USMC
USMCPresident of the Board
Phil Palmer
Founder and CEO, WarriorWOD. CRO, BigScoots.
Marine Corps combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient. Founded WarriorWOD in 2021.
WarriorWOD Foundation's veteran nonprofit leadership is a ten-member board of directors led by founder Phil Palmer, a Marine Corps combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient. Six of the ten directors served in the US military, and the board governs a six-month veteran PTSD program that 265 veterans have completed.
I went to Iraq as a Marine combat advisor and came home with a Purple Heart. I left the Marine Corps in 2013. Not long after, I was diagnosed with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.
I did what veterans are told to do. That said, traditional treatment only took me part of the way. What kept moving me forward was training hard every day, eating like it mattered, and a routine I didn't let myself skip. Other veterans held me to it.
Because of that, I started WarriorWOD in 2021 to give the next veteran the same structure and to prove whether it works. Every Warrior completes the PCL-5 and C-SSRS at intake and every month through all six months. The College of Charleston evaluated our results independently, and we don't review their findings before release.
Veterans deserve more than gratitude. They deserve solutions that work.
Two Naval Academy graduates, a Presidential Helicopter Pilot, a CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner, and operators from banking, healthcare, and consulting. The board sets strategy, approves the budget, and reviews program outcomes. As a result, most of the people governing this veteran support organization have served in uniform themselves.
USMCMarine Corps combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient. Founded WarriorWOD in 2021.
US Army (Ret.)Retired US Army. Teaches at Trident Technical College in Charleston.
Citadel AlumniCPA and Certified Fraud Examiner with 17 years in accounting and finance, starting at Ernst & Young. Citadel graduate. Treasurer since January 2024.
USMC (Ret.)Presidential Helicopter Pilot with HMX-1. Commanded The Basic School and the Marine Corps Martial Arts Center of Excellence, and was selected by the Commandant to start the Force Fitness Instructor Program. Legion of Merit.
USMC (Ret.)Naval Academy, 1993. 22 years as a Marine helicopter pilot and strategic planner. At Deloitte he led the first Crisis Management Plan for the 2020 Census.
USMCNaval Academy graduate and Field Artillery Officer with 1st Marine Division. Combat veteran of Iraq. 20 years in healthcare, MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.
US ArmyArmy veteran and former law enforcement officer. Founded CHARDEV, a marketing and public relations agency.
Citadel AlumniCitadel, Class of 2003. Founded BenCoxDesigns in Greenville, South Carolina, in 2005.
Works with veteran-owned businesses as Pinnacle Bank’s Veterans Business Banker.
President and Chief Operating Officer of Bagatta Associates, Inc.
Donors to nonprofit organizations for veterans should be able to check who governs the money and what it produces. For that reason, these are the numbers the board answers for.
In practice, two directors run the daily work with every Warrior Class.
Runs Warrior intake and assessment, Warrior Class management, and monthly outcome tracking across every active class. Background in trauma-informed care and veteran services.
Leads the nutrition side of the program. Trains and supervises the nutrition coaches and built the dietary framework every Warrior follows. Certified nutrition professional.
With your support, more victories become possible, giving veterans the chance to once again find purpose and rediscover lost joy.
WarriorWOD Foundation is led by founder and CEO Phil Palmer, a Marine Corps combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, and governed by a ten-member board of directors. Six of the ten directors served in the US military.
Erin Baskin, Director of Veteran Programs, runs intake, assessment, and monthly outcome tracking for every Warrior Class. Donnie McDaniel, Director of Nutrition, trains the nutrition coaches and built the dietary framework every Warrior follows.
Yes. WarriorWOD Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 87-1065126, governed by a ten-member board, and its Form 990 is public. The College of Charleston evaluated its outcomes independently, and Constellation Quality Health named it Innovative Partner of the Year in 2024 and 2025.
$1,500 funds one veteran's complete six-month program, or $125/month. That covers gym membership, nutrition coaching, InBody assessments, and a Battle Buddy who completed the program.
Six of ten: four Marine Corps veterans and two Army veterans. Two directors are Naval Academy graduates, and one, LtCol Joseph Shusko (Ret.), served 44 years in the Marine Corps.
Treasurer Miles Warren, a CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner, oversees the budget and financial reporting. WarriorWOD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 87-1065126, and its Form 990 is public.
The College of Charleston evaluated the program independently under separate grant funding (SCTR CES-P UM1TR005294) and found a 14.42-point PCL-5 reduction (p < .001, Cohen’s d = 1.33). WarriorWOD does not review the findings before release. Peer review is pending.
Every Warrior completes the PCL-5 and C-SSRS at intake and every month for all six months. Among 265 completers, overall PTSD symptom severity fell 38.25%, and all 9 veterans who entered with suicidal ideation remain alive.
The veteran nonprofit leadership on this page answers for every dollar and every outcome. One veteran's complete six-month recovery costs $1,500: gym membership, nutrition coaching, InBody assessments, and a Battle Buddy who completed the program. Warrior Supporters fund it together, starting at $22/month.
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US Army (Ret.)
Citadel Alumni