand: he was once a transitioning service member who used The Boot's own services and resources. He knows the process can be both exciting and challenging, and he understands how hard it is to navigate without a network to open doors. Before another organization could hire him, The Boot's founder saw the value in his perspective as a TSM and his HR background, and brought him on to help others make the same move.

After leaving Louisiana for his military career, Lamar quickly realized that beyond the food and culture, it's the people who make the state special, and that Louisiana is much more than meets the eye. A proud resident of Lafayette and a proud dad, you'll usually find him in the gym or at any local event centered on food, since Louisiana cuisine is the way to his heart.