If you are a Veteran looking to enroll into the Guitars for Vets program at a local chapter, please email the coordinator closest to you about your interest. Each chapter is located within different departments and facilities that may have a unique admission process.
We are a non-profit organization supported by the generosity of charitable foundations, private donors, merchandise sales and local chapter community fundraisers. We are also grateful for the over 1,000 volunteers across the country, who selflessly dedicate their time to ensuring our adaptive program serves Veterans with the highest quality at the local chapter level. To learn more about our finances, view our 990s and learn more about our Platinum Seal of Transparency via Candid!
Anthony Paolino served 12 years in the U.S. Air Force, including deployments to Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, and Afghanistan. After his military service, he founded the Rhode Island Student Veterans Organization (SVO) and the Rhode Island Military Organization (RIMO), focusing on military families. He served 3 years as RIMO CEO and later worked as Military & Veterans Affairs Liaison for U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
In 2015, Anthony joined General Dynamics, where he led Military & Veterans Affairs for Electric Boat and later managed communications and strategic outreach at General Dynamics NASSCO. Since 2021, he has held leadership roles including Associate Dean of Students at Golden Gate University, COO at Student Veterans of America, and as president of a business strategy consulting firm.
Anthony is passionate about higher education and student veterans, also serving as an adjunct professor. He holds an A.S. in Business Management, a B.A. in Leadership Studies, and an MPA from Brown University (16’). He lives with his partner Lissa and their 3 year old son Luca.
Ben is Owner and President of Kraft Music LTD, a musical instrument retailer and e-commerce company located in Franklin, Wisconsin.
Kraft Music specializes in the marketing of digital instruments, as well as guitars, and has been recognized as one of the Top 200 Music Retailers in the United States while serving customers in all fifty states. In addition, Ben served as a Director at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), an organization that promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music and strengthens the global music products industry.
Ché Bolden is a seasoned leader whose career bridges distinguished military service, executive leadership, and nonprofit governance.
Ché Bolden is a seasoned leader whose career bridges distinguished military service, executive leadership, and nonprofit governance. A retired United States Marine Corps officer and TOPGUN graduate, he brings to the Guitars for Vets Board a unique blend of strategic insight, risk management expertise, and a proven ability to guide organizations through complex challenges. His background as a Weapons and Tactics Instructor and Foreign Area Officer sharpened his skills in decision-making, mentoring, and cross-cultural collaboration - capabilities that strengthen his work in board governance and nonprofit advancement.
As CEO of the Charles F. Bolden Group and Board Chair of the Inter Astra Institute, Bolden has cultivated visionary leadership strategies that emphasize greater access and opportunity in the Business of Space. His executive experience in innovation and systems integration equips him to help G4V expand its reach, strengthen partnerships, and scale its impact for veterans across the nation. His prior service as a Brookings Institution Senior Fellow and his active membership in the Council on Foreign Relations further underscore his capacity to connect local programs with broader policy, philanthropic, and community landscapes.
For Bolden, G4V’s mission is personal. He lives with PTSD himself and understands the importance of outlets that provide calm, connection, and healing. Music has been central to his own journey - listening to the likes of John Mayer, Jimi Hendrix, and B.B. King has often been his way of “setting his mind right” in moments of uncertainty. Though he admits he cannot yet play his own guitar, he knows firsthand the restorative power of music and the community it builds. This lived experience, combined with his leadership expertise, drives his commitment to ensuring that every veteran has access to the transformative opportunities G4V provides.
Bolden and his wife, Penny, make their home in McLean, Virginia, where they remain active in community life and committed to service. Their greatest pride is their three adult daughters, with whom they maintain a strong and joyful bond.
Joan Doble is the co-owner of Explorium Hospitality Group, a Milwaukee-based company that owns and operates five breweries and restaurants. Drawing on a passion for community, service, and hospitality, Joan plays a key role in shaping the guest experience and operational strategy across all locations.
Joan Doble is the co-owner of Explorium Hospitality Group, a Milwaukee-based company that owns and operates five breweries and restaurants. Drawing on a passion for community, service, and hospitality, Joan plays a key role in shaping the guest experience and operational strategy across all locations.
Before entering the hospitality industry, Joan enjoyed a distinguished 25-year career in education, serving as a middle and high school teacher, vice principal, principal, and director of admissions. Her leadership in education reflected her commitment to student development and academic excellence.
Joan is the proud wife of an Army veteran and the mother of two grown children, including a recent graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. She is deeply committed to supporting military service members, veterans, and their families—both personally and professionally.
Joan brings to the board a unique blend of leadership, operational expertise, and a heartfelt dedication to community and service.
Bailey has been part of Guitars for Vets since 2019, starting as an Operations Assistant. In 2020, she moved into the role of Director of Operations, supporting chapters across the country and helping strengthen internal processes. In 2025, she transitioned into her current position as Marketing Director.
