Take a Risk on Yourself with Laura Gardner

How a Marine Lands in Energy Policy

Most service members start thinking seriously about life after the uniform six months out. Jim Purekal started two years out. He networked, he sat down with people who had nothing in common with his career, and he treated the whole thing like a mission with a deadline. That discipline is how a retired Marine Corps major with twenty years in aviation ended up running Virginia legislative work for Advanced Energy United, a national trade association. It is also why this episode is useful for anyone who is actually thinking about energy as a second career. Jim spent his last active duty stretch on Capitol Hill as a congressional fellow in Senator Perdue’s office, then retired out of the Pentagon. He used SkillBridge to land at SunPower for twelve weeks during the pandemic, learning the industry from the inside on a DOD paycheck. His take on that program is direct: if a service member is six months from getting out and their command does not have a plan for them, that is a leadership gap. The conversation gets into the work itself. Most days, Jim is in Richmond during the General Assembly session, working bills, educating lawmakers, meeting with member companies. Virginia sits inside PJM, the regional grid operator covering thirteen states and DC. Demand is climbing fast. Data centers, building electrification, transportation. The decisions that shape how the grid actually gets built happen in state capitals, not on cable news. Jim and Kevin also dig into the harder question for transitioning veterans. What soft skills actually transfer. What the learning curve looks like. Why sales, policy, and project development are real landing spots, not just the technical trades. And what Jim wishes he had known when he was the one buttoning up his resume and asking strangers for a conversation. The Solar Ready Vets program that helped Jim get placed has since been cut. That makes the question of where veterans find their next foothold in this industry less abstract, and more pressing. Project Vanguard Podcast is produced by ClarityForge Studios [https://clarityforgestudios.com/]. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Jim Purekal * 01:10 - Inside Advanced Energy United * 04:42 - The Virginia Legislative Beat * 05:51 - What’s Driving Virginia’s Demand * 07:27 - The Day-to-Day Policy Work * 11:27 - Why He Joined the Marines * 15:25 - SkillBridge and Landing at SunPower * 18:30 - Choosing Energy Over a Defense Contractor * 23:04 - The Congressional Fellowship * 25:43 - Preparing the Transition Early * 29:28 - Advice for Veterans Getting Out * 33:49 - What Energy Security Means to Him Resources People & Organizations * Jim Purekal (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-purekal/]) * Advanced Energy United (Website [https://advancedenergyunited.org/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/advanced-energy-united]) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindoffing/]) * Project Vanguard (Website [https://projectvanguard.com/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-vanguard-usa] - Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582528685159] - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Project-Vanguard-USA]) * Other orgs mentioned * DoD SkillBridge (Website [https://skillbridge.osd.mil/]) * Solar Ready Vets Network — IREC (Website [https://irecusa.org/programs/solar-ready-vets/]) Company & Industry News * Virginia’s 2026 Legislative Session Delivered Major Clean Energy Wins [https://advancedenergyunited.org/blog/virginias-2026-legislative-session-delivered-major-clean-energy-wins/] — by Jim Purekal * Virginia lawmakers seek to balance energy affordability, reliability in 2026 [https://www.vpm.org/generalassembly/2026-01-05/virginia-lawmakers-energy-affordability-reliability-spanberger-ceur-dominion] — VPM News Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * The Network After Service with Ken Webre [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/the-network-after-service-with-ken] * Take a Risk on Yourself with Laura Gardner [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/take-a-risk-on-yourself-with-laura] Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe [https://media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Don't Play Small with Marcus Barnes

