Founders & Leadership
VetVention is being built by a five-member founding team committed to creating a disciplined, credible, and sustainable platform for veteran innovation.
Building the Institution Before Scaling the Program
The founding team is currently focused on the organizational decisions that will shape VetVention for years to come: nonprofit structure, governance, invention-selection standards, intellectual property workflows, professional participation, funding, ethics, commercialization support, and the design of the initial pilot program.
We believe the quality of this foundation matters. VetVention should be able to explain how inventions are selected, how resources are allocated, how professional relationships are managed, and how the organization protects the interests of the veteran inventors it serves.
Founding Team
Warren Smith
Warren Smith is a Veteran of the US Army, serving from 1953 to 1955. He served in Germany during the Korean War, supporting US troops in the war effort. After returning from Germany, Warren earned an Associate of Science in Mechanical Technology from the University of Dayton, and a Bachelor of Sciences in Industrial Education from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. His long career was varied beginning at Monsanto Chemical Company as a Research Technician. At Monsanto, he received significant training in metallurgy for materials development, tested materials for property effects caused by a change of temperature, and worked on nose cones for space reentry vehicles. Warren also worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, where he operated all of the wind tunnels and tested wreckage from airplanes to look for defects in the material.
After leaving Ohio, Warren worked at Detroit Edison as a Vibration Specialist and Construction Technician. Warren worked as construction manager for large construction and development firms such as Wake Pratt and Barton Malow. His keen ability to solve problems in various arenas landed him national projects with Volkswagen and New York Central Railroad. He was also a construction manager for the Pontiac Silver Dome, and the John Dingle VA Hospital.
Currently, Warren is retired and enjoying staying active at 93 years of age, in San Bernardino, CA.
Jendayi Saada
Jendayi Saada is a Veteran of the US Air Force, serving from 1981 to 1989 where she earned two AAS in Avionics Electronics and Instructional Technology. While stationed at Castle AFB in Merced, CA, Jendayi repaired intercom, HF, LF, VHF, UHF, and SatCom radios. After cross training into Electronic Warfare Systems at Keesler AFB, Jendayi remained at Keesler after her training to become a Master Electronics Instructor.
After leaving the service, Jendayi earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Africana Studies, and a Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Jendayi practiced law in Detroit until she entered academia, creating student academic and bar support programs at four ABA accredited law schools across the country for nearly 20 years.
After leaving academia, Jendayi returned to the practice of law focusing on Civil Rights – Employment Law, until she retired in December 2025.
Greg Carson
Gregory D. Carson is a U.S. Air Force veteran, biomedical engineer, technology executive, and USPTO-registered patent attorney whose career has focused on solving technical problems and helping turn innovation into practical, protectable assets. His experience spans biomedical engineering, healthcare technology, software development, technology leadership, and intellectual property law.
As a patent attorney, Greg works with independent inventors, entrepreneurs, and emerging companies to evaluate inventions, develop patent strategies, and navigate the process of protecting new technologies. His engineering background gives him a practical perspective on both how inventions work and how they can be developed into commercially meaningful products and systems.
At VetVention, Greg focuses on intellectual property strategy, inventor evaluation, professional standards, and building a disciplined pathway that helps veteran inventors move promising ideas toward protection, development, and commercialization.
Andrew Kenny
Andrew Kenny is a military veteran of the US Air Force. While stationed at Hill AFB near Ogden Utah he developed repair procedures for aircraft components and determined causes of failure in alloy and composite aircraft parts. At Edwards AFB near Tehachapi California he worked on composite rocket parts.
In the private sector Andrew operated seafood processing machinery in Alaska and worked on industrial machinery at a multinational engineering company in England. Patents were relevant.
Andrew holds a bachelor of science in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Technological University, an MSc in mechanical engineering, and a PhD from Texas A&M University in College Station from analysing electromagnetics and devising novel electrical machinery. He is qualified as a United States patent agent, a chartered patent attorney in the United Kingdom, and a European patent attorney.
Lesa Johnson
Lesa Johnson is a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve Senior Master Sergeant, electrical contractor, business owner, and construction professional with experience leading teams, coordinating complex projects, and solving practical technical problems. During her Air Force career, she served as an Aerospace Medical Services Superintendent, where she planned and managed training programs, mentored supervisors, coordinated personnel resources, and worked with subject-matter experts to improve organizational performance.
In the private sector, Lesa is the owner of LE Johnson Electric LLC and has worked as an electrician and assistant project manager on commercial construction projects. Her experience includes electrical design and installation, project documentation, inspections, contractor coordination, construction drawings, submittals, closeout activities, and collaboration among clients, contractors, vendors, inspectors, and other project stakeholders.
Lesa holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Science and is continuing her education in Construction Management. At VetVention, she brings a combination of military leadership, technical judgment, project coordination, and small-business experience to the development of programs designed to help veteran inventors move promising ideas toward practical implementation and commercial opportunity.
Governance in Development
VetVention’s founders are developing a governance model intended to provide meaningful oversight while preserving the organization’s ability to make timely program decisions.
The planned structure will distinguish among organizational governance, invention selection, professional service delivery, and advisory participation. Conflict-of-interest and recusal procedures are expected to be part of that framework, particularly when an individual involved with VetVention could also provide professional services to a selected inventor.
Selection and Advisory Expertise
As VetVention develops, the organization intends to draw on independent expertise in intellectual property, engineering and science, entrepreneurship, licensing, commercialization, finance, veteran affairs, and relevant industries.
Our objective is not to assemble the largest possible advisory group. It is to involve the right people, define their responsibilities clearly, and maintain standards that support the mission.
Interested in Helping Build VetVention?
We welcome conversations with experienced leaders and subject-matter experts who believe in the mission and may be interested in future board, advisory, review, professional, or institutional roles.