Pat Tillman Scholarship Fund

Becky Patterson is an environmental health advocate who focuses on the health effects of military environmental and occupational exposures. She returned to UMD to pursue a PhD in environmental health sciences after earning a MPH in 2018 and working in the veteran advocacy space for several years. Rebecca is a US Navy veteran and remains connected to the local veteran community through many organizations, including Team Rubicon, The Mission Continues, and Fields 4 Valor Farms. 

Colonel Brendan Dunne (Ret) recently retired after a distinguished career of active-duty service in the US Army, continuing a family tradition of public service dating back to the Spanish-American War of 1898.  As a longstanding member of the 75th Ranger Regiment and other special operations units, Brendan continually deployed over the past two decades in support of both the Global War on Terrorism and Overseas Contingency Operations serving in a variety of Command and other key leadership positions. 

Brendan has worked extensively with US Interagency, Law Enforcement, and Coalition Partners on a variety of national security issues throughout his career. Before retiring, he was the Director of the Global Analytics Platform, a leading Department of Defense software development initiative aimed at “employing data as a weapon system.” He currently advises TF 7294, a non-profit dedicated to honoring intelligence professionals who safeguarded the nation since 9/11.

Brendan holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a finance degree from the College of New Jersey, earned through an ROTC scholarship. To remain focused on his passion, he co-founded Lovelace AI, an artificial intelligence startup, where he serves as Head of Public Sector.

Brendan is pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems from the University of Maryland, College Park, as part of its inaugural class. His goal is to equip the US government with advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to revolutionize how threats to national security are detected, analyzed, and mitigated.

Erin Catob is originally from Mons, Belgium and commissioned in the Army in 2011. As a Medical Service Officer, she completed 8.5 years active duty including deploying to Wardak/Logar provinces in Afghanistan with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. Erin is now a third-year student in the Clinical Doctor of Audiology program at the University of Maryland. Upon graduation, she hopes to specialize as a cochlear implant audiologist and provide service to veterans seeking cochlear implants. In her free time, Erin enjoys running, cycling, camping, and spending time with her husband and two children. 

Joe enlisted in the Army Reserves and attended basic training between his junior and senior years of high school. Upon returning to complete high school, and at the height of sectarian violence in Iraq, Joe transitioned to active duty. Joe deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn in 2009-2010, Operation Enduring Freedom 2011-2012 and again in 2013-2014. Joe was medically separated at the Defense Language Institute in 2016 shortly after completing the 46-week Persian Farsi Intermediate Language Course. Joe engaged daily with Iraqi and Afghan civilians determined to make their countries safer. Working as an Afghan Intelligence Company mentor on a deployment, Joe trained Afghan Army Intelligence Soldiers, teaching the importance of collecting, analyzing, recording and disseminating information, while also attempting to build and implement analysis tools that were driving successful U.S. security operations that could be modified for the Afghan Army. This culminated in the first joint Afghan-American patrol supported by Afghan Army Intelligence collection in Eastern Afghanistan.

Through multiple deployments and operations, Joe witnessed how the effective management, aggregation and analysis of the masses of data on the battlefield could prevent the loss of life and protect others. Joe hopes to improve the lives of future soldiers by ensuring that policy is accurately supported by analytical products.

Sara grew up surrounded by people who dedicated their lives to the service of others despite challenges or sacrifices involved: firefighters, teachers, missionaries, nurses and lifelong volunteers. The Navy seemed a natural choice to continue the family tradition of service before self. The combination of adventure with the mission to protect personnel and property inherent in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community drew her in. After nine years of active duty as an EOD Officer, Sara transitioned to civilian life. She involved herself in several nonprofits, searching for the same sense of service. She found it, unexpectedly, in the gym. In 2012, Sara was training wounded warriors and joined a friend in developing a functional fitness competition for people with physical impairments. The competition evolved into Crossroads Adaptive Athletic Alliance, a nonprofit designed to increase inclusive fitness for all people with disabilities. Sara is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health not to be a voice for others but to make room for those voices to be heard.

Taking this experience with him, and knowing there were thousands of transgender service members also serving in silence, Landon entered into LGBTQ+ advocacy in 2013, becoming a Board Member for SPARTA, an organization which works to implement policy change and inclusion for transgender and gender non-conforming service members. In 2015, Landon began pursuing his formal education with the goal to teach English to high school students.

Jovy Batong is a veteran of the Air Force where she served for 6 years. Currently working on her Bioengineering degree, Jovy hopes to work in the field of prosthetics when she graduates. A Vice President of TerpVets and an active participant in Team River Runner, Jovy is also a member of the Society of Women Engineers and the secretary of her local community association.

Learning from his Marine Corps veteran father to always take care of others, Brian made the single best decision of his life and enlisted in the United States Army, providing him with discipline and motivation to not only accomplish his goals but serve his community. During his time in the service, Brian pushed himself while advocating for others through his leadership and mentorship to fellow soldiers. Learning from his father and through the military that alone we can make a difference, but as a community we can move mountains, Brian’s service started with an oath but continues for a lifetime.

Holding jobs in public service for over 10 years, including public education and the veterans’ space, have inspired Brian to pursue his Master’s Degree in Public Management with plans to make change as a nationally elected official. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University, Brian joined Teach for America and witnessed firsthand the achievement gap between the low-income and high-income students, inspiring his interest in social justice and policy reform. With his degree Brian plans to look for ways to collaborate between private and public entities, and eventually making a difference in an elected position.