Board of Advisors

CPT Dennis “DJ” Skelton - DJ Skelton was wounded in Iraq in November of 2004. Since his recovery at Walter Reed, DJ has dedicated himself to advancing the causes of wounded vets, authoring Our Hero, the most comprehensive guide for wounded service members available. DJ also served as a military advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Gordon England, advising on wounded veteran affairs. DJ is a West Point graduate, attended Infantry Officer Basic Course, Airborne and Ranger schools, is fluent in Chinese and is one of the youngest to ever attend Harvard’s Senior Executive Fellowship program. DJ, along with professional climber, Timmy O’Neill, founded Paradox Sports in the spring of 2007. He is currently on active duty for the US Army. Read DJ’s story.

 

Aron Ralston – Perhaps best known for being trapped between a rock and a hard place while on a solo hiking trip in the Utah wilderness in 2003, Aron bring many skills to Paradox Sports in addition to field surgery. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in French, but currently works as a writer and motivational speaker. Known for his vivid storytelling he has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and on Letterman. He was the subject of a two-hour NBC Dateline special with Tom Brokaw and has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show, CNN with Bill Hemmer, Anderson Cooper and CNN Saturday Morning. He lives in Aspen and volunteers his time with Mountain Rescue Aspen, the Wilderness Workshop and the MaroonCorps as well as serving on the Board of Advisors.

 

A former middle school teacher and wrestling coach, Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most exciting and well-known athletes in the world. Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, Erik has become an accomplished mountain climber, paraglider, and skier, who has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life. Erik’s feats have earned him an ESPY award, recognition by Time Magazine for one of the greatest sporting achievements of 2001, induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, an ARETE Award for the superlative athletic performance of the year, the Helen Keller Lifetime Achievement award, Nike’s Casey Martin Award, and the Freedom Foundation’s Free Spirit Award. He has also carried the Olympic Torch for both the Summer and Winter Games.

On May 25, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer became the only blind man in history to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak – Mount Everest. On August 20, 2008, when he stood on top of Carstenz Pyramid, the tallest peak in Austral-Asia, Weihenmayer completed his quest to climb the Seven Summits – the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Erik is joined by fewer than 100 mountaineers who have accomplished this feat. Additionally, he has scaled El Capitan, a 3300-foot overhanging granite monolith in Yosemite; Lhosar, a 3000-foot ice waterfall in the himalayas; and a difficult and rarely climbed rock face on 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya.

Chief Executive Officer F. Dawn Halfaker founded Halfaker and Associates in January 2006 in response to the radically changing business environment brought on by the growing need for dynamic consultants with specialized experience to provide national security services to the Federal Government. Captain (Ret) Dawn Halfaker has extensive management experience as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army. Throughout her military career, Dawn earned respect as a dynamic leader of men and women in combat, peacekeeping, and in training in the United States, South Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq. Motivated by challenging projects of increasing responsibility, Dawn served in several leadership positions and deployed with the 3rd Infantry Division where she commanded a military police platoon in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was subsequently wounded during a combat patrol near Baghdad in 2004, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for her service.

 

In addition to her military service, Dawn worked in Congress serving as a military liaison to the House Armed Services Committee where she advised the committee Chair on key Department of Defense legislation and issues. In 2005, she worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), specializing in technical consulting for the Defense Sciences Office. Her mission included initiating research to provide advanced capabilities to the military and enhance warfighter capabilities.

 

Dawn also remains very active with veteran’s affairs and is a member of many of the veteran’s service organizations and serves on various advisory committees. Specifically, Dawn serves as the Vice President of the Wounded Warrior Project Board of Directors where she focuses on raising awareness and enlisting the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women in addition to helping severely injured service members recover and readjust. Additionally, Dawn served on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Committee for OIF/OEF soldiers and families which focused on improving VA policies and care for veterans who were severely injured in combat and is actively serving on the Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee for Veterans Employer Training and Employer Outreach. Dawn also participates as a member of the Advisory Board for ThanksUSA and Paradox Sports.

Dawn holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Arts in Security Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Devaki Murch: – Devaki Ananda Murch joins Paradox Sports as a leading outreach and marketing manager in the outdoor industry.  With over 10 years of experience in consumer relations and activity management, Devaki brings creative program development and extensive network of resources to the organization. Prior to joining Paradox Sports, Devaki was the event and philanthropic program manager for the clothing company, Prana. She developed successful partnership programs to efficiently coordinate multiple athlete sponsorship obligations as well as strategically matched non-profits and events to gain the most exposure and support. Email: devakiananda@mac.com