Meet the Eagle OPS Team
These are the people behind the coordination, communication, and execution of Eagle OPS missions. Click READ BIO to meet each of them.
Staff & Leadership
Johnathon "Shep" Shepherd
Executive Director
Marine Corps Veteran
Rally Points: Brews & BS, Home Run, Wake Surf
Shep co-founded Eagle OPS in November 2016, when he and Jessica pulled together a team to run the DAV5K in Tulsa. That first Rally Point became a mission. A Marine Corps veteran who served as a mechanic and crew chief on the CH-46E, Shep lived the isolation that can follow service, and he built Eagle OPS so no veteran has to fight that alone. When he is not leading the mission, he would rather be deep sea fishing.
Jessica Shepherd
Marketing Director
Patriot
Jessica co-founded Eagle OPS and serves as its Marketing Director, telling the story and building the community awareness that helps veterans and their families find connection and support. She has been part of the mission from the very beginning, helping turn a shared passion for serving veterans into something far bigger than anyone imagined. To her, Eagle OPS is about building the kind of community where people laugh, share stories, give each other a hard time, and eventually become family, because family takes care of each other. The moments that stuck with her are the ones that were hard at the time, a freezing golf tournament, pouring rain the night before the Welcome Home 5K, laughing over Mexican food after a blistering Freedom Shoot, because that is where REACH ONE MORE really lives. Off the clock, she would have her own petting zoo if Shep would let her.
Ryan "Bacon" Nelson
Outreach Manager
Marine Corps Veteran
Rally Points: Firepit Nights, Game On, The Suck, Wake Surf, Trail Ops
A fellow Marine brought Ryan to a Firepit Night at Shep's place, and he has been building community ever since. For him the mission is about changing lives day to day and creating a support network that outlasts any one person. Firepit Nights are his Rally Point, where connection turns strangers into found family. Ask him about bacon at your own risk.
Keith "Safety Brief" Vinson
Outreach Manager
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Game On, Golf Nights, Firepit Nights, Brews & BS, Home Run
Keith came out to a Freedom Shoot in April 2019, had a great day, and won it. He is an Army infantry soldier and paratrooper who served at Fort Campbell, through Korea, and at Fort Bragg. To him Eagle OPS is about connection, finding like-minded veterans and watching them transform once they realize they are not alone. Off the clock, he and his wife Cristi stay busy with four kids, three grandkids, and a full house of dogs and cats.
Mission Coordinators
Jeremiah "Sixkiller" Cheatwood
Mission Coordinator / RSO
Army Veteran
Rally Points: The Suck, Dragon Ops
Jeremiah says some guy in a van told him there were free AR-15s and ammo, and the rest is history. Airborne infantry with the 82nd Airborne, he found the same found-family camaraderie at Eagle OPS that he had in the Army. During the COVID lockdowns, every Rally Point was a lifeline out of near-total isolation. Fun fact: his Scottish clan name means son of the ghillie, and he is related to William Malcolm, inventor of the rifle scope.
Haley Cheatwood
Mission Coordinator / RSO
Patriot
Rally Points: The Suck
Haley first came along to a few events with her husband and was pulled in by how welcoming everyone was. Eagle OPS gave her a way to help others that she had always wanted, and it has become found family for her and her husband both. Being part of it, she has seen how people can go through so much and still show up for each other. She drew most of her own tattoos.
Jake Morris
Mission Coordinator
Army Veteran
Jake saw a Facebook ad for free shooting for veterans, showed up to his first Rally Point, and came back to nearly every one for two years before stepping up to coordinate. He served in the Army doing repair and maintenance on the AH-64D. Firepit nights, story times, and shooting together again pulled him back into training rifle and long-range shooters. His mission is simple: reach one more, and make sure they show up next week.
Jenn Garcia
Mission Coordinator
Patriot
Rally Points: The Suck
Jenn came to Eagle OPS through a veteran friend and a community fellowship, and what started as a requirement quickly became a cause she is passionate about. Her family is full of veterans: dad, brother, grandfather, and more. Firepit nights and sitting with veterans as they tell their stories taught her that showing up and listening can matter more than having the right words. By day she helps train doctors and surgeons; her free time goes to family, events, and crocheting.
Jordan Kay
Mission Coordinator
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Pickleball
Jordan was referred to Eagle OPS by a family member who also served, and it gave him a way to keep serving after the uniform. He spent eight years in the Army in Fire Direction Control, Field Artillery. He values the camaraderie he sees among veterans and patriots at events. He has also played drums in several bands over the years, and some of that music is still online.
Vincent Rivera
Mission Coordinator
Marine Corps Veteran
Rally Points: Bogeys & Bad Knees
Vincent spent years building programs and community for veterans and military-connected students, so Eagle OPS stood out to him as an organization doing the work directly. Seventeen years in uniform, he began in the Marine Corps in aviation calibration and artillery, then served in the Air Force Reserve as a Master Sergeant. He is working on a disc golf group as a low-pressure way for veterans to get outside, compete a little, and connect. He also loves chess, funeral doom music, and, he admits, imaginary turtles.
Joshua "Shorty" Williams
Mission Coordinator
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Softball
A friend told Shorty and his wife about Firepit Night; his first event was Golf Night and he has not left since. That first night, Shep and the crew made him feel like family from check-in. In the Army he was a 13F Forward Observer, getting eyes on the enemy and calling for artillery. To him, Eagle OPS is being part of something bigger than yourself. Huge Sooners and NY Giants fan: Boomer and Go Big Blue.
