Michael Pacheco, Employment Support Specialist
National Guard Employment Support Program

Michael Pacheco serves as the program support specialist for The National Guard’s Employment Support Program, assisting Air and Army National Guard members and their families. He has worked closely with companies including Comcast, Eversource and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health in their hiring and retainment efforts.

Michael Pacheco served in the United States Army from 1976 to 2002 and retired at the rank of Major. In 2003, he became the Program Coordinator for Citizen Corps where he supervised New Hampshire’s largest volunteer surge in response to natural disasters along the Gulf Coast. In 2005, he was recalled by the United States Army for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served on the U.S. State Department’s Provincial Reconstruction Team as the military advisor to the Governor of Baghdad. Following his deployment, he was employed by IDS International, a defense contractor, preparing State Department and Department of Defense personnel for assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bruce Thompson, State Chairman
NH Employer Support for the Guard and Reserves

Bruce Thompson is state chairman of the NH Employer Support for the Guard and Reserves. NHESGR promotes cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers and assists in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee’s military commitment (the USERRA Act requires employers to retain their job when employees are called to duty).

Bruce served on active duty with the U.S. Navy from August 1969 until his retirement in December 1994. He served as zone supervisor for Navy Recruiting and a member of the U.S. Navy’s Career Recruiting Force, responsible for achieving monthly assigned recruitment goals in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Europe.

Grant Wege, Sales Executive
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Grant joined the Harvard Pilgrim sales team in November 2019.  As a sales executive, he is responsible for broker relationships and new business sales, focusing on New Hampshire large employer group customers.

Originally from Londonderry, Grant joined the Marine Corps right out of high school and after six years of service, which included a deployment to Iraq, he accepted his first job in the health insurance industry.

Since then his expertise has brought him to major national carriers including Cigna, United Healthcare, Anthem, Aetna and now Harvard Pilgrim. He spends his time volunteering for Make-A-Wish NH, Toys for Tots, United Way, and other local veterans organizations.

Michael McGandy, Veteran Support Services Coordinator
Southern New Hampshire University
Michael McGandy is Southern New Hampshire University’s veteran support services coordinator. In his role, he provides service and support referral for students, provides training and consultation on veteran matters for faculty and staff, and operates the DeColfmacker Veterans Lounge on campus.

Prior to joining SNHU, McGandy served in the Army for 26 years. The last 21 years were with the New Hampshire Army National Guard, where he held a number of positions including Deputy Chief of Staff, Information Management; and Executive Officer, 197th Field Artillery Brigade.

Doreen A. Nichols, Vice President of Talent, Culture and Organizational Development
Eversource Energy
Doreen A. Nichols is vice president of talent, culture and organizational development for Eversource Energy. She has primary responsibility for planning and directing corporate-wide organizational change and employee engagement strategies, and initiatives that support Eversource’s business objectives and the organization’s vision, mission and values.

Doreen is an accomplished human resources executive who builds and transforms HR strategies that fully align with business objectives, resulting in substantive organizational improvement. With broad experience in both big brand corporations and early-stage start-ups, she is recognized as a thought leader in global diversity and inclusion, operations, acquisitions, divestitures, talent strategy, and performance management. She has an award-winning track record for conceptualizing and executing bold, innovative initiatives that produce significant business impact. Doreen views HR as a true business partner, whose solutions to complex business needs promote company growth and a productive, cohesive culture.

Over more than 20 years, Doreen has worked for companies and institutions such as Genzyme, Staples, LensCrafters and Tulane University.

Doreen is a board member of the Northeast Human Resources Association. She holds degrees in human resources management and is SPHR and SHRM-SCP certified.