Coming from a family of Marines and guitar players, her father and brother both served in the Marine Corps, Bailey has always felt connected to the mission of Guitars for Vets. Before joining the organization, she worked in nonprofit animal welfare and studied psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, experiences that shaped her passion for service and community support.
Outside of work, Bailey enjoys spending time with her family, including her husband, her child, and their dog, Theo. She values a balanced life rooted in helping others, meaningful work, and time with the people (and animals) she loves.
Brian Cain is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former law enforcement officer with nearly two decades of public service experience. After serving as a bomb dog handler in the Marine Corps and working as a patrol officer, undercover narcotics agent, and patrol supervisor in metro Atlanta, Brian transitioned to the business sector, gaining expertise in the ins and outs of business.
In 2023, Brian’s journey took a transformative turn when he attended a veteran's program where he discovered the healing power of music in addressing trauma. Inspired by this experience and his passion for helping others, he joined Guitars For Vets (G4V) to support veterans and first responders on their healing journeys.
Brian lives on a 10-acre homestead in northeast Alabama with his wife of 22 years and their two sons, raising bees, chickens, and pasture-raised pigs. His personal and professional experiences uniquely position him to champion G4V’s mission and the healing power of music.
Nathan LeCompte is driven by a deep commitment to service and a strong dedication to community. He brings more than 20 years of leadership experience from roles as a senior non-commissioned officer in the US Army and as a law enforcement officer, as well as senior management positions in small business and corporate operations.
Nathan was drawn to Guitars 4 Vets because of its mission to help veterans heal through music, a personal passion of his. A professional percussionist in his early days and casual guitarist throughout life, he believes deeply in the power of music to create connection and foster recovery.
During his military service, Nathan deployed to Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In his law enforcement career in both North Carolina and Arizona, he served on special response teams and also worked as a technical rescue technician.
After his military and law enforcement service, Nathan brought his leadership into the small business world. As general manager of an outdoor resort in NC, he guided the park through growth and expansion, overseeing everything from project management and finance to brand development and HR policies.
At Guitars 4 Vets, Nathan continues his service by helping veterans find peace, purpose, and community through music. He lives in the foothills NC with his wife and their three children, each of whom shares his love of music and all play various instruments. When he's not working, he’s curating his antiquarian book collection, hiking and camping in the wild, or exploring mountain backroads on his BMW GS adventure motorcycle.
Paul is one of 6 children whose family shares a deep love for music.
From guitar and bass players, singers, mouth-harp blowers, and an organ player, there was always music at the Lilley household. Being the youngest, Paul grew up listening to a wide range of his siblings musical preferences, from Peter Paul and Mary and Cat Stevens, the Association, Blood Sweat and Tears to the Beatles, Artful Dodger and Pink Floyd. Even the Singing Sister and show tunes! Paul’s father, Eugene was the organ player as well as the mouth-harp, taking his harmonica with him to war when he answered his call to service in World War II with the US Army’s 650th Engineer Topographic Battalion.
Guitar has been a constant in Paul’s life. A used 12 string Yamaha with only six strings on it accompanied Paul to college where he graduated with a social work degree and then later a Masters degree in Organizational Development. Paul first heard about the G4V program from an “Acoustic Tuesday” podcast from Tony Polecastro (one of G4V’s ambassadors). He began negotiating with G4V in 2018 to open up one of the first chapters that is not affiliated with a VA hospital, Vet Center or VA department. He is the coordinator for the Hancock-Ohio chapter and currently also serves as a Regional Chapter Coordinator with the G4V team.
Peg served as the G4V Richmond Chapter Coordinator from 2011-2018, and continued as an instructor. She currently serves as our Salesforce Trainer and manages the award guitar ordering process for all chapters. She also serves as a chapter support manager for our Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern chapters.
Peg has 30+ years of experience as an art director and graphic design specialist in both the printing house and corporate environments, most recently with Argo Group US, retiring in 2017. Her role included design and production of print and digital marketing materials, internal and external communications, and website content, working within defined brand standards, showing both creativity and attention to detail. She was awarded the Graphic Design USA “Award of Excellence” for five consecutive years. Peg earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and Art Education from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, and studied Advertising Design post-bachelor at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Retirement brought “time for other creative avenues” and Peg’s love of music and writing led her to Berklee College of Music’s online program. Narrative and lyric writing courses allowed her skills to take flight and she earned her certificate program in Songwriting in 2022. Her goal is to be able to work with our students in a songwriting capacity, helping them tell their stories in song, along with their new guitar playing skills. Peg released her first song on Veterans Day 2024 called “Freeing My Heartstrings”.
Since 2007, our organization has refined a guitar instruction program aimed at providing Veterans struggling with physical injuries, PTSD, and other emotional distress a unique therapeutic alternative. G4V pursues its mission to share the healing power of music by providing free instruction, a new instrument and an accessory kit in a structured program run by volunteers, in concert with our community partners.
Guitars For Vets Processing Center
13400 Bishops Ln Suite 120
Brookfield, WI 53005
