Serving Military Families Since 1879

BG Michael J. Meese, USA, Ret., PhD President Mike serves as President of Armed Forces Mutual, overseeing all aspects of the Association to ensure the financial security and independence of the American Armed Forces Community. He joined Armed Forces Mutual in 2013 as Chief Operating Officer and later became Executive Vice President and Secretary. He is a leader in military and Veterans issues, including chairing the 2016-17 Transition Team for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mike retired from the United States Army as a Brigadier General having concluded his 32-year career teaching economics and national security courses while serving as the Professor and Head of the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy. He has written numerous articles and two books: the Armed Forces Guide to Personal Financial Planning and American National Security. He served in a variety of strategic political-military positions including deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia for a total of 31 months and was the Executive Director of the Secretary of the Army’s Transition Team in 2005. He is a graduate of the National War College, U.S. Military Academy, and earned his Ph.D., MPA and M.A. from Princeton University.

COL Jerry Quinn (USA, Ret.) serves as Chief Operating Officer and Secretary at Armed Forces Mutual, overseeing all operations of life insurance, including new business, policy services, member benefits, and survivor assistance services.

Jerry has spent 30 years in the financial services industry where he has specialized in strategic programming, product development and delivery and business development. He retired from the U.S. Army after 40 years combined in active duty, National Guard and the Army Reserve. He has served in various command and staff assignments, including deployments in support of OIF, Desert Storm and Panama, and homeland defense missions in the United States. He is a graduate of the Senior Defense Comptroller’s Course, the Graduate School of Banking, and is a Fellow, Life Management Institute. Jerry holds a B.S. in Finance from Colorado State University and an M.B.A with an emphasis in Organizational Design from the University of Colorado.

Mark Matsuura joined Armed Forces Mutual in 2020 and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. He is responsible for overseeing Armed Forces Mutual’s financial and risk management operations and ensuring effective stewardship of its $1.3B investment portfolio.

Mark is a CPA with over 20 years of professional experience in accounting, finance, and management consulting. Prior to his tenure at Armed Forces Mutual, he worked with government agencies on World Bank sponsored projects to spearhead process reengineering initiatives, implement risk management programs, and develop innovative credit guarantee solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Mark also spent time at Deloitte leading audits of public and mid-market companies across a range of industries. Throughout his career, he has maintained a deep commitment to financial integrity, organizational excellence, and strategic leadership.

Mark holds a BA in Business Economics with an Accounting Minor from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Charlene Wilde is the Senior Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Armed Forces Mutual, where she provides strategic leadership in product development, life insurance innovation, and enterprise-wide process improvement. She is responsible for overseeing the design and enhancement of insurance products, driving operational efficiencies, and managing corporate contracting and support services to strengthen organizational performance. A former Officer in the United States Army Chemical Corps, Wilde combines mission-driven focus with corporate leadership to advance Armed Forces Mutual’s long-term growth and support to the military community. She is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI®️) and holds degrees from Pittsburgh State University, Webster University, and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Steve Mannell is the President of AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust. From the North Carolina headquarters office, he leads the team’s work to help ensure the financial security and independence of the American Armed Forces Community by being their premiere provider of financial planning, investment management, and trust services. Steve joined AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust in 2012 as the founding Chief Financial Officer . He retired from the United States Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) as the Chief of Operations after twenty years of service. He earned an MBA from Duke, an MPP from Harvard, and a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he later served as an Assistant Professor of Economics.

Jeff Havener is President of AAFMAA Mortgage Services LLC (AMS). Jeff has 30 years of financial industry experience, including real estate, consumer and commercial lending, and commercial operations. As President of AMS, he leads the organization in executing its strategic vision and achieving its goals of ensuring more members of our military community have access to superior mortgage solutions.

Before coming to AMS, Jeff served as Chief Lending Officer for Heartland Credit Union in Hutchinson, Kansas where he was responsible for all of the lending programs. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer for Allegiance Credit Union in Oklahoma City. Jeff holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Linfield College.

