About EdgeConneX Salutes
In Partnership With Salute Mission Critical
EdgeConneX is proud to work alongside many amazing Veterans and Veteran spouses/partners who work with the same integrity, dedication, discipline, precision, and high-quality approach as they did while serving their respective countries. With that in mind, we are excited to launch a new initiative, EdgeConneX Salutes, to honor these fantastic women and men and help tell their stories in a way that also guides other Veterans in their transitions from the military into the data center industry.
We are also very honored to continue our collaboration with our long-standing partner, Salute Mission Critical, an organization that has been instrumental in training and placing Veterans into skilled roles and rewarding careers within data centers across the globe. Changing lives every day, Salute has been recognized globally for its collective and impactful efforts across our ever-growing data center industry. To date, EdgeConneX has 81 Salute Veterans working alongside our teams, and EdgeConneX has been proud to hire many as full-time employees.
Get To Know Some of Our Amazing Veterans
Kellie Dinkelman
Director of Solutions Architecture
Army Veteran
What inspires you the most?
"Something that pushes me is my need to always be good at what I’m doing. I push myself the hardest and have a strong work ethic. I don’t want anyone to think I’m not working hard enough. A team environment also inspires and motivates me to continue working hard and doing the best I can. My family also inspires me. I love spending time with my four dogs and my husband."
Jeremy Dillard
Critical Systems Engineer
Army Veteran
Top tips for others making the same type of transition? I wish I had known…
"I worked my way up and so can you. There are many opportunities out there and there are programs that will help you. EdgeConneX in partnership with Salute has helped a lot of veterans. I didn’t know much about data centers early in my military career. People don’t talk about the career opportunities of working for data centers enough. We need to get the word out more. You can work for Salute Mission Critical and be a technician, there are also many VA and educational benefits – pursue them! And, most of all – always be willing to learn!"
Edison Obregon
Manager of Property Management
Marine Veteran
What are your hobbies/interests?
"I love to travel. When I take a vacation it’s whatever my wife likes to do : ) I love to see new cities/countries and one time surprised my wife with a trip to New York where we saw the Lion King on broadway. We had front-row seats and it was amazing! My wife is a huge Disney fan and loves to go to Disney. We go all the time since we also have a 6-month-old son. As you can tell, I love to spend time with my family. I also like to experience new things. I am involved in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, wedding photography, and playing and composing music. I play the bass, guitar, piano and drums and play for my church. My church is #1 in my life. It’s everything!"
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Dave Foss
Sr. VP of Edge Data Center Operations
Marine Veteran
What does EdgeConneX culture of Customers, People, Planet mean to you?
"Since I am customer-facing and support the sales team, I get the opportunity to interact with customers regularly. It is always top of my mind to support our customers – our people – our planet. We are doing a lot of things at EdgeConneX to promote green energy in our data centers. Some of the things we are actively working on include zero-landfill efforts, recycling back into the system, and carbon credits to offset the impact."
Kimberly Scimone
Account Manager
Air Force Veteran
What does EdgeConneX culture of Customers, People, Planet mean to you?
"EdgeConneX cares about the environment, the future and the next generation. It is so inspiring and makes you want to do better. Being a part of a company that is focused on that is truly amazing."
Steven Hill
Sr. Director of Solutions Architecture
Army Veteran
What inspires you the most?
"Family inspires me the most. They help to keep it all together. And in my professional career, making sure my team is set up for success is what inspires me. My duty, my people."
Steve Lorenzo
Director of Solutions Architecture
Air Force Veteran
What inspires you the most?
"Hands down my wife inspires me the most. She is by far the brains in our household and is always wanting to learn and grow. It is inspiring. She is constantly pushing me professionally and to embrace all that I have to offer. I wake up every morning and enjoy what I do. Not everyone can say that."
Martin Gydam
Director Data Center Physical Security
Army Veteran
What does EdgeConneX culture of Customers, People, Planet mean to you?
"Customers are the first thing I think of when it comes to EdgeConneX. EdgeConneX is a very customer-centric company; in all its processes and projects and in everything they do. At EdgeConneX we start with the customer and work our way back from there. The customer is always first in mind. It’s a real thing and an honor to be a part of an organization like this."
Marco Escobar
Regional Manager - Service Delivery-LATAM
Marine Veteran
What are your hobbies/interests?
"I love muscle cars and having them rebuilt and then showing them at car shows. I’m also involved with the American Legion and when they have a memorial walk for the World Trade Center, for example, my family and I volunteer to serve food and help out with other projects."
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Mason Conner
Regional Manager West Coast
Air Force Veteran
What inspires you the most?
"What inspires me is the fact that EdgeConneX has provided me with great training and the ability to pass on my knowledge to train other employees and watch them grow in their careers. My past experience has shown me that this is not the norm. I appreciate leadership allowing me to be successful in my endeavors at EdgeConneX."
Lee Kirby
Co-Founder of Salute Mission Critical
Army Veteran
What inspired you to start Salute Mission Critical?
"I was retiring in 2012 and wanted to continue to serve. At that time, the unemployment rate for 25-30-year-old veterans was over 25% due to a couple of surges and the 2008-2009 recession. With my background in the industry, I could create the demand to be able to hire veterans and get them retrained and started on a data center career. The market needed our solution, so it worked out."
Hear from EdgeConneX Veterans
What It Means To Be a Military Veteran in the Technology Industry
Contact Us
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or to schedule an interview or briefing.
For media and analyst inquiries, please contact EdgeConneX Public Relations: jsa_edgeconnex@jsa.net
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