About seven percent of Americans have served in the military. The number who actually make it from a uniform into a career that fits is smaller than it should be, and the people who fall through the cracks most often are not the officers with MBAs. They’re the junior enlisted. That’s the gap Marcus Barnes works in every day. Marcus is a Marine Corps veteran and the Energy Program Manager at NextOp Vets, the Houston-based nonprofit Kevin has long called one of the best junior enlisted placement organizations in the sector. NextOp focuses on the E3 to E7 sweet spot, the rank range where transition is hardest and the industry’s recruiting machinery is weakest. Marcus’s specific job is to take that pipeline of talent and connect it to oil and gas, utilities, and renewables. The conversation gets practical fast. Kevin and Marcus walk through how NextOp actually works, how employers plug in without paying to play, and where Project Vanguard’s swim lane ends and NextOp’s begins. PV builds the peer network. NextOp does the placement. The handoff matters, and most veterans don’t know either piece exists. The other half of the episode is the human side. Marcus gets out of the Marines after six and a half years, walks into a staffing agency, and gets told his job is called HR. He didn’t know what HR was. He’s open about how often transitioning vets assume free resources are for somebody else, not them, and how much that single mindset costs people. His parting advice is simple: Don’t play small. If you know a transitioning service member, especially a junior enlisted one staring at a graduation date with no plan, this is the episode to send them. And if you’re an employer in energy who keeps saying you want to hire more veterans but can’t find the pipeline, the pipeline is in here. Timestamps * 00:00 - Cold Open & Introducing Marcus Barnes * 01:56 - Where NextOp Stands Today * 05:03 - Why Veterans Fit Energy & Finding NextOp * 06:56 - Networking and Telling the Right Story * 11:40 - Reaching Bases & Transitioning Service Members * 14:26 - Project Vanguard and NextOp Swim Lanes * 17:31 - Sponsorship, Donations, and Funding * 19:10 - How Marcus Ended Up a Marine * 25:54 - What Transition Looks Like for Junior Enlisted Now * 28:30 - How to Support NextOp * 31:37 - Energy Security and Storm Response * 34:15 - Don’t Play Small & Wrap-Up Resoures People & Organizations * Marcus Barnes (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-o-barnes-m-a-737765a/]) * NextOp Vets (Website [https://nextopvets.org/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/nextopveterans/]) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindoffing/]) * Project Vanguard (Website [https://projectvanguard.com/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-vanguard/] - Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582528685159] - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Project-Vanguard-USA]) Company & Industry News * Veterans are ready to power America’s energy future, if we give them the chance [https://www.stripes.com/opinion/2025-11-13/veterans-can-power-american-energy-future-19755971.html] * Energy Workforce Fast Facts [https://cewd.org/resources/energy-workforce-fast-facts/] * Kiggans, Houlahan Introduce Bipartisan VET Act [https://kiggans.house.gov/2025/06/24/veterans-power-america-kiggans-houlahan-introduce-bipartisan-vet-act-to-support-veterans-and-strengthen-americas-energy-workforce/] * How NextOp Helps Veterans Get Careers in Skilled Trades [https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/how-nextop-helps-veterans-get-careers-skilled-trades.html] Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Training the Energy Workforce with Nick Martocci [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/training-the-energy-workforce-with] * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/energy-needs-a-new-pitch-veterans] * Take a Risk on Yourself with Laura Gardner [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/take-a-risk-on-yourself-with-laura] Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Combined Arms of Energy [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/combined-arms-of-energy] * Make Energy Boring Again [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/make-energy-boring-again] Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe [https://media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Take a Risk on Yourself with Laura Gardner

Laura Gardner enlisted in the Army Reserves at 17. She was one of 11 kids, seven of whom served. She didn’t have a grand plan. She needed one. Her parents kept sending recruiters to her job at a pool supply store until she finally said yes. She started in postal operations, then switched her MOS to chemical warfare when she moved to Houston. After the military, she went into oil and gas, managing subsea drilling systems and complex field operations at TechnipFMC. Today she’s the CTO of Nova Source Power Services, leading technology for solar and battery storage. That path matters here because Kevin and Laura both came up through oil and gas, and they get into why that background is an actual advantage in newer energy sectors. The operational discipline and the project management instincts carry forward. Laura also gets into what she’s seeing on the technology side: companies want the AI solution before they’ve fixed the process or the data underneath it. As she puts it, everyone skips the boring stuff, and that’s where things break. But the thread running through this whole episode is Laura’s message to veterans considering the energy industry: you already know how to do this. You’ve moved from base to base, changed jobs on short notice, and figured it out every time. The structure is the same. The values are the same. It’s just a different boss. Laura recently joined the Project Vanguard advisory board. In this episode she sits down with Kevin to talk about what she tells transitioning service members at career events, why leaving your comfort zone gets easier after the first time, and what the energy industry needs from people who’ve served. Project Vanguard Podcast is produced by ClarityForge Studios [https://clarityforgestudios.com/]. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Laura Gardner * 01:38 - Meeting at CERAWeek & Oil and Gas Roots * 04:01 - Digital Twins and Technology Adoption * 08:22 - Moving from Oil and Gas to Solar * 12:38 - AI Adoption and Skipping the Boring Stuff * 15:15 - Joining the Military at 17 * 17:07 - From Postal Operations to Chemical Warfare * 21:21 - Deciding to Get Out * 26:00 - Veterans Transitioning into Energy * 28:32 - Advisory Board & Community Leaders * 29:35 - Take a Risk on Yourself * 33:28 - Advice for Getting into the Energy Industry * 38:57 - Rapid Fire & Closing Resources People & Organizations * Laura Gardner, CTO, NovaSource Power Services (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurasparacino/]) * NovaSource Power Services [https://www.novasourcepower.com/] (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/novasourcepower]) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindoffing/]) * Project Vanguard (Website [https://projectvanguard.com/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-vanguard] - Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582528685159] - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Project-Vanguard-USA]) Company & Industry News * NovaSource Launches NovaVision AI-Enabled Platform for Asset Optimization [https://www.novasourcepower.com/] * NovaSource Selected as Long-Term O&M Partner for Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub [https://www.novasourcepower.com/] * NovaSource Partners with Doral Renewables for Mammoth Solar Project [https://www.novasourcepower.com/] Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/energy-needs-a-new-pitch-veterans] * From Sea Daddy to Mrs. Virginia with Lourdes Spurlock [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/from-sea-daddy-to-mrs-virginia-with] * The Network After Service with Ken Webre [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/the-network-after-service-with-ken] Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Your Next Mission: America’s Energy Future [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/your-next-mission-americas-energy] * Veterans in Energy & Infrastructure [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/veterans-in-energy-and-infrastructure] Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe [https://media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Power Is Not Political with Frank Macchiarola

