04 / PEOPLE

Different experience.
Wider perspective.

The work begins with people who understand the complexity—and see the possibility.

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Individual experience. A shared commitment to useful work.
People & perspectives

Meet the people.

These profiles describe individual professional experience. Formal program roles are being developed; listed affiliations do not imply institutional endorsement.

Hanna Tomory

Hanna Tomory

Technology strategy and data systems

Engineer and technology executive with experience across commercial and government data environments.

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Hanna Tomory is an engineer and technology executive whose work at Palantir spans commercial and government settings. Her experience includes critical infrastructure, manufacturing, telecommunications, and finance, supported by graduate training in industrial engineering and theology. She brings a cross-sector perspective to complex data and collaboration challenges.

Christopher Grauel

Christopher Grauel

Cybersecurity and applied AI

Technology founder, cybersecurity engineer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran focused on applied AI and evidence-based validation.

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Christopher Grauel is a technology founder, cybersecurity engineer, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran. His experience spans utilities, healthcare, manufacturing, legal services, and defense-adjacent engineering. Through Arktos, his work encompasses cybersecurity operations, embedded-system validation, applied AI, and data systems, with an emphasis on reproducible testing, documented acceptance criteria, and clear evidence of performance.

Kyle Newkirk

Kyle Newkirk

Federal assistance and operational scale

Former USAID Foreign Service Officer with federal-assistance, global supply-chain and nonprofit-governance experience.

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Kyle Newkirk served as a USAID Foreign Service Officer, with postings in Washington, D.C., Kabul, and Bangkok and experience managing post-conflict and post-disaster reconstruction projects. He combines federal-assistance knowledge with global supply-chain, commercial, and nonprofit-governance experience, bringing practical insight into complex operating environments and accountable delivery.

Justin Richmond

Justin Richmond

Field implementation and stabilization

Social entrepreneur with experience deploying technology, coordinating disaster response, and supporting stabilization programs.

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Justin Richmond is a social entrepreneur who started impl. project. His background combines technology deployment, disaster response, and stabilization work. At Palantir Technologies, he directed on-the-ground implementation in the Philippines following Typhoons Haiyan and Hagupit. During two USAID deployments to Afghanistan, he coordinated the District Stability Framework and advised Afghan, military, and civilian teams in the country’s east. Earlier military service included leading an Army special-operations team in the southern Philippines, supporting stabilization, counterinsurgency, and information operations.

Henry Kaestner

Henry Kaestner

Entrepreneurship and investment networks

Technology entrepreneur and investor who has helped build businesses and networks centered on stewardship.

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Henry Kaestner is a co-founder of Bandwidth, Sovereign’s Capital, Faith Driven Entrepreneur, and Faith Driven Investor. He brings experience building technology businesses, investment platforms, and international networks of entrepreneurs and investors, connecting enterprise leadership with a deep commitment to stewardship.

Ben Peays, PhD

Ben Peays, PhD

Organizational leadership and execution

Dr. Peays is a technology founder and nonprofit operator with experience across investment, commercial businesses and organizational leadership.

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Dr. Peays is a technology founder and nonprofit operator with leadership experience spanning across over 100 countries. He brings practical experience building organizations and leading across commercial and nonprofit settings, with a background that includes investment, technology, and organizational leadership.

Jay Jakub

Jay Jakub

Relational networks, business and education transformation

Cofounder of the Economics of Mutuality approach, with over three decades of experience in national security, business, and nonprofit leadership.

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Dr. Jay Jakub brings over 3 decades of professional experience in government national security, business executive, and non-profit leadership roles. He cofounded the Economics of Mutuality approach to mutual value creation and purpose centricity in business, the Human Flourishing Foundation, and the Christian Healing Institute. His work connects family offices, business and higher education leaders, and non-profits in collaborative initiatives that span the world.

Michael Farrell

Michael Farrell

AI solutions and data architecture

Palantir engineering experience spanning diplomatic analytics, financial intelligence, asset management, and zero-to-one program development.

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Michael Farrell brings Palantir engineering experience across the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Army, and Komatsu. His work spans diplomatic analytics, financial intelligence, asset management, and zero-to-one program development.

Drawing on Austrian economics and business ethics, he demystifies complex technologies for audiences from CEOs to individual contributors, clarifying core questions, policy considerations, and practical implications.

Brian Woods, MD

Brian Woods, MD

Healthcare leadership, venture building and grant technology

Physician and CEO of Great Grants, Inc., with experience scaling healthcare operations, commercializing university technologies, and developing AI-powered tools for mission-driven organizations.

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Brian Woods, MD, is CEO of Great Grants, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas. A former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, he helped grow NorthStar Anesthesia through business development, operations, clinical engagement, and technology initiatives.

As founder and managing partner of Waco Ventures, he has helped launch companies built on university research. His experience spans healthcare, early-stage investing, and nonprofit leadership. At Great Grants, he works on an AI-powered platform helping mission-driven organizations pursue public-private funding opportunities.

Robert Benedict

Robert Benedict

Data engineering and application development

Data engineer and application developer with over six years of experience supporting the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and CDC.

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Robert Benedict brings over six years of data engineering and analytics experience supporting the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and CDC. Specializing in Palantir Foundry, he develops applications, automates workflows, and delivers AI-powered solutions that modernize legacy systems. His collaborative, mission-focused approach translates complex data into practical insights for government stakeholders.

People in the process

Technical judgment.
Practical context.

A useful answer requires more than a dataset.

  • Technical expertise helps organize and test the information.

  • Operational experience helps identify what is feasible.

  • Philanthropic perspective clarifies how resources might contribute.

  • Local knowledge helps explain conditions that the records alone cannot show.

These perspectives belong in the review, so the output is something participants can question, interpret, and use.

Explore the capabilities

Experience informs
the approach.

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