Charlie joined AAFMAA in 1999 as an Investment Assistant, eventually taking responsibility for the Association’s real estate investment portfolio. After the sale of the Association’s real estate portfolio at the end of 2006, he returned to his native Philadelphia. He re-joined AAFMAA in 2012 as General Manager of AAFMAA Property, responsible for the operations of AAFMAA’s real estate portfolio. Charlie holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Colgate University and a Master of Science in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University.

Tiana joined Armed Forces Mutual’s Executive Staff in 2004 as Assistant to the President where she worked on policy issues and coordination with the Board of Directors. Tiana currently leads the Human Resources team at Armed Forces Mutual. She is responsible for the overall coordination and evaluation of Armed Forces Mutual’s personnel function including recruitment, benefits administration, payroll, and employee development and recognition programs. Tiana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Management, with a minor in Spanish, from Gettysburg College.

Kevin joined Armed Forces Mutual in 2014 and is responsible for strategic direction and leadership of the integrated marketing team. Prior to joining Armed Forces Mutual, Kevin was the Manager of Marketing and Corporate Communications for the Federal Home Loan Banks Office of Finance, where he led internal and external communications efforts. Kevin began his career at the NASDAQ Stock Market where he spent almost nine years in Worldwide Marketing, holding various roles from execution to management. Kevin earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Mary Washington College and holds a M.B.A. in marketing and a M.S. in finance from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Nira Serpa joined Armed Forces Mutual in 2019 as Assistant Controller and currently serves as Controller. She is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the accounting activities of Armed Forces Mutual and its subsidiaries. Nira holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from George Mason University and is a CPA. Before joining Armed Forces Mutual, Nira served as the Corporate Controller of a 42-location, multi-state company generating over $100M in revenue.

A Naval Academy graduate, Mitch served as a Cryptologic Officer for over 12 years. He began his Naval career as Operations Officer for the Classic Wizard Program Operations Coordination Group at the National Security Agency. From 1989 to 1992, he served as Electronic Warfare Office and Tactical Action Officer in USS MERRILL (DD-976), which deployed twice to the Persian Gulf, including a deployment to help clear the mines from the Persian Gulf in the later stages of Operation Desert Storm.

After earning his master's degree, Mitch served at the National Reconnaissance Office as Deputy Director, Operational Support Office (OSO), from 1994-1998.

He was responsible for managing software development of several intelligence software applications used by all services, as well as OSO’s complex IT infrastructure of over 500 computers on networks at four different classification levels.

Mitch left the Navy to pursue career opportunities in technology. From 1999-2002, he stood up a commercial e-Business practice for a consulting firm in Arlington, VA. From 2002-2006 he led the Web and Programming Department at ECPI College of Technology in Manassas, VA, as well as teaching web development, programming, and computer and network technologies.

From 2006-2015, Mitch directed all web and email activities for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), while serving on the executive team planning and implementing strategy for HSLDA. From 2016-March 2023, Mitch was the Senior Director, Information Technology for NDIA, where he had the responsibility of leading all IT infrastructure and web activities for America’s leading defense industry association.

Mitch holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the US Naval Academy and a master’s in Systems Technology (Space Systems Operations) from the Naval Postgraduate School. He has been a certified Project Management Professional since 2005.

A recipient of many governmental awards including the Defense Meritorious Service, Joint Service Commendation, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation, and Kuwait Liberation Medals, Mitch, his wife Cheryl, and five of their eleven children live in Hamilton, VA.

Amanda Gertel has served as the Executive Assistant at Armed Forces Mutual since June 2019. In her role, she provides dedicated support to the President, Treasurer, and members of the executive team through strategic scheduling, event coordination, and organizational management. She also acts as the liaison between the Armed Forces Mutual Board of Directors and staff, ensuring seamless communication and operational efficiency.


Amanda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and is certified as an Associate Professional in Human Resources (aPHR®) through the HR Certification Institute®. She lives in Ashburn, Virginia with her partner and a thriving collection of houseplants. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, interior design, and connecting with family and friends.