CEO & Founding Partner – Dr. D. M. Smalenberger

Dr. D. M. Smalenberger holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Operations Research and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), an Advanced Lean Sigma Master Black Belt (CALSSMBB), and is an accomplished analyst, engineer, and entrepreneur. He has received several top accolades and awards throughout his career, including the Air Force Materiel Command’s Analyst of the Year and top AFIT Ph.D. student in 2016.

During his 22 years of military and government service and experience, he has led over 380 enlisted officers, government civilians, NATO forces, and government contractors over projects over $3.2 billion in value in Europe, Afghanistan, Qatar, Korea, various CONUS military installations, at the Pentagon, and sensitive programs at undisclosed locations.

Some of Dr. Smalenberger’s highest profiled activities involved the standup of the Department of the Air Force’s first Chief Data Office (CDO) in Washington D.C., the development of the Department of Defense’s first data fusion and Artificial Intelligence (AI) decision support system - QuANTUM, leading effective LEAN and Six Sigma teams to streamline the $120 billion strategic planning processes of the Department of the Air Force while at the Pentagon, and overseeing and advancing the Air Force’s eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) efforts.

As an entrepreneur, Dr. Smalenberger and his wife own and operate a successful real estate investment company in the Midwest that acquires and develops properties that focuses on providing homeless veterans and less fortunate citizens with clean and affordable housing.

CTO & Founding Partner – Mr. Dan Liszka

Dan graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. After graduation, he worked as a Principal Software Engineer at Parsons Cyber before entering active-duty Air Force in 2020.

On active duty, Dan spends time as a System Analytics Software Engineer for the Air Force Research Lab. Currently, he also serves as the Chief Technology Officer for NXVC and leads the Sources & Methods Division.

Developer – Mr. Maverick Wilhite

Maverick Wilhite holds a B.S. in Business Management and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). He has held positions in the retail and finance sectors and served as a contracting officer's representative and acquisitions program manager in the Air Force and Space Force.

During his military career he has led more than 50 enlisted, officers, government civilians, and contractors on projects including the Department of Defense’s Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) initiative, where his team oversaw the valuation of $216 billion dollars in military equipment. Mr. Wilhite also led a team of government and contractor personnel in pursuit of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s Female Fitment initiative to outfit all female Airmen with anthropometrically accurate uniforms and flight equipment, accelerating fielding of critical safety items across the Department of the Air Force.

He has also worked in various private sector roles, including as a bookkeeper, freelance system administrator, and network administrator, assisting small businesses in the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.

Contextual Principal: Medicine & Care – Dr. Megan Dernaika

Megan Dernaika is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner and has been working as a Clinical Professor at Oklahoma City University since 2015.

She is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Nursing Practice at Oklahoma City University. She has 17 years of nursing experience in various levels of nursing care. Her primary clinical focus areas have been oncology, corrections, and university health.

Contextual Principal: AI/ML – Dr. Kelly Hirschbeck

Kelly graduated with a double B.S. in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Northeastern University in 2011, a M.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2017, and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2020.

Kelly has served as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mathematics & Natural Sciences at Belmont Abbey College since 2018. She has received several grants through the National Science Foundation for her work in applied mathematics. Currently, Kelly serves as a Principal Technical Expert for NXVC, LLC where she provides leading insights from academia and advanced mathematics for industrial applications.

Contextual Principal: AI/ML – Mr. Michael Smalenberger

Michael graduated with a B.S. in Technical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2008, a B.S. in Mathematics from Northeastern Illinois University in 2011, an M.B.A. from Eastern New Mexico University in 2011, and a M.S. in Economics from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in 2014. In 2022, Michael completed the Data Science & Machine Learning and Data Mining certificates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University, respectively.

Michael has served as adjunct lecturer and teacher in academia since 2012 and continues to conduct research for the National Science Foundation through UNC Charlotte. Currently, Michael serves as Principal Contextual Expert for NXVC, LLC where he provides leading insights from academia on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Developer - Mr. Jeremy Plunkett

Jeremy graduated from Auburn University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. Currently, Jeremy is a master’s student at Colorado State University Global where he is pursuing a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Jeremy is an experienced programmer who is always looking to expand his technical skills. In his free time, Jeremy enjoys watching sports and spending time with his wife and dog.

Developer - Mr. Caleb Nichols

Caleb is a self-taught full stack developer who loves learning bespoke technologies. He has experience building web applications from the ground up, and now works in the Sources & Methods division within NXVC.

In his free time he likes to hang out with friends and family. As a Cincinnati native he also enjoys watching the Bengals win.

Intern - Mr. Franco Villongco

Franco holds a B.S. in Mathematics from The Citadel, an M.S. in Operations Research from Columbia University, an M.S. in Economics from Purdue, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the Air Force Institute of Technology.

He has over 12 years experience as an Air Force civilian with experience in wargaming, planning, logistics, and operational assessments. His analytic expertise is in game theory, stochastic modeling, and econometric methods.