Harold Farley
Mission Coordinator
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Game On, Firepit Nights
Harold got his invite from Larry King and found the mission at his first firepit night. He served six years in the Army as a 91B Combat Medic and 12B Combat Engineer. His focus is reaching out to veterans and pulling them into the family, wherever help is needed. He jokes that he never wanted a leadership role and somehow got roped into one, but he is glad to be part of Eagle OPS.
Emily Adamic
Mission Coordinator
Patriot
Rally Points: Trail Ops
Emily came to Eagle OPS through her work with a bike club and the VA, connecting veterans with mountain biking for mental wellbeing. She loves meeting the veteran community out on the trail, moving through the challenges and the joys together in a supportive group. Watching veterans ride fearlessly, she learned some had off-road one-wheel experience, which made perfect sense. A devoted dog mom and former college soccer player, she is Canadian and recently took up adult ice hockey.
Jeff "Catfish" Bartlett
Mission Coordinator / Fishing Guide
Marine Corps Veteran
Rally Points: On the Line Fishing
Shep spotted the fishing guide logo on Jeff's back window at a Veterans Day parade, struck up a conversation, and asked him to guide for Eagle OPS. As a guide, Jeff gets veterans out of their routine and onto the water, sometimes for the first time, where nature makes room for real conversation. He once had a double amputee on the boat tell him it was the best day he had had in a long time. In the Marines he was an 0311 Scout Rifleman and Forward Observer with a Security Force Riverine unit. He collects antique firearms.
Riley Carpenter
Mission Coordinator
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Golf Nights
Riley first showed up for an Eagle OPS golf tournament and has been around the Rally Points ever since. He served ten years as an Army medic with 2-16 Infantry out of Fort Riley, deploying to Afghanistan and Africa as a platoon and then company senior medic. He has been in firefights and survived an RPG blast, so he relates to those carrying trauma. Reach one more means a lot to him, because he knows how much just being there can help. When he is not on the course, he plays piano, sings, and loves a good karaoke night.
Rickey Holcomb II
Golf Nights Mission Coordinator
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Golf Nights
Rickey found Eagle OPS at the original Golf Night Rally Point in Jenks. He walked in nervous and anxious, ready to head back to his vehicle, and instead got welcomed by strangers like old friends. He credits Eagle OPS and that Rally Point with where he is today, still kicking and at 100 percent. In the Army he trained as a 94M Radar Repairer and ended up working on everything electronic, from vehicles to comms to night vision.
Christian Morgan
Mission Coordinator
Navy Veteran
Rally Points: Golf Nights
Christian came in through Golf Nights and now gives back to an organization that has done a lot for him and the local veteran community. Rally Points give him a place to relax and be himself around people who get his sense of humor. He served four years in the Navy as an Electronic Warfare Tech aboard the USS Hewitt and USS LaSalle, hitting more than twenty foreign ports. A former golf pro, he loves helping beginners make the game less frustrating.
Cristi Vinson
Mission Coordinator
Patriot
Rally Points: Freedom Balls
Cristi first came to a Freedom Shoot to cheer on her spouse and stayed for the mission. Her husband served eight years in the Army and her son six in the Navy, so supporting veterans is personal. The annual Welcome Home 5K holds a special place for her, watching the community show up and honoring the families of the fallen. She has watched friends go from isolation to leading Rally Points across Oklahoma, and it makes her heart smile.
Joe Teel
Mission Coordinator
Navy Veteran
Rally Points: Freedom Shoots
Joe was invited to an event by someone at his gym, kept coming, and became a coordinator to give back to fellow veterans. He served twenty years in the Navy operating and maintaining combat control systems on fast attack submarines. Winning the 2022 Freedom Shoots championship meant a lot, but it meant even more when a veteran thanked him for the VA benefits connection that improved his life. He is proud to help link people to the resources they need.
Sam Shoulders
Mission Coordinator / Softball
Patriot
Rally Points: Softball
Sam has known Johnathon and Jessica since their boys played sports together, and he started pitching in at events between games. Not a veteran himself, he sees this as his chance to give back to those who served. The Welcome Home 5K and the Honor Mile get him every year. His Eagle OPS brothers have shown up for him when he needed them most, and taught him it is okay to ask for help. He has two family members in Halls of Fame: his grandfather Joe, a Navy man and Oklahoma high school coaching legend, and his great uncle Jim, a 16-time world champion in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Andrew Richardson
Mission Coordinator
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Golf Nights, Softball
Andrew met Shep through cornhole and got invited to a golf tournament where fifteen strangers welcomed him like family; he still talks to most of them today. He served four years as an Infantryman with the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell and deployed to Kandahar province. Being part of Eagle OPS gives him purpose and a place in something bigger than himself. And yes, he loves penguins.
Rusty Williams
Jiu Jitsu Coordinator
Army Veteran
Rally Points: Rolls & Resilience
Rusty came out to a golf night at the Flying Tee and felt welcomed at every Rally Point since. He served nine years in the Army as a 13F Forward Observer, calling in air strikes and artillery. For him the mission is simple: help veterans find joy in life again. At home he keeps two goats, Biscuit and Oreo.