Our Story

Experience in service, leadership, and stewardship.

Mission

Golden Forge builds human capacity in veterans, active-duty service members, and frontline professionals who have spent years operating in high-consequence environments. On a working mountain ranch in the Colorado Rockies, a culture of high standards, contribution, stewardship, shared purpose, and strong community creates the conditions for people to keep growing—and to carry greater capacity back into their families, teams, organizations, and communities.

  • Golden Forge is built on contribution over consumption.

    Golden Forge starts from strength. The people who come here have already carried hard things and done consequential work. They don’t need smaller lives. They need high standards, work that matters, strong people around them, and worthy ways to keep contributing.

    At Golden Forge, the mountain itself is part of the work. Altitude, weather, terrain, silence, stewardship, shared work, and strong community create the conditions for human capacity to keep growing—physical, emotional, relational, and neurological.

    People contribute to the life of the place and to one another.

    They come here to keep becoming—and to keep contributing.

  • Golden Forge is building a national model for human capacity — strengthening the people who carry difficult missions and the families, teams, organizations, and communities that depend on them.

    We envision a future where veterans, active-duty service members, and frontline professionals continue to grow, contribute, lead, and live with purpose — carrying greater capacity far beyond the mountain.

    The model scales through people. The impact travels with them.

Suzi McKinley

Founder & CEO

Suzi McKinley is a Marine Corps veteran, endurance athlete, and the founder of Golden Forge. Her career spans three combat deployments and more than a decade leading mission-critical technology work at Palantir.

Her own experience rebuilding purpose after service led her to create the place she wished she could have found: a working mountain ranch where challenge, contribution, and connection are part of everyday life. She committed her own resources to build Golden Forge on 163 acres in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

Today, Suzi brings her experience leading teams under pressure to a mission close to home: helping veterans, active-duty service members, and frontline professionals keep growing and contributing. She leads through high standards, shared work, and a belief that people need opportunities to be challenged, connected, and needed.

Joey Fennell

Founding Member | Golden Forge Board of Directors

Joey helps guide Golden Forge’s strategy, fundraising, and partnerships. A Marine veteran with two deployments to Afghanistan and the son of a D.C. firefighter, he brings a personal connection to both military and frontline service.

He spent more than a decade at Palantir Technologies supporting operators on ships, in Afghanistan, and at training ranges. He now builds technical products for natural disaster response. At Golden Forge, he brings that practical experience to strengthening community and supporting the people who serve. Away from work, he is most at home outdoors with his family and dog.

Joe Black

Founding Member | Golden Forge Board of Directors

Joe focuses on strategic advice and governance. A former Marine Corps intelligence officer, he served as a Radio Reconnaissance platoon commander and partner force advisor in Afghanistan.

His civilian career at Palantir Technologies spans more than a decade of work with defense and international organizations. Golden Forge brings that experience back to a personal scale: helping build a place where service, connection, and contribution remain part of daily life.

David A. Houle, CFA

Treasurer | Golden Forge Board of Directors

David provides volunteer financial oversight and helps guide Golden Forge’s long-term financial health. He is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Season Investments, where he oversees wealth management, and brings nearly a decade of nonprofit board experience.

Raised in a military family, David understands the demands of service and the importance of purpose and stability through transition. His role at Golden Forge centers on disciplined decisions, responsible stewardship, and sustainable growth. He lives an active life with his wife and three children and supports other nonprofits in Colorado Springs.

Hugh Jones

Legal Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Hugh advises Golden Forge on governance, compliance, and organizational structure. An attorney dedicated to tax-exempt organizations, he founded Charity Counsel in 2012 and brings nearly 20 years of nonprofit legal experience.

His work helps Golden Forge build a sound foundation for its mission and growth. Hugh is also an author, speaker, and adjunct professor. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 2007.

Train Hard. Heal Deep. Live Boldly.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND GOLDEN FORGE

Founder, board & advisors