Chris Neiweem | AVPN Director

Christopher Neiweem is an Iraq War veteran who has helped shape the political and policy landscapes at the state and the national levels over the last decade.

Neiweem is a writer, coalition builder and leader that believes smart citizenry can change society. He has impacted policy across a broad array of American industry to include: aviation safety, healthcare, education policy, defense, federal budget policy, taxes, political campaigns, emerging tech, veterans benefits, foreign policy and economic issues. He has been featured on FOX News Channel, CNN, Fox Business Network, RT America, I-24, NBC Dallas, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Military Times, NewsDay. The Dallas Morning News, Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson. The Atlantic, The Center for Investigative Reporting, The Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, and he is a regular Contributor to the Hill Newspaper.

In addition to his work with AVPN founded and operates Neiweem Group LLC, a Washington DC-based public affairs firm.

Chris has testified in front of the U.S. Congress numerous times in both the House and Senate and been at the forefront of multiple national policy campaigns. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and minor in U.S. History from Northern Illinois University, and a Masters Degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Tristan Wyatt | Advisor

Tristan Wyatt is a combat wounded veteran of “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” DoD consultant, former Secretary of the Veteran’s Affairs Commission for the city of San Francisco, former Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care leadership member (prosthetics), former Director of the Veteran’s Program at LIM Innovations: a Bay-Area prosthetic technology start-up and prosthetic industry consultant.

Motivated by the events of 9/11, Tristan joined the US Army and deployed to Iraq in the spring of 2003. Tristan lost his right leg, above the knee, during combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation.

After being retired from the Army in late 2004, Tristan pursued a decade long career at the Department of Veterans Affairs where he proudly served as the Chief of Prosthetics at the San Diego VA Medical Center. Tristan also has private sector veteran healthcare experience in addition diverse consulting experience (public, private and academia).

Tristan also volunteers his free time to prosthetic related humanitarian missions. Most recently, he summited Cotopaxi, one of the world’s highest volcanoes, in the Ecuadorian Andes (19,347 ft), for charity. That fund raiser resulted in providing 50 artificial limbs to the underserved of Ecuador.

Donald Bramer | Advisor

Don Bramer, founder and Chairman of the Bramer Group, is a veteran of both combat and Capitol Hill having served the offices and campaigns of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell at both the state and national levels. He has served as an appointee under the administration of President George H.W. Bush in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce focusing on Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, as well as the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services on the Advisory Council on Social Security. Additionally, Bramer has worked at the state and national levels of several key presidential and congressional campaigns, as well as gubernatorial races in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and continues to be actively engaged in the political process.

After 9/11, Bramer left the political arena and enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he joined a family heritage of military service stretching back to World War II. Over the years, Bramer was called up for multiple deployments with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) from 2005–2007 where he operated throughout Iraq as an intelligence officer and senior interrogator. For his tours in Iraq, Bramer was awarded two Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medals, two Combat Action Badges, the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal with two stars from the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2009, he received his commission as a Naval Officer and continued his service as a member of the reserve intelligence staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). He continues his service as a Naval Reservist at Joint Base Andrews.

Upon leaving active duty, Bramer joined the team of Phoenix Consulting, LLC in Alexandria, VA as an instructor & project manager for the development and implementation of intelligence training programs for the Defense Intelligence Agency and other federal agencies. Bramer has previously served as the deputy executive director at the national headquarters of Log Cabin Republicans; director of membership for the National Association of Manufacturers, where he worked to engage with business leaders across the country representing their views in Washington.

Don Bramer is a graduate of DeSales High School in Louisville, completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Louisville and has a Masters in Strategic Public Relations from George Washington University. He has published numerous academic articles on homelessness among veterans and the effects of the Repeal of DADT. Bramer is a contributor to Fox News and Fox Business and has been a routine guest on the Ingram Angle, Fox & Friends, Outnumbered Overtime, CBS News and various other media outlets across the globe on national security, congressional and military matters.

Today, he serves as an advisory council member of the U.S. Veterans Initiative for Homeless Veterans; an advisory council member of Veterans Campaign; Founder and Executive Director of Defend Our Nation PAC; Co-Founder and Executive Director of the veterans non- profit, American Freedom Fund; and, as Chairman of the Bramer Group.