Energy has a messenger problem. Not a technology problem, not a cost problem, not even a policy problem at its core. The people doing the work and building the projects are winning. The people telling the story are struggling. Frank Macchiarola has spent 20 years on the advocacy side of energy, first at the American Petroleum Institute and now as Chief Advocacy Officer at American Clean Power. He has worked both sides of the fuel spectrum and both chambers of Congress. When he says the divisions in energy used to be geographic, not partisan, he is speaking from direct experience. And when he says that shift is now the single biggest obstacle to building what the country needs, it carries weight that cable news commentary never will. Frank is also the first non-veteran to sit down on this podcast. That was intentional. The advocacy and external affairs lane in energy is one veterans should know about, and Frank’s perspective on what actually moves policymakers connects directly to the grassroots work Project Vanguard is building. One of the sharpest moments in the conversation is Frank’s case that renewables and oil & gas are not actually in market competition right now. Demand growth from AI, data centers, and domestic manufacturing is so large that every resource is needed. The political war between fuels does not match the reality on the ground. Frank lived that reality at API. He is living it now at ACP. A former boss of his used to share an anecdote from a senator: “I always vote with my favorite lobbyist until I hear from my constituent.” That line sits underneath the entire conversation. Who shows up matters more than who has access. Veterans, landowners, frontline workers, local business owners. Those are the voices that stop a legislator in their tracks. Frank explains why, and what ACP’s Power Votes program is doing to put that principle into practice at scale. We also get into what the external affairs career pathway looks like for veterans and why Frank’s best piece of career advice cuts against most of the guidance people hear during transition. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Frank Macchiarola * 01:41 - ACP’s Role in Clean Energy Advocacy * 03:31 - How Energy Became a Political Football * 06:59 - Energy Security as National Security * 10:30 - Renewables and Oil & Gas Are Not in Conflict * 13:35 - Why the Messaging Still Gets Mired * 17:56 - Power Votes and Grassroots Advocacy * 23:16 - Constituents as the Real Messengers * 29:19 - Authentic Voices on the Ground * 33:38 - Showing Up with Facts and Data * 36:04 - Clean Energy’s Competitive Position * 38:54 - External Affairs as a Career for Veterans * 43:33 - Closing Resources People & Organizations * Frank Macchiarola (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/macchiarola]) * American Clean Power Association (Website [https://cleanpower.org/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-clean-power-association]) * Power Votes [https://www.powervotes.com/] * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindoffing/]) * Project Vanguard (Website [https://projectvanguard.com/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-vanguard] - Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582528685159] - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Project-Vanguard-USA]) Organizations Discussed * American Petroleum Institute [https://www.api.org/] * Farm to Power [https://farmtopower.org/] * Conservative Energy Network [https://conservativeenergynetwork.org/] Company & Industry News * Clean Power Adds Record 50 GW in 2025 as Surging Electricity Demand Accelerates [https://cleanpower.org/news/report-q4-2025-clean-power-adds-record-50gw-surging-electricity-demand-accelerates/] * ACP Clean Power on the Hill [https://cleanpower.org/events/] * Clean Energy’s Ground Game: ACP Grassroots Strategy Session [https://cleanpower.org/resources/clean-energys-ground-game-grassroots-strategy-session/] Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/energy-needs-a-new-pitch-veterans] * Veterans, Policy, and the Hidden Energy Battlefield with Michael Dunn [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/veterans-policy-and-the-hidden-energy] * The Cost of Energy Chaos with Joshua Bice [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/joshua-bice] Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Make Energy Boring Again [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/make-energy-boring-again] * Veterans at ACP CLEANPOWER 2025 [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/veterans-at-acp-cleanpower-2025] Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe [https://media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

