PRESIDENT

Kevin Hodges brings nearly 35 years of military and DoD contractor experience in security operations, training, risks assessment, and methodology development and implementation. Upon retirement as a Chief Master Sergeant/E-9 from the Air Force, Kevin has been involved in security assessment, security system design projects, major security master planning efforts, and business development and growth strategies for clients and Watermark.

Kevin led research and development teams responsible for developing unmanned systems and remote weapons for security forces and explosive ordnance operations in high-threat environments. Kevin co-authored the U.S. Air Force effects-based security doctrine and was a co-developer and program manager of the Integrated Defense Risk Management Process (IDRMP) and supporting software tool, ForcePRO. In additional to being President of Watermark, Kevin continues to support clients in developing cost-effective, risk-based security solutions by leading security risk and vulnerability assessment teams examining processes in security, emergency management, communications, and resiliency programs.

VICE PRESIDENT

Angela Hodges is Watermark’s Vice President. She is responsible for the program management of several of our contracts with both commercial and government clients. As part of the leadership team, she is responsible for developing and refining business processes and procedures to assist in the management and execution of daily operations. Her primary focus is ensuring contract compliance and streamlining business operations to prepare Watermark for future growth.

When Angela joined Watermark in 2012, she fulfilled the roles of Facility Security Officer (FSO), Security Analyst, and later as Director of Operations. She was responsible for managing the company security program, executing security and risk assessments, and managing contracts for our DoD contracts.

In August 2014, Angela took a brief sabbatical from Watermark to work for a large security guard force company, Akal Security. While there, she held different positions supporting Akal operations and the executive team. Those positions included: Quality Assurance Specialist, Deputy Program Manager for the TSA screening support at Kansas City Airport, Chief of Staff to the CEO and President, and lastly Director for Detention Services.

While serving as the Director for Detention Services, Angela oversaw the Program Management and execution of Akal’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) portfolio containing ICE Detention Facilities, Krome and Batavia Processing Centers and ICE Air Operations. These operations encompassed approximately 300 personnel and $20M in annual revenue.

Prior to joining Watermark, Angela worked for Applied Research Associates, Inc. and Integration Innovation, Inc. (i3). Angela’s operations experience began in January 2007, supporting risk and vulnerability assessment teams evaluating security/defense operations that supported various DoD clients including the Air Force Research Laboratory and Air Force Central Command. Her work environments included military installations both stateside and overseas including, Europe, the Middle-East (Iraq and Kuwait), and Central Asia.

Angela has Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Grantham University, which she earned in 2012 graduating with magna cum laude. Angela is a certified Program Management Professional.

VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION SERVICES

Dr. Jennifer Hesterman is a retired Air Force colonel who served in three Pentagon tours and in multiple command positions in the field. Her last assignment was Vice Commander at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where she was responsible for installation security, including the protection of Air Force One.

After retiring in 2007, Dr. Hesterman started work as a private contractor in Washington, DC, studying international and domestic terrorist organizations, transnational threats, soft target hardening, organized crime, and the terrorist and criminal exploitation of the Internet. Dr. Hesterman designs and instructs graduate level security courses for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and the Department of Defense. She also advises the Homeland Security Training Institute at the College of DuPage in Chicago, the Crisis Response Journal, and three DHS Centers of Excellence.

Dr. Hesterman holds a doctoral degree from Benedictine University, Master of Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Air University, and a Bachelor of Science from Penn State University. In 2003, she was a National Defense Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. where she studied the terror-crime nexus. She is a 2006 alumnus of the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows program and was a senior fellow at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University from 2016-2018.

An award-winning author, her book Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack was the ASIS Security Book of the Year for 2015, and the second edition won the same award in 2019. The book was also named Taylor and Francis Social Sciences Book of the Year in 2019. She also authored Soft Target Crisis Management (2016) and The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus (2013). Dr. Hesterman is dynamic and sought-after public speaker for ASIS, FBI, DHS, ASIS, DoD, state and local law enforcement agencies, Major League Baseball, among others.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Richie Rodriguez is Watermark’s Director of Operations. Prior to his work at Watermark, he served as a corporate program manager for a cyber and information technology government contractor for over four years. He bridged the gap between employees and the corporate leadership team, leading the site leadership team, as well as working directly with partners and employees to ensure they were delivering with excellence and exceeding expectations across all programs. He matured the program which later morphed into a program liaison effort, providing an avenue of growth and exposure to staff interested in program management. He managed a majority of the company’s subcontract portfolio based out of the Washington DC metro area. Responsibilities included meeting day-to-day employee and client needs across multiple programs. Richie brings more than 11 years of DoD government contracting experience and four years of Department of State experience with in-depth IT project management. Richie worked on and implemented corporate process improvement initiatives and has helped companies rollout various new programs for employees to take advantage of.

