OUR MISSION
- to rescue the rescuers -
Our Team
Krystal Hess
Founder / Executive Director
If anyone understands the challenges of starting over, it’s Krystal Hess. In 2011, Krystal left an abusive marriage. She dreamed of reinventing herself by moving from Canada to the sunny southwestern United States and learning to ride motorcycles. “I didn’t ever have bikes on my radar until I got divorced in Canada,” she said. “It was going to be my way of starting over, doing something cool.” Krystal met a guy who built custom motorcycles and moved to Austin, Texas to be with him. Within a year of her move, however, her new boyfriend attempted suicide, involving Krystal in a traumatic way. Once again, Krystal found herself picking up the pieces of her life — and the pieces of a motorcycle they had planned to rebuild together. “I had this big problem on my hands,” she said. “I had a motorcycle that I owned that was in a million pieces.” Rebuilding that motorcycle changed her life, and made her a true believer in the transformative power of two-wheeled machines. “I compare it to [the healing process] all the time,” said Krystal. Every part I put on the bike, I put back together a part of myself.” Since then, Krystal has rebuilt several motorcycles, started a successful powder coating business, and founded Motorcycle Missions, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans with PTSD heal through motorcycles.
Words by Loryn Cole, www.we-ridewell.com
DARIN CHARTIER
President
Darin is a manufacturing industry professional of more than 35 years, enabling aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, and space organizations to build complex applications. Through his executive position at EOS North America, Darin was first introduced to Motorcycle Missions in early 2022. Darin quickly realized he found an organization that connected his manufacturing and engineering expertise with his respect and admiration of our nation’s veterans and first responders.
Darin is passionate about growing Motorcycle Mission’s therapeutic impact through motorcycle riding, building, and sense of community. As President, Darin looks forward to sharing his professional experience and knowledge in support of Motorcycle Mission’s values, veterans, first responders, and leaders.
Joey Lee Willhite
Vice President / USMC Veteran
Joey Lee Willhite is a Senior Manager in Development & User Experience Design in the Software Define Vehicle space covering the Gauge Cluster, Telematics & GM Defense for General Motors. His role is to help deliver best practices in development and the future of end to end User Experience in General Motors Applications and Vehicles. He has been involved in the motorcycle racing industry since 1997, and was the youngest Tech Director for AMA Prostar, AMA Dragbike & Texas Shootout Dragbike Series. He has had the pleasure of working with & learning from some of the best mentors and racers in the industry. With the support of his son Ian & loving wife Cynthia (high school sweetheart since 1991) he has taken that knowledge to build a motorcycle racing career that has spanned Road, Drag & Top Speed Racing. The knowledge he’s gained has supported his want to build, tune & race his own motorcycles to win championships and set records.
His grandfather & the experience in the Marine Corps turned him into the kind of person he is today. (USMC - 1st Marine Division – 1st Reconnaissance Battalion: - Scout Sniper) Also, a graduate of the Harvard University with a PhD in Technology & Operations Management, Business.
Joey was introduced to Motorcycle Missions and Krystal Hess through Steve Klein in 2015 and in 2019, was asked to be a build mentor for build 10, later joining the board in 2023. “While that carries many hats from mentor, supporter, teacher, builder, worker & most of all friend/brother, I feel that my ears to listen & stories to relate are the best support!”
Dr. JT Kostman
Board Member at Large / Army Veteran / 1st Responder (ret.)
Dr. JT Kostman has been riding and wrenching motorcycles for over 45 years. In his earlier life, he served as an EMT, Paramedic, and Police Officer before going on to lead a Scout/Sniper Reconnaissance Team with the U.S. Army Special Forces.
A Data Scientist, Mathematician, and Psychologist by training, Dr. Kostman is widely considered to be one of the world's leading experts in Applied Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing.
In the course of a remarkable career, JT has hunted terrorists for U.S. Intelligence Agencies, tracked criminal networks for the FBI, and advised on analytic strategies for the Department of Defense. In the corporate sector, he led the development of industry-changing solutions while serving as Chief Data Officer for Time Inc. and Chief Data Scientist for Samsung. As a Board Member of a substantial PE/VC fund and advisor to several leading business incubators and accelerators, he has guided investments of hundreds of millions of dollars in frontier technologies.
JT has also been a Senior Advisor to organizations ranging from tech startups and nonprofits to the Fortune 500, as well as the leaders of U.S. Intelligence Agencies, the U.S. Department of Defense, and several world leaders, including President Barack Obama.
Dr. Kostman is the co-founder of ProtectedBy.AI and the inventor of CodeLock.it, heralded as “one of the most important inventions in the history of cybersecurity.”
Thomas Martin
Secretary / Army Veteran
Thomas is an Executive Leader with more than 25 years of experience in aerospace, defense, manufacturing, technology management, and business operations. Thomas joined the Board of Directors for Motorcycle Mission in November of 2023 after supporting the charity through his employer as a leader for their Veterans Employee Resource Group.
Thomas currently works for Amazon Web Services as a Senior Business Operations Manager for their Global Public Sector market and is a member of the Amazon Warriors Veteran organization. Prior to this, he served onthe Board of Directors for the Veteran Medical Leadership Council (VMLC) in Scottsdale, AZ. Thomas has also served as a senior leader for several fortune 100 companies and veteran organizations such as American Express, AMEX Vets, Boeing, Global Med, PayPal, and PayPal’s Veteran SERVE organization.
Thomas Martin is an Army Veteran and served 8 years in the National Guard as a Crew Chief on the Apache Helicopter where he completed a combat tour in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Thomas is passionate about growing Motorcycle Mission’s therapeutic impact through motorcycle therapy to help fellow Veterans and First Responders who struggle with PTSD. As Secretary, Thomas looks forward to sharing his professional experience and knowledge in support of Motorcycle Mission’s values, veterans, first responders, and leaders.
Robert Pandya
PR Advisor
Robert Pandya first met Motorcycle Missions visionary Krystal Hess in Austin at a motorcycle event he hosted in 2012. He has supported her efforts ever since. With a background including 35 years in the motorcycle industry, a decade as a photographer and owner of many motorcycles and a few cars, he fully understands the power of wrench therapy.
Robert is the Director of Communications at the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, AL. He was the first ambassador for Strider Bikes All Kids Bike charity and continues to support new rider initiatives that share the freedom, power and community that only motorcycling can deliver.
Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) John Lawton
Welding & Build Mentorship Advisor / USMC Veteran
Lieutenant Colonel John Lawton (USMC, Ret) is originally from Chico, CA and has lived in Austin, TX since 2012. He met Krystal Hess within weeks of moving there and has been with Motorcycle Missions since conception. He has always been a big fan of motorcycles, motorsports and helping Veterans and First Responders heal through motorcycle therapy, so being part of Motorcycle Missions was a natural fit. John served 23 years in the Marine Corps, both enlisted and officer, where he served four combat tours, flew the President of the United States as a Marine One Pilot and also flew Marine Corps KC-130J’s prior to his retirement in 2021. John has a highly technical background, completed his undergraduate education at Purdue University, is an FAA licensed Airframe & Powerplant mechanic and has also worked for a rocket company as a Systems, Safety and Ordnance Engineer. Currently, John works full time as a pilot for Southwest Airlines and enjoys motorcycle riding, wrenching and inventing in his shop during his off-time. He looks forward to continue helping Motorcycle Missions by being a spokesperson, helping with veteran outreach, instructing welding classes, mentoring motorcycle builds and advising the organization.
Police Commander (ret.) Robert "Uno" Richman
Advisor / USAF Veteran
Uno is a retired commander with the Austin Police Department with over 30 years of law enforcement experience. Uno began his career in the USAF and joined the Austin Police Department in 1996 where in addition to various patrol and investigative assignments he was honored to serve as a motors officer which ignited his lifelong passion for motorcycling and the freedom and camaraderie that can only be found on two wheels.
Uno became involved with Motorcycle Missions in 2017 after seeing the amazing positive influence Krystal Hess and the Motorcycle Missions alumni had on the life of a close friend.
1st Sergeant (ret.) Ross Dobelbower
Advisor / USMC & Army Veteran
Ross is a Marine Corps and Army Veteran serving a combined 23 years including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Concurrent with his military service he’s spent 28 years as a Police Officer in Texas. Ross has been an avid motorcycle rider his entire life including 7 years as a Motorcycle Officer. Ross began building bikes in his garage in 2018 as a therapy for his own PTSD. Ross was invited to be a builder on build 11 in Paris, Texas and has not looked back since, devoting his time and energy to the success and future growth of Motorcycle Missions.
Sofi Tsingos
Build Mentorship Program Advisor
You might expect someone whose childhood memories include being strapped to the tank of a motorcycle and taken for a ride to be very wary of bikes as an adult.
But it seems that this very experience had the opposite effect on 36-year-old Texan, Sofi Tsingos, who has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with motorized machinery. And the culprit? Her dad.
Sofi grew up messing around with old cars and motorcycles in her father’s workshop. And the two still work together in their two-car garage in the northern suburbs of Dallas, otherwise known as the headquarters of their motorcycle customization business, GT-Moto.
Guest Mentors
Real Deal Revolution
Guest Mentors
Jessi Combs (the blonde) and Theresa Contreras (the brunette) are the co-creators of Real Deal Revolution, a non profit that revolutionizes the perception of skilled trades and women’s roles in them. The two met during the 2012 SEMA Business Women’s Network (SBN) Ford Mustang all female build; the car was at Theresa's paint shop and Jessi swung by to help the process. It was right then they realized a mutual appreciation and respect for each other's passion to work, devotion to details, and drive to inspire. Both are steadfast in their skillsets and carry an air of assertiveness in all they set out to do... which is a lot... because in their minds, anything is possible! FASTER THAN FEAR, WE MISS YOU, OUR JESSI COMBS. FOREVER OUR SISTER. FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS.
Shane Conley of How2Wrench
Guest Mentors
How2Wrench was formed during a painful loss of Shane Conley’s mother due to a mistake made in her healthcare. This sparked a deep desire in him to make change in the delivery of technical education and raise awareness for scholarships in the areas of technical studies. As one of the first technician content producers on the original YouTube platform, How2Wrench has since impacted over 230 countries and it’s 16 million visitors to date.