MEET THE TEAM
Meet The Team
Chris Briley
Chris graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, in 2005, and subsequently received a commission in the United States Marine Corps. As a Lieutenant, he served as a Team Leader in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. For his actions in Afghanistan, Chris was awarded multiple combat awards, including the Bronze Star with Combat Valor 'V' device, and the Purple Heart for injuries sustained. Chris's performance and combat experience led him to be selected to become a Combat Warfighting Instructor in Quantico, Virginia. After retiring from the Marine Corps in 2013, he returned to Texas and founded his own oil and gas firm - Briley Mineral Partners. The Briley Mineral Partners team successfully acquired more than $60 Million in oil and gas mineral rights. Today he is Co-Founder and CEO of Rushmore Minerals, a portfolio company for a Dallas-based private equity firm; and President for Ride For Your Flag (RFYF), a veteran-focused 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Chris has three kids and splits time between Dallas and McAllen, Texas with his wife, Nataly. His hobbies include 3-gun shooting, bird hunting, race cars, and motorcycles of all types. Chris is an avid adventurist, and it is his love of the outdoors and helping others that ultimately led to the creation of RFYF.
George Rice
George was born and raised in Mission, TX. Shortly after September 11th, 2001, he enlisted in the United States Army. George served with the elite 10th Mountain Division and conducted several combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
Upon leaving active duty in 2010, George returned to his home state of Texas and worked in the oil and gas industry. He maintained close relationships with other veteran friends and organizations, which led to the idea of opening up a veteran-owned and operated small business. In 2017, George and his veteran partners launched a production-focused brewing business, called 5x5 Brewing Company, headquartered in McAllen, TX. Recently, The House Method ranked 5x5 Brewing Company as the 7th most popular brewery in the state of Texas, and 143rd nationally. George is heavily involved in the Rio Grande Valley community and supports a variety of veteran, small business, and local organizations. He is motivated to be a Co-Founder of the Ride For Your Flag (RFYF) team and believes in the positive impacts this ride will make for individuals and organizations alike. George and his wife, Alexa, are blessed to have two beautiful children, Evan and Bree.
Patrick George
Patrick holds an MBA from the Johnston School at Cornell University, where he was a Roy H. Park Leadership Fellow and Nolan Scholar. He earned a BA in Economics and Government from the University of Texas at Austin and is a recipient of the Frank J. Ruck Leadership award. To this day Patrick still serves on the Advisory Council to Cornell’s Johnson School. Patrick was commissioned in the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 2005. He completed two combat tours to Iraq, as an infantry platoon commander in 2008, and again in 2009 as the operations officer responsible for border security and interdiction operations along the Syrian and Jordanian borders. For more than 15 years now Patrick has served his country with pride and distinction, and he's currently a Major serving in the Marine Corps Reserves. Today Patrick acts as the Founder and Managing Partner of Beachwood Ventures, a generalist private equity investment and advisory firm, and an Operating Partner to Synergy Fuels, a leader in clean