Insight

In honor of Veterans Day, we spoke with five Nava employees who served in the U.S. military before bringing their skills to Nava. Although from various fields of service in the military, they all share a sense of mission that carries into their government service work. In this Q&A, these Veterans reflect on the lessons they carry from their service, the adjustments of transitioning to civilian work, and what it means to keep serving the public.

Featured in this article

Marvin McLain

• Current role at Nava: Vice President of Program Delivery & FedHealth Portfolio Director

• Previous military role: U.S. Air National Guard Staff Sergeant

Dina Evans

• Current role at Nava: Director of People Operations 

• Previous military role: U.S. Navy Cryptologist and Equal Employment Opportunity Investigator

Brandon Lent

• Current role at Nava: Tech Lead on New Jersey Unemployment Insurance

• Previous military role: U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialist 

Cortavia Francisco

• Current role at Nava: Senior Talent Acquisition Coordinator

• Previous military role: U.S. Army National Guard Motor Transport Operator and Human Resources Specialist

Amanda Downs

• Current role at Nava: Project Manager

• Previous military role: U.S. Army  Watercraft Operator and Paralegal

On leadership lessons carried from the military

Marvin: Military hierarchy is top-down by design, but the best leaders give autonomy. My philosophy is simple: hire talented people, set goals and outcomes, then get out of the way. I’m big on accountability. The team owns the project, I own the portfolio. I step in only for escalation or risk. It’s servant leadership: “I work for you, so what do you need?” That’s carried me from the military through consulting and into my current role.

On military culture civilian workplaces could learn from

Dina: Make sure people understand the mission, then trust them to get it done. In my military experience, a good leader gave you the objective, made sure you understood the guardrails, and trusted you to use your judgment to move forward. That trust comes with a strong sense that we’re responsible for and to each other and leaders are accountable for their people, and people are accountable to the team. I’d love to see more civilian workplaces embrace that combination of clear purpose, trust, and shared accountability.

On the biggest adjustment to civilian work

Brandon: Everything suddenly wasn’t part of my life anymore: morning PT, field training, deployments. The military gave me a built-in structure and purpose, and when that’s gone, you have to figure it out yourself. For me, that meant trying several different fields before I found civic tech. What I like about [civic tech] is that it’s a small, close-knit part of the tech industry and the work is about serving people.

On why mission-driven work matters

Cortavia: Public service is where I started my career, and it has continued to shape the work I choose to do. The military teaches you early that the work you do isn’t just about you, it’s about how citizens depend on you to do your part and do it well. I see that same sense of responsibility in Nava’s work. The systems and services we help improve affect real people, often during important moments in their lives.

On skills and habits that transfer

Amanda: The Army taught me to adapt; you get your orders, then figure out how to meet the mission as conditions change. At Nava, that looks like coming onto a project, learning what the client actually needs, and growing my skills to meet them there.

On advice for other Veterans considering Nava

Marvin: Nava’s mission-driven culture maps directly to military values: integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do. Veterans are naturally mission-focused, which is vested in what we do based on client success and the greater good, not just a paycheck. Put simply, they would be a natural fit into the things that we’re doing.

Dina: One of the things I value most about Nava is that the work has real purpose and meaning. So much of what I learned in the military translates here. But most importantly, I’d tell a fellow Veteran that you don’t have to leave your sense of service behind when you take off the uniform. At Nava, you can bring it with you, just in a different but equally meaningful way.

Brandon: We care about making a real difference in how we deliver for the people we serve. For a lot of Veterans, that sense of mission is what we miss most after leaving the service, and you’ll find that here. As a tech lead on a large project, I get to deliver real value every day, both to the people who rely on critical benefits and to the hard-working staff who serve them.

Cortavia: Many of the things the military teaches us translate incredibly well here, our ability to adapt and solve problems are essential skills. You may no longer be wearing the uniform, but you can still do work that has a meaningful impact on the people and communities you once raised your hand to serve.

Amanda: Nava is a great place to continue working toward the same mission — serving the public — but without the “hurry up and wait” culture.