BOSTON, September 22, 2026 —VETRN is pleased to announce the appointment of Holly Aker as Interim Director, a newly established leadership role that reflects the organization’s continued growth and commitment to expanding resources, training, and support for veteran entrepreneurs.
Since its founding, VETRN has built a strong community around helping veteran business owners strengthen and grow their companies through practical business education, peer learning, mentorship, and access to experienced professionals. The addition of an Interim Director represents an important next step in building the organizational capacity needed to strengthen that work, expand VETRN’s reach, and support its long-term sustainability.
“VETRN has built something incredibly valuable for veteran entrepreneurs, and we now have an opportunity to build on that foundation and prepare the organization for its next stage of growth,” said VETRN Founder Leland Goldberg. “Bringing Holly into this new leadership role gives us additional capacity to strengthen the organization, expand our partnerships and resources, and ultimately serve more veterans and veteran-owned businesses.”
Aker brings extensive experience in veteran entrepreneurship, organizational strategy, program development, and small business growth. She spent four years with the Veterans Business Outreach Center of New England, including serving as Interim Director, where she supported veteran and military-connected entrepreneurs and built partnerships across the SBA resource partner network, government agencies, and veteran-serving organizations. She previously served as an Outreach and Marketing Specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration and has designed and led entrepreneurship programs, technical assistance initiatives, and growth-focused cohorts serving business owners across multiple states.
Through her consulting work, Aker helps organizations and entrepreneurs translate opportunities into sustainable strategies, with a focus on program development, partnerships, funding strategy, and measurable impact. Her work has included developing entrepreneurship curriculum and training initiatives, securing and supporting millions of dollars in grant-funded projects, and building programs designed to strengthen the long-term capacity of entrepreneurs and the organizations that serve them.
In the Interim Director role, Aker will work with VETRN’s Board and leadership to strengthen the organization’s infrastructure, partnerships, and resource development while helping identify opportunities to expand the training, mentorship, and resources available to veteran business owners.
“VETRN has developed an extraordinary network of veteran business owners, mentors, instructors, and partners who bring tremendous experience to this community,” said Aker. “I’m excited to help build on that foundation—strengthening the organization behind the program while creating new opportunities to connect veteran entrepreneurs with the training, relationships, and resources they need to grow.”
VETRN’s national online program connects participants not only with experienced instructors and mentors, but also with professional and local business-development resources. VETRN works with SCORE, Veteran Business Outreach Centers, Small Business Development Centers, SBA District Offices, and a broad network of guest experts and professionals to help ensure participants can access both national expertise and resources within their own communities.
As VETRN enters this next stage, the organization will continue building upon that collaborative model while exploring opportunities to expand programming, partnerships, resources, and support for veteran entrepreneurs nationwide.
About VETRN
The Veteran Entrepreneurial Training & Resource Network (VETRN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veteran small business owners and their family members successfully grow their businesses. VETRN provides its entrepreneurship program free of tuition, giving participants access to the skills, resources, mentoring, and professional networks needed to build stronger, more sustainable businesses.
VETRN’s six-month program focuses on strategic business planning, cash flow and financial management, and business growth, combining classroom instruction with peer learning, mentoring, and access to experienced business professionals and resources. VETRN serves veteran and service-disabled veteran business owners and eligible family members through its national online program.
VETRN’s entrepreneurship training is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration.