Leadership Team

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K. Lee Horning is a proud veteran of the United States Air Force where he served as a SOWT team member. After his time serving in the USAF, Lee worked in technology-based companies, the banking industry, and various private security roles. His ability to see an environment or process, ask meaningful questions, listen and evaluate the true need, has led to his ability to implement technology and processes leading to sustainable revenue growth, NOI growth, and increased customer loyalty and retention. He continues to utilize these skills and others gained during his broad experience in the military and the corporate world, to lead Awayster.

Lee is passionate about serving other veterans, and volunteers to ensure inclusivity and safety through the implementation of organizational and state-directed initiatives.

Julie Horning is a proud veteran of the United States Army where she served as an officer in a combat heavy engineer unit managing large projects and over $20M in equipment inventory. Since her service, she has served in several roles in the surgical device industry. With over 20 years in this field, she has consistently delivered multi-million-dollar revenue generation, Her role as Regional Vice President of a Fortune 500 company, provided over $7.5M in annual capital and disposable revenue. As a patent holder on several innovative surgical devices, she has a valuable understanding of collaborating with a team to ensure project completion, on time and on budget.

Julie is passionate about people, and how she can impact others to pursue their passions and calling. She lives this out through volunteer opportunities. She has also served in various non-profit board positions, impacting these organizations to continue their mission to serve others.

Bryan Showers is a strategic technology leader with 20+ years of experience driving digital transformation across global organizations. He is the founder of Cloudburst Digital, a consultancy helping companies bring their technology vision to life. Prior to starting Cloudburst, Bryan led IT and Product Management at an autonomous robotics company, led digital for a global furniture brand, and delivered scalable software solutions for startups to Fortune 100 companies. Bryan’s ability to understand technology and customer experience enables him to create useful technology experiences that surprise and delight users.

Bryan leverages his passion for the intersection of technology and human experience both in his business and his non-profit volunteer work.

Zachariah Booker has over 20 years of experience leading multiple companies, from bootstrapped to VC-funded opportunities across multiple industries. Zach founded one of the world's greatest digital health companies, ADHD Online, as quoted by Newsweek. ADHD Online is one of Michigan’s fastest-growing companies and also one of the fastest growing health-tech organizations in the United States. He is passionate about innovating and providing expert, accessible, and high-standard care to those that need it most. With Zach’s ability to attract top talent and establish strong partnerships, ADHD Online grew from concept ($0) to $50M annual revenue in under 5 years.

Zach’s personal faith and advocacy for purposefully built organizations is driving measurable growth and positive influence in the companies and entrepreneurs he advises.

Jonathan Verlee founded Breeze in 2013, a user-friendly web-based church management SaaS platform, with approximately 50 team members and serving over 9,000 church organizations at the time of his successful exit in 2021. Since then he has been able to focus on providing world class mentoring and inspiration to other entrepreneurs and students. His love of mentoring students, drove him to start and fund the StartUp Garage at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. Jon currently helps lead the StartUp Garage where students and entrepreneurs in the community are encouraged to pursue their ideas through mentoring and a strong community of like minded students, instructors, and guest speakers.

Jon’s passion for increasing the number of redemptive companies being created and thriving is having an effective and lasting impact on the students and entrepreneurs he mentors and counsels.

Matt Williams is a proud veteran of the United States Navy where he served as an officer in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Prior to his service, Matt earned an engineering degree from MIT, where he ranked at the top of his Navy ROTC graduating class. Following his service, he has worked in various roles, including serving as CFO of a start-up health and beauty company. In his role there, Matt raised over $10 million in various stages of VC funding. Matt currently serves as Finance Director for a fast-growing independent insurance agency in the transportation industry. His ability to gather, analyze, and understand the impact of meaningful data has allowed him to see new opportunities for growth, drive revenue, and improve efficiencies in this role.

Matt is passionate about people and companies with a mission to help people. He lives out this dedication by asking thought provoking questions to help others realize their full potential through personal and organizational growth.