Meet the LHR Team & Board Members!
They are a huge part of what makes us great through source funding, implementing strategy for growth and orchestrating sustainability measures to ensure our continued success!
Melissa Craft, Founder & CEO
Melissa Craft has worked in the petroleum industry as a mentor, leader, and instructor. For 12+ years. She has held various roles of responsibility within leadership as a successful entrepreneur and a servant of her peers in the workplace. The majority of her time was spent working with Data & Reporting, KPI’s and building automated dashboards for Offshore and Onshore Operations. Her career started in Compliance and Regulatory Affairs in Offshore building a Management System post Macondo and supported Production Operations with Asset Integrity and Regulatory compliant processes and procedures, and included Drilling & Completions for Work Orders and Action Items, Construction (Greenfield & Brownfield Projects), HRIS build and implementation for LMS systems, Health & Safety (HSE) metrics & lessons learned, and Emergency Response on the Doc-L Team for Anadarko spill drills.
As a plane crash survivor and one who has fully recovered from trauma, Melissa was led to leave Oil & Gas to pursue her passion in ministry. In 2021, Melissa launched a 501©3 non-profit serving Veterans and First Responders impacted by Post Traumatic Stress (PTS). During her youth, Melissa actively pursued the scriptural commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” by modeling the life of Jesus to many of the hurting people she encountered everywhere she went. She has committed hundreds of hours to serving Christ by her Leadership and attendance of Bible Studies, Volunteering for Non-Profit organizations, online teachings and doing independent crusade evangelism by praying and mentoring those less fortunate in need of hope.
Melissa signed early as a college pitcher out of High School and enjoyed every minute of her time on the mound and 1st base at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor. Her college career playing ball set her up to overcome any obstacle that comes her way and quickly learned how to lean on the Lord, persevere and overcome. Melissa currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Business with a focus in Marketing and Minor in Psychology from The University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, A Master’s degree in Clinical Pastoral Counseling, backed by the National Christian Counseling Association (NCCA) & board certified using the ARNO Profiling System (APS) for Family, Youth, Addiction, Abuse & Trauma/PTS from The University of Colorado Theological Seminary and will be starting her Doctorate study mid 2022. Most recently Melissa finished her RBLP-T Training and will be implementing this Resilience Building Training into her Veteran and First Responder work. She is so excited to see what the future holds for her blended world of Corporate Leadership thru Oil & Gas Consulting, Equine Experiential learning and Counseling Services for our Hero’s.
Melissa is a loving friend and mother raising two amazing children who are the center of her world. Aubrey and Asher are blessed to have this rare opportunity to experience Equine Therapy from the forefront and see the impacts of mental health from the front row. Melissa says that growing up with horses changed her life and she feels so blessed to allow her children this same experience of healing power, friendship, responsibility, self-awareness, connection, and joy that only horses bring.
John Minyard, LHR Chairman of Board
Co Owner/Vice President Fantail Services, LLC.
With almost four decades of executive leadership and team building experience, John will provide your teams the clear direction they need, to achieve their goals and objectives for your company. I guarantee my company is unwavering in our commitment to give you, and your teams the purpose and direction it needs to be successful.
John served over 29 years in the United States Navy, as the 15th Fleet Master Chief. He was the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Commander US Pacific Fleet, the largest fleet command in the world. He led over 140,000 Sailors, Marines and Civilians before retiring with honorable and faithful service in 2013. For the last nine years, John has worked as a Project Manager, Executive Coach and Teambuilding Coach for a consulting company, leading projects throughout North America for world-wide oil and gas operations.
He was recognized as “Coach of the year” among his peers due to his leadership and coaching skills. He is known for his guidance to get inside organizations and improve their leadership development. He incorporates how to fine-tune operational methods. This saves millions of dollars in valuable equipment, property but most importantly saving lives. John is a graduate and was a four-year veteran Instructor at the US Navy Fighter Weapons School “TOPGUN,” As an alum of the US Senior Enlisted Academy and the National Defense University’s Keystone Course, his passion is aiding individuals and teams achieve their goals to become successful in business and life. He currently lives in San Marcos, TX with his wife Michele, of 37 years.
Jim “Fig” Knudsen, LHR Board Member
Jim, 30 year Navy Master Chief sits on the Board for LHR helping to achieve funding and support to sustain a sustainable Non-Profit Equine Therapy Organization. Here are Jim’s greatest accomplishments:
•30 Year Navy Master Chief
•Chief Petty Officer Leadership Training Team Lead
•Developed and facilitated leadership/team development
Training Seminar to 17,000 Chief Petty Officers across the Pacific Fleet
•Senior Enlisted Advisor/Command Leadership Team
•4 deployments to South China Sea
•Aviation Maintenance Master Chief
•14 aircraft and 200 maintenance technicians
•Served as a maintenance tech on Navy aircraft on board Carriers
•22 years and 10 Western Pacific deployments
•Oil and Gas experience
•CVX MCBU with Check 6, 1 year
•Exxon Mobile CAVU Project Manager/Field Coach 2 years
•2 Years Maintenance Management, Daifuku/ELS @ Amazon
•Born and raised in California – Currently resides in Las Vegas NV
Joshua Diskin, LHR Board Member
Josh is a Business Owner and Serial Entrepreneur in the FoodTech, Defense and AgTech niches. As a former Marine Corps Aircraft Rescue Firefighter, he served for eight years conducting Bilateral training in six different countries including Japan, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, and Italy. He also served as a Federal Firefighter for Naval Air Station Kingsville.
Josh is Co-Founder of Maxene’s Microgreens a Food-Tech company that leverages the power of mechanical engineering and automation to create top shelf, nutrient rich, plant-based supplement powders that enrich foods and lifestyles.
He is also the Co-Founder of LFTD Supply Co. an athletic supplement supply company dedicated to motivating people to become the best versions of themselves and combating mental health issues in veteran and first responder communities by donating to reputable charities.
Josh’s passion is to help people and teach them about the importance of eating for longevity and living a healthy lifestyle. Those passions lead him to pursue these businesses because they allow him to affect change on a mass scale.
POWER OF ONE
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” “God doesn’t require us to succeed, he only requires that you try.” “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” “If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” -Mother Teresa (Bojaxhiu)
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…“I made a difference for that one.” -Story by: Loren Eisley