Role and Company
CEO , Devil Dog USA Inc.
Expertise
15 years experience in nonprofit
Location
Bronx , NY
About Gonzalo
I was born and raised in Bronx, New York. On my 18th birthday I enlisted into the United States Marine Corps. I served 8 years from October 2003 to November 2011, obtaining the rank of Sergeant and one tour in Fallujah, Iraq.
Upon my discharge in 2011, I had a very rough transition, which included divorce, unemployment, homelessness, and medical issues. I spent 2012, recovering my life to where I once was. In 2013, I began two internships with the Bronx Veteran Affairs and Labor Department while attending Fordham University. In this time frame I gained much knowledge and networked with many individuals and organizations around New York. Unfortunately due to limitations and regulations, I decided to pass on promising careers within these two organizations. In November 2013, I met a fellow student Veteran attending classes with me who was homeless. His story and dedication to helping Veterans changed my life. It took me a weekend to accomplish what many agencies and organizations couldn’t do in over a year, which was finding him housing so he could become stable.
Despite my own medical and personal issues; I began a full approach of building Devil Dog USA Incorporated. Within a five month period, we went from working in the University’s library to having our own office within a community center we run, incorporated with a 501c3 certification and over 5,000 individuals we assisted with everything from housing, food, employment, education and community activities. Our organization’s three main objectives are recreation, resources and housing.
All of 2013-2016 has been completely funded by a private donation and any additional funds from tax contributions. We ask more for support; used items, discounts or waived fees to accomplish our activities. My ultimate goal is to show the community, much can be done with little and that we are an organization that can be trusted. To the Veterans we aim to show them that there are organizations that follow the ethos we were taught, which are honor, courage and commitment.