Michael Schaefer

Army Green Beret - 10 years of service

University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business - MBA

Mike grew up in Austin, TX, and attended the United States Military Academy. He was commissioned into active duty in 2014 as an engineer officer with a degree in chemistry and was assigned to Fort Stewart, GA. 

After Mike’s first deployment to Germany and Poland in the early phases of Russian aggression, he fell in love with the Army following this deployment. He went to Special Forces Assessment and Selection. During Mike’s time as a Green Beret, he has focused on Latin America and the illicit network problem set. Mike had the unfortunate opportunity to see the extraordinary efforts of his partners in Latin America have a limited impact on disrupting these networks, which drove Mike to want to focus his efforts on the solution. 

Mike is pursuing an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. His ultimate goal is to leverage the innovative spirit of the Bay Area to tackle global issues, particularly the disruption of illicit networks. He is driven by a passion for creating legitimate economic opportunities that will bolster national security.