John Schippert

Other than marrying his wife and becoming a father, serving as a Marine in combat has been the most important experience in John’s life. Feeling called to military service at a young age, John aspired to become the best Marine officer possible in order to provide a platoon with the leadership they deserved while learning the valuable lesson of continuous self-improvement. The young men John was tasked with leading taught him the most important lesson of his military career – if a leader can truly empower a team rather than lead by micromanagement, that team would never find itself outmatched by an obstacle. With high respect for servicemen and women, John believes he can better serve them in roles other than remaining on active duty by contributing to the strategic discussion on national security policy. With John’s old unit suffering devastating casualties, he vowed to one day earn a position from which he could influence national security policy in a manner worthy of the men and women who ultimately carry out the strategy.  

Through his experience serving as Defense Fellow to a member of the House Armed Services Committee at the Pentagon, John learned that the most effective senior leaders were not only typically trained in law and policy, but also in business skills, enabling them to make decisions on the future size and capabilities of the military while facing shrinking budgets. Now pursuing a joint law and business degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School of Business, John is committed to finding solutions to problems that are effective to both the defense of our nation and people who defend it.