E3 Project Joins U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego at Mohave County Veterans Town Hall
E3 Project team member connects with Senate leadership on veteran transition, rural service delivery, and nonprofit funding pathways in Northern Arizona.
On April 1, 2026, the E3 Project was honored to participate in the Mohave County Veterans Town Hall, hosted by U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego in Kingman, Arizona. The invitation-only event, organized by the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council (JAVC) of Mohave County, brought together approximately 80 veterans, community partners, and local leaders for a direct conversation about the issues impacting veterans in rural Northern Arizona.
E3 Project Community Outreach Director Mike Bailey, a United States Marine Corps veteran, represented the organization at the town hall. The event provided a meaningful opportunity to engage with legislative leadership on veteran transition challenges, including access to care, housing, and rural service delivery.
A Room Focused on Veteran Priorities
Senator Gallego is a Marine Corps combat veteran who deployed to Iraq and currently serves on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. His veterans town halls across Arizona have addressed critical topics including VA access, veteran fraud prevention, rural healthcare delivery, and mental health services. The Kingman event continued that focus with a specific lens on Mohave County’s unique challenges.
The town hall was hosted at a facility coordinated by the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Kingman that has served Mohave County veterans since 2010 through transitional housing, vocational programs, transportation assistance, and advocacy. JAVC recently opened a new Veterans Center at 315 E. Oak Street, further expanding their capacity to support veterans in the region.
The discussion centered on issues that directly connect to the E3 Project’s mission: how do we ensure veterans have structured pathways for transition, access to meaningful support, and opportunities to rebuild purpose after service? These are the questions at the heart of what E3 does every day.
Building Connections for Veterans Across Arizona
One of the most significant outcomes of the evening was a direct connection between E3 and the Senator’s Northern Arizona Director, Derek Duba, an Army veteran. Duba serves as the regional point of contact for the Senator’s office and works with veteran-serving organizations across Northern Arizona on issues related to funding, service access, and legislative advocacy.
Through this connection, E3 Project will be receiving information on federal and state funding pathways available to veteran-focused nonprofits. For an organization in the early stages of building a comprehensive leadership development ecosystem, these relationships represent more than networking. They represent the kind of alignment that helps turn vision into sustainable impact.
In recognition of E3’s presence and engagement at the event, Senator Gallego presented Mike Bailey with a U.S. Senate challenge coin, a traditional symbol of respect and recognition within the military and veteran community.
Why This Matters for Veteran Transition
Rural veterans in Arizona face unique barriers. Geographic isolation, limited access to VA facilities, fewer employment pathways, and reduced connection to veteran-specific support systems make transition harder for those living outside major metro areas. Events like the Mohave County Veterans Town Hall create space to address these challenges at the legislative level, and they create opportunities for organizations like E3 to be part of the solution.
The E3 Project was founded on the belief that veterans are not defined by the challenges of transition. They are leaders who carry discipline, resilience, and purpose. What is often missing is not ability but a structured pathway to rediscover and redirect that purpose. Through the E3 framework — Exhale, Evaluate, Emerge — we create space for veterans to decompress, reflect, and reengage with renewed clarity and direction.
Our three-layer leadership development ecosystem supports veterans from initial decompression and identity rebuilding through leadership development programs and into meaningful civilian opportunities. This model is designed to serve veterans where they are, wherever they are, and events like the Kingman town hall are a reminder that some of the most underserved veterans are in our rural communities.
Looking Ahead
Participation in events like this reflects E3 Project’s commitment to being present in the spaces where veteran policy, funding, and community support intersect. We are building an organization that not only serves veterans through our retreat and leadership programming but actively engages with the broader veteran support ecosystem to ensure our work is aligned with real needs and real opportunities.
We are grateful to the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council for organizing the event, to Senator Gallego’s office for the invitation, and to the veterans and community leaders who showed up to make their voices heard. Conversations like these shape the future of veteran services in Arizona, and E3 Project is proud to be part of that conversation.
To learn more about the E3 Project and our mission to help veterans exhale, evaluate, and emerge with purpose, visit e3-project.org.
About the E3 Project
E3 Project (legally E3 IVXP Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Brian Minzey, a U.S. Navy and Army veteran, VFW Post 7507 Commander, and doctoral candidate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. E3 stands for Exhale, Evaluate, and Emerge, a strength-based framework that guides veterans through structured decompression, identity rebuilding, and purposeful reengagement. The organization’s long-term vision is a three-layer leadership development ecosystem: nonprofit retreats, a Leadership Institute, and corporate consulting, creating a sustainable pipeline that transforms veteran experience into civilian leadership.
About the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council (JAVC)
The Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council of Mohave County, Inc. (JAVC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2010 by two U.S. Marine Corps veterans. Headquartered in Kingman, Arizona, JAVC provides transitional housing, vocational training, transportation assistance, and veteran advocacy services. Their recently opened Veterans Center serves as a centralized hub for veteran support programs across Mohave County. Learn more at javc.org.
About Senator Ruben Gallego
Ruben Gallego is a U.S. Senator representing Arizona and a Marine Corps combat veteran who deployed to Iraq. He serves on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and has championed legislation supporting veteran healthcare, mental health services, housing, and suicide prevention. The Mohave County Veterans Town Hall was part of an ongoing series of veteran-focused events the Senator has hosted across Arizona. Learn more at gallego.senate.gov.