TCN Civic Engagement Fellow · 2026 Cohort
Brandon Waithe
USAF Retired · Global War on Terror
Akron, Ohio
Service
USAF Retired
Home
Akron, Ohio
Project
Buckeye Vets Coalition
Focus Area
Free & Fair Elections
About Brandon
An organizer rallying veterans to serve their communities in civic life.
Brandon Waithe is a retired USAF veteran of the Global War on Terror. After retiring from service, he returned to the Akron area to continue serving his community. Drawing from a diverse career across the military, nonprofit, and private sectors, Brandon channels his organizing instincts toward helping his local community thrive.
With the rise of authoritarianism and a notable absence of active veteran leadership in public life, Brandon set out to rally his fellow veterans to change Ohio for the better. That conviction — that veterans need to step forward, not stand back — drove him to co-found the Buckeye Veterans Coalition with Casey Keibler, another USAF retired veteran.
The Initiative
Buckeye Veterans Coalition
A statewide Ohio coalition mobilizing veterans as trusted civic voices for candidates, policies, and constitutional values that serve all Ohioans.
The Buckeye Veterans Coalition is a coalition of veterans working to drive systemic change for the good of their communities.
BVC leverages members’ unique standing and credibility as veterans to advocate for policies, candidates, and values across Ohio that fulfill the spirit and intent of the Constitution — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.
Focus Area Free & Fair Elections
BVC connects directly to TCN’s focus on Free and Fair Elections. By organizing veterans as visible, principled advocates inside Ohio’s civic life, the coalition expands the field of trusted voices speaking to constitutional values — and gives veterans a structured way to translate their oath into civic action at the state level.
Follow the Fellowship
One of five veterans building civic action in their communities.
Brandon is one of five veterans in TCN’s inaugural Civic Engagement Fellowship cohort. Follow the full cohort as they build community-based civic initiatives across the country.