Washington, D.C. — The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation (GWOT Memorial Foundation), the congressionally-designated non-profit foundation tasked with planning, privately funding, and coordinating efforts to build the national Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., today welcomed two new members to its Board of Advisors.
Jared Lyon was appointed National President & CEO of Student Veterans of America (SVA) in 2016. He leads the organization’s efforts to empower student veterans using the transformative power of higher education. Since he took office, Lyon has overseen SVA’s growth to a network of more than 1,500 chapters on campuses in all 50 states and three countries representing over 750,000 student veterans.
During his tenure, he co-authored the National Veteran Education Success Tracker (NVEST), a comprehensive study of the first 854,000 student veterans to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill. In 2017 Lyon led SVA’s commitment to pass the “Forever GI Bill,” the largest expansion of college aid for military veterans in a decade with an economic impact of $3.4 Billion. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he served as a submariner and diver, taking part in multiple deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
Mrs. Jennie Taylor is the wife and Gold Star Widow of Utah Army National Guard Major Brent Taylor, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in November of 2018 while on a leave of absence from his position as Mayor of North Ogden City, Utah. Major and Mrs. Taylor are the parents of seven children. She is the founder and director of the Major Brent Taylor Foundation, a founding member of Follow the Flag—North Ogden, and an active volunteer in her children’s public schools. A former secondary educator of history, government and psychology classes, Mrs. Taylor has a passion for helping today’s youth prepare to become tomorrow’s leaders. She is currently serving as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for the State of Utah and continually looks for ways to carry on her husband’s legacy of service to God, family and country.
“The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation exists to serve those who serve,” said GWOT Memorial Foundation President & CEO Marina Jackman, “and we couldn’t be happier to welcome two incredible servant leaders to our Board of Advisors. Jared Lyon & Jennie Taylor are intimately familiar with the sacrifices that those who’ve served and are still serving in the Global War on Terrorism have made, and their leadership, commitment, and insight will be invaluable to the organization and to our shared mission.”
To learn more about the GWOT Memorial Foundation or to donate, visit gwotmf.org or follow the Foundation on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