Richie has also served as the Anti-Terrorism Representative for the Defense Health Agency (DHA) where he was the primary liaison between the Pentagon Force Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service. While working for DHA, Richie was instrumental in creating site specific documentation to be used in the event of a national emergency including a Continuity of Operations Plan and a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBNRE) Plan.

Richie also brings an extensive IT project management background and has led multiple CONUS and OCONUS IT initiatives. He previously served as the primary Microsoft Project subject matter expert (SME) and team lead for process improvement endeavors.

Richie has a Bachelor’s Degree from West Virginia University in Criminology and Investigations with a minor in Spanish. He also holds a PMP and an ITIL v4 Foundations Certification.

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND RECRUITING

Emily Eskelsen has over twelve years of experience providing highly technical recruiting and staffing solutions to organizations in the private and public sectors. With over a decade of experience specifically inside of the federal government marketplace, Emily is specialized at crafting and executing large scale recruitment strategies in support of the DOD special access and intelligence communities, where she has a built an expansive professional network and has a solid track record of performance. She has a proactive and consultative approach to talent acquisition with a focus on customer service and candidate experience. At Watermark, Emily is responsible for the development and delivery of a customer centric recruiting program.

Emily has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services from Elon University and maintains a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification through Human Resources Certification Institute.

FINANCIAL ANALYST AND PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR

Jaci Fisher is the Financial Analyst and Payroll Administrator for Watermark. She grew up in Fredericksburg, VA and began working in the accounting field in 2015 and earned her bachelor’s degree from UMUC in 2017. Over the course of her career, Ms. Fisher has worked for large and small businesses, learning the different accounting concepts, and applying them to the task at hand. She performs bi-weekly payroll, including payroll taxes and maintain 401K for all employees, manages the general ledger, enters vendor invoices/invoice accruals daily, create customer invoices/receive customer payments and creates financial statements during month end process, among many other financial duties.

PROPOSAL MANAGER & SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Julie Moffett serves as Watermark's Proposal Manager and Director of Social Media. In her role as Proposal Manager, she organizes and delivers compliant and professional proposals within defined timeframes, manages the company's GovWin account, and implements proposal best practices. Julie has worked on a wide variety of proposals, from guard force to security education to biosecurity and threat and vulnerability assessments.

As Watermark's Social Media Director, Julie creates and maintains a strong online presence for the company, developing targeted communications and recruiting content for various media platforms. She plans and executes media and advertising campaigns.

Julie has also worked as a senior technical editor on government documents and supported Watermark with research and development of graduate-level courses for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency Center for the Development of Security Excellence (CDSE). Additionally, she has experience as a Research and Data Analyst for remote training courses in Biosafety and Biosecurity.

Julie holds a Master's of Education degree (M.Ed) and an MA in Russian and East European Studies. She is a best-selling author of twenty-eight fiction novels and audiobooks, and has received several national writing awards.

HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST

Allegra Mendenhall is Watermark’s Human Resources Specialist. She assists in administering human resources policies and procedures related to compensation and benefits, employment authorization, new employee onboarding, employee off-boarding, employment verification, performance management, security, education, training and other areas, as needed. She also provides administrative and project control support for Watermark, helping the company manage and execute the numerous tasks required to run Watermark efficiently. Ms. Massey-Elim ensures Watermark is compliant with contractual and government requirements such as timekeeping, training, and contract deliverables. She will also be taking on the role of serving as Watermark’s Alternate Facility Security Officer helping the company maintain an effective and compliant security program.

Allegra attended college at the University of Mary Washington earning a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Economics. She began her career in 2018 providing administrative and financial management support to a small business. She enjoys supporting the growing, family-owned business of Watermark.

TECHNICAL RECRUITER

Chloe Helm is a Technical Recruiter for Watermark and is responsible for attracting and recruiting top talent to join the Watermark family. Chloe works with inbound candidates who have applied for open positions, as well as sourced candidates she finds amidst various job boards and resume databases. She also formats, posts, and maintains open job requisitions in our Applicant Tracking System. Chloe is a Certified AIRS SearchLab Internet Recruiter.

Chloe was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in northern New Jersey. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and Spanish from Elon University in 2017. After five years of working in the education field, Chloe transitioned into government contracting with a wide range of experience including talent acquisition and development, project management, and data analysis. Chloe enjoys hearing about candidates’ passions and experiences, and loves helping them find a position that is right for them and their family.