Why we exist
Two commitments.
One life.
Serving part time carries full-time consequences for careers and families. Training, mobilizations and deployments can expose gaps in workplace support that a hiring badge alone cannot explain.
FF makes military leave benefits easier to compare and works with employers to strengthen them. Our vision is a working life where continued service and civilian ambition can thrive together.
The people behind the purpose
Founder Eric Evans drew on his own employment challenges and military experience to build Friendly Forces. The organization grew from Reservists helping other Reservists understand which employers would support their service.
Read the founder’s story in the selected coverage below.
Explore the coverage →Meet Friendly Forces
The people behind the purpose
Eric Evans
Founder and Executive Director
Eric knows the Reserve balancing act firsthand, with 14 years in uniform and a 2019 deployment to Afghanistan. As Friendly Forces founder and Executive Director, he brings that experience to the national conversation as a speaker and media contributor. Based in Falls Church, Virginia, he keeps the focus on making civilian careers work for people who still serve.
Joel Hendry
Director of Strategic Engagement
Joel knows both sides of the hiring table, as an Army medic since 2009 and a talent adviser at a Fortune 200 company. At Friendly Forces, he connects military experience with civilian opportunity. His toolkit pairs SOF experience with Fortune 200 hiring expertise. His focus is helping fellow Reservists get ahead. Off duty, he flies planes, jumps out of others, and keeps adding passport stamps.
Brandon Gillenwaters
Director of Data Analytics
Brandon turns complicated questions into useful answers, as an Army Reserve officer and a principal data scientist at Parsons. At Friendly Forces, he makes the case for stronger connections between Reservists and employers. His background spans intelligence, cyber and a Berkeley data science degree. Off duty, he trades data pipelines for history, philosophy and debates over his pipe.