Stephen Westby

Experience

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  US Army

  Sept 2005 - Jun 2010

  Human Intelligence Collector (US Army HUMINT)

  Please request full CV for details of this position

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  Centurum

  Jan 2011 - Sept 2011

  Locally Employed Persons Screener

  • Directed over 500 vetting interviews and background checks, resulting in 100% task compliance• Assessed applicants for suitability and credibility working on internationally held bases in Iraq• Produced reports outlining each interview and submitted to higher leadership• Enrolled each applicant into biometric systems to complement a database of local workers

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  Torres AES

  Apr 2013 - Sept 2014

  Locally Employed Persons Screener, Senior

  • Control daily vetting interviews of personnel who intend to work on Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi• Utilize passive techniques, tactics, and resources to establish veracity and suitability of subject• Perform background checks using available assets in order to establish credibility of each subject• Critique subordinates reports and ensure interviews are conducted to the highest standards • Interact with high-level management to direct interviews as leadership sees fit• Subjects include persons from various Middle Eastern, Asian, and European countries• Designed and implemented the policies and procedures of the vetting process on Al-Dhafra Air Base• Manage staff of six multi-national employees who conduct interviews and linguistic operationsNOTE: This is the exact same job as CLI Solutions, the contract simply changed hands in September 2014. Show less

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  CLI Solutions

  Sept 2014 - Jul 2015

  Locally Employed Persons Screener, Senior

  • Control daily vetting interviews of personnel who intend to work on Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi• Utilize passive techniques, tactics, and resources to establish veracity and suitability of subject• Perform background checks using available assets in order to establish credibility of each subject• Critique subordinates reports and ensure interviews are conducted to the highest standards • Interact with high-level management to direct interviews as leadership sees fit• Subjects include persons from various Middle Eastern, Asian, and European countries• Designed and implemented the policies and procedures of the vetting process on Al-Dhafra Air Base• Manage staff of six multi-national employees who conduct interviews and linguistic operations Show less

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  University of Arizona

  Sept 2015 - Jan 2021

  Positively shaping the experiences of student veterans and dependents as they enter the University of Arizona and decide their future!In this capacity as student staff, I have steered VETS marketing and brand recognition to new levels. I also worked with key leadership at the University of Arizona to create mandatory orientation sessions for incoming military connected students. As a member of VETS leadership, I value a collaborative relationship with my peers as we all seek to foster a cohesive environment for student veterans, service-members and dependents at the University of Arizona.As a part of my duties within VETS, I have and continue to interface with key stakeholders at the University of Arizona, from department heads to the Executive Office of the President. Additionally, being part of VETS leadership has allowed me to network and interact with the Tucson and greater Arizona communities, from local veteran service organizations and the VA to Arizona's elected Congresspeople at the state and federal levels. I'm always aware of institutional, state and federal policies governing our students at this university, their federal benefits, and my organization's interactions. Show less The SSFAB manages a budget of over $3m per year that is collected from a tuition fee at the university. The board hears proposals from organizations on campus that seek to improve the overall student experience, and votes on these proposals to be funded near the end of the fiscal year. As the Chair for the first two fiscal years, I was responsible for guiding the conversation with my ten other board members. These members and the proposals we discussed were from very diverse backgrounds and age groups, and this made for some fascinating conversation. As a member of this board, I engaged with University of Arizona senior leadership to better understand their portfolios and what stake they had in the proposals that had been submitted, so that our board was able to efficiently and effectively weigh in on each proposal. Show less As the Student Director of Mentor Services, I faced a challenge of being hired specifically for the creation of a new mentoring program called Peer Advocate Liaisons, or PALS. I used real world examples and personal & professional experience to build a backbone of this program that was centered on empowering student veterans to get the help that they needed, whether it be assistance with building a schedule for their next semester, linkage to disability resources on campus, enrollment in the VA healthcare system, or creating a plan for success as a student. Working hand-in-hand with the Assistant Dean for Military and Veteran Engagement and two academic department heads, I launched the program with six student mentors in the summer of 2017. The team still stands today, with different mentors and continued & demonstrated success helping student veterans at the university. Show less In my first job at the University of Arizona, my chief responsibility was to assist the School Certifying Official with the processing of 1600 student veteran VA benefits. Using a vast array of software from VAOnce to PeopleSoft and of course the Microsoft suite of programs, I input and processed data for the office in which I worked. Additionally, I was the front-facing portion of our office that interfaced with students on a daily basis. I pride myself on the customer service that I delivered and the knowledge that I attained in this position, and it wasn't long before I was brought into the Veteran's Education & Transition Services organization to continue helping veterans in other ways. Show less

  • Student Director of First Year Experiences - Veteran's Education & Transition Services

    Aug 2018 - Jan 2021

  • Student Services Fee Advisory Board

    Aug 2017 - May 2020

  • Student Director of Mentor Services, Veteran's Education & Transition Services

    Jan 2017 - Aug 2018

  • Admin Specialist, Veterans Service Office/Residency Classification, Office of the Registrar

    Sept 2015 - Jan 2017
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  United States Senate

  Apr 2018 - May 2021

  Senator Kyrsten Sinema Veteran Advisory Council - Legislative Group

  As a member of the Legislative Group, I was responsible for tracking and monitoring state and federal legislation that impacts veterans and their families. I was also responsible for providing feedback regarding opportunities for Senator Sinema to sponsor and co-sponsor legislation. Working in this capacity for the Senator allowed me to grow my knowledge of the legislative process through direct involvement with her and her staff.

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  Stephen Westby Photography

  Jan 2021 - now

  Owner & Operator

  I own my own professional photography business where I specialize in portraiture and landscape photography.

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  UArizona VETS

  Jan 2021 - May 2022

  Graduate Assistant

  My role is to coordinate, supervise, create, and manage the forward facing programs of the UArizona VETS program as a graduate assistant. My primary focus continues to be the First Year Experience of military connected students at the University of Arizona, with a new effort on recruitment and retention.

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  New York University

  Jul 2022 - now

  Assistant Director of Student Veteran Transition & Success

  In this role I work directly with NYU's military-connected students to aide them on their journey to graduation and beyond. Working closely with and as a member of the Office of Student Success, I'm able to use high-impact programming, case management, and innovative technology to reach this diverse and complex group of students.Additionally in this role, I work to bolster NYU's position as a military-inclusive institution and to improve and implement the services and programming offered to military-connected students here. Using Veteran Critical Theory as a framework, my primary focus is to listen to what our students have to say about the services they need and the issues they face. I work closely with NYU's GI Bill cert team, Student Affairs, and senior members of Enrollment Management to advocate for military-connected students in all steps of their academic journey, from application to matriculation to graduation and employment, and all steps in between. As a primary function of this role, I am also the co-chair of NYU's award-winning Veteran Working Group. The VWG exists to further the work of all who interact with military-connected students at this highly decentralized institution. Show less