Meet the Founders
Our Team
Dr. Jerry Branson, Co - Founder
A teacher and learner. His professional experience is a combination distributed among private, government, and academic sectors. In the private sector he provides consultation, technical course design, and course instruction. Within the government sector he provides engineering services to various branches of the government including over thirty years of federal service and four years of overseas engineering services. Within the academic sector he has taught for the Louisville Technical Institute, University of Maryland, University of Louisville, and George Mason University. He has proudly taught from Hunt Valley Elementary Kindergarten to Graduate courses at George Mason and everywhere in between. He has a wide range of interests including technical training education and mentoring, magnetics/relativity bridge development, wounded veteran technology, small low power electronic circuits, dangerous goods transportation, holography, optical computing, solar and power alternatives, automated learning systems, micro fabrication, acoustics, and barbershop quartet arrangement.
Dr. Branson is currently an engineering faculty member at University of Louisville.
Dr. Randy Roush, Co - Founder
An electrical Engineering PhD and IEEE Senior Member, with 30 years of research, product development, operational deployments, and teaching experience. He has served as senior adviser to Law Enforcement, Intelligence Agencies, and Military Special Operations. In addition, Dr. Roush has served in senior leadership positions with both small and large companies with the goal of transitioning technology from the research lab to applications. His primary research focus has been in solid state and high-energy physics, laser design, plasma physics, audio/video, and RF (antennas and systems). Product development has been centered around RF/antennas, audio, optics, video hardware, and signal processing technologies. Dr. Roush has twenty years of teaching electronics, RF and antenna theory/design, audio/video technologies, and power systems, with an emphasis on creating unique, real-world instructional methodologies.
Dr. Roush is currently an engineering faculty member at North Carolina State University.
Michael Ferreira, Managing Partner
An accomplished professional with a distinguished 20-year career in the National Defense sector. His expertise lies in orchestrating complex programmatic and technical solutions, showcased through key roles including Special Advisor at Highlander Defense, Founder of Stray 74 Group, and Director of Product Development at WinTec Arrowmaker. Michael's reputation for strategic and tactical management is underscored by his involvement in managing projects with budgets up to $3 billion for the Department of Defense and State Department. His journey includes significant time spent supporting the Pentagon’s Joint Electronic Advanced Technology (JEAT) Program and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), where he played a crucial role in developing, integrating, and fielding cutting-edge technologies and operational strategies to enhance mission capabilities. With a focus on innovation, Michael has demonstrated proficiency in a range of technical areas, such as electronic warfare systems, satellite communications, and advancements in data fusion, AI and machine learning. His tenure includes over 15 years as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR), developing impactful collaborations with national and international partners.
Casey Roush, Director of International Affairs
A veteran of the U.S. Army, 75th Ranger Regiment and the 82nd Airborne Division. He graduated as valedictorian from North Carolina State University with a B.A. in Psychology, earned his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern School of Law, and obtained an LL.M. in International Business Law from IE University in Madrid. Casey has experience working in both the international law firm and major corporate in-house legal department settings, and currently runs a successful consulting business advising on privacy, security, and international concerns. He is currently based in Paris and speaks English, Spanish, and French.
William Hevener, Managing Partner
Bill is a multifaceted professional with a distinguished career spanning military service, entrepreneurship, executive leadership, and angel investing. His diverse background includes entrepreneurial ventures, founding a technology company supporting early-stage startups and founders, and co-founding a speech-language and feeding practice focused on the developmental success of infants, toddlers, and adolescents. Bill’s expertise is strengthened by his U.S. Navy service and extensive industry experience in technology integration, consulting, and training for organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small technology firms. He holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Bill also earned an M.S. in Organizational Leadership and B.S. in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis from Norwich University. Bill now brings his wealth of experience and expertise to the Build Foundation team, where his unique combination of military discipline, technological acumen, and business savvy positions him as a valuable asset in fostering innovation and driving organizational success.