Veteran Owned
We Are Members of the Community, Like You
A US Navy Veteran, OC National Search founder Michael Mitchel is passionate about continued community service. He is recognized locally and nationally for his veteran service organization (VSO) leadership, and for his creative approaches and impactful solutions to benefit VSOs.
He launched the Post 1 Foundation, and as Executive Director led the successful Veteran Community Center $2M Capital Campaign (2022). In January 2023, Michael became the Board Chair.
He has also served as the Executive Director for the historic Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1 (the first of many!) from 2013-2016, and during his tenure, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce named VFW Post 1 the Small Non-Profit of the Year in 2014.
In 2016, 9NEWS selected Michael as one of three Leader of the Year Finalists. Michael is also a Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation Leadership Denver 2017 alum.
Leadership Veteran
Leadership Veteran was founded based on Michael’s experience as Executive Director of VFW Post 1, the Post 1 Foundation and challenges faced in the Veteran Service Organization (VSO) community. In partnership with University of Denver, Leadership Veteran:
- Provides nonprofit management education to those who work/volunteer at VSOs
- Collaborate with other VSOs to better serve Veterans
- Engage, learn, share with larger nonprofit community
Commitment to Service
While still in high school, Michael attended basic training for the United States Navy. During his senior year, he served as an active reservist with NAS Whidbey Island.
Upon graduation, he went active duty as an aircraft mechanic working on F/A-18s, P-3Cs, EA-6Bs with duty stations that included VFA-192 assigned to the USS Midway (Atusgi, Japan), VP-40 at NAS Moffett Field and VAQ-133 at Whidbey Island.