From Sea Daddy to Mrs. Virginia with Lourdes Spurlock

Lourdes Spurlock spent six years in the Navy running nuclear reactors. She was one of a handful of women on board, trained by male mentors who held her to the same standard as everyone else, and she came out the other side with thick skin, dark humor, and zero idea how to have a normal conversation with civilian women. So she entered a pageant. Not because she wanted a crown. Because she needed to relearn how to exist outside the military. How to dress for an interview. How to talk to people who didn’t get the joke. How to stop being the person nobody invites out a second time. Pageants became etiquette training, community access, and eventually a platform. She’s now Mrs. Virginia International 2026, and her platform is renewable energy, STEM, and veteran support. That alone would be a good story. But this conversation goes further. Lourdes talks about what it actually feels like to leave a world where your coworkers check on you over the weekend and enter one where nobody asks how your three-day went. She talks about choosing a smaller pond on purpose, spending nine years at Newport News Shipyard building nuclear carriers before jumping into wind energy. And she makes the case that veterans don’t need more certifications to lead in this industry. They need to know what they bring and be willing to say it out loud in 30 seconds or less. There’s a moment where Kevin asks what she wants to see happen with Project Vanguard’s fellowship over the next year. Her answer is direct: more women. Not as a talking point. Because she knows what it’s like to be the only one in the room and have nobody who gets it. Timestamps * 00:00 - Introduction & Lourdes Spurlock * 01:30 - Legislative Days in Virginia & Oklahoma * 03:47 - Social Media & LinkedIn for Veterans * 05:25 - Getting a Screening Call, Not a Job * 07:48 - Building a Network Through Community * 09:13 - Mrs. Virginia International 2026 * 10:28 - From Navy Nuke to Pageant Stage * 13:37 - Finding Mentors by Asking Why * 15:38 - Sea Daddies & Navy Mentorship Culture * 16:56 - Joining the Military & Newport News * 18:54 - Find the Small Pond First * 22:53 - More Women in the Fellowship * 27:28 - Your Story Is the Product * 29:28 - Advice for Veterans Entering Energy * 33:21 - Don’t Be Scared to Be the Only Woman Resources People & Organizations Mentioned * Lourdes Spurlock (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lourdes-spurlock-4556008b]) * Apex Clean Energy (Website [https://www.apexcleanenergy.com/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/apex-clean-energy]) * Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindoffing/]) * Project Vanguard (Website [https://projectvanguard.com/] - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-vanguard] - Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582528685159] - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Project-Vanguard-USA]) * American Clean Power Association (Website [https://cleanpower.org/]) Company & Industry News * Apex Clean Energy Closes $2.79 Billion in Financing for Three Renewable Energy Projects [https://www.powermag.com/apex-clean-energy-closes-2-79-billion-in-financing-for-three-renewable-energy-projects/] * Virginia’s First Onshore Wind Farm Under Construction in Botetourt County [https://www.wdbj7.com/2026/02/16/neighbors-concerned-about-impact-botetourt-county-wind-farm/] * Valley of Valor: Lourdes Spurlock [https://www.whsv.com/2025/03/20/valley-valor-lourdes-spurlock/] Related Podcasts by Project Vanguard * Energy Needs a New Pitch, Veterans Are It [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/energy-needs-a-new-pitch-veterans] * The Network After Service with Ken Webre [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/the-network-after-service-with-ken] * Building Energy From Experience with Jon Powers [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/building-energy-from-experience-with] Related Substack Posts by Kevin * Veterans in Energy & Infrastructure [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/veterans-in-energy-and-infrastructure] * Your Next Mission: America’s Energy Future [https://media.projectvanguard.com/p/your-next-mission-americas-energy] Get full access to Project Vanguard at media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe [https://media.projectvanguard.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]