David Dearie

Those who serve — and the families who serve alongside them — deserve leaders who understand their world from the inside. That's the thread through my 30-year Navy career and the decade I spent building a nonprofit from the ground up.

I served more than 30 years in the Navy, advancing from Radioman Seaman to Region Command Master Chief for Navy Region Southwest — advising senior military leadership on morale, welfare, and readiness across ten active-duty installations. My career spanned nine ships, five shore commands, and deployments to more than 15 countries, including service as a U.S. Navy ambassador during Mediterranean and Western Pacific deployments.

In 2014, while still on active duty, I founded the Enlisted Leadership Foundation, a San Diego-based 501(c)(3) dedicated to developing the next generation of military, community, and national leaders. Over more than a decade as Founder and President, I built and governed a volunteer board of eight former senior enlisted leaders, raised an average of $275,000 annually, delivered leadership programming reaching 400 enlisted service members every year, and grew our signature Chief Petty Officer Pride Day into an annual gathering of 2,000 senior enlisted leaders — before stepping away in 2024 having handed the organization off in strong standing.

Since 2015, I've continued this mission at USAA as a Military Affairs Field Representative, partnering with military installations, ROTC programs, and organizations like Liberty Military Housing and Hiring Our Heroes to strengthen financial readiness and support service members and their families through every stage of transition.

I'm now seeking to bring three decades of military leadership and a decade of nonprofit governance to an executive role — CEO or Executive Director — with an organization dedicated to currently serving military members, veterans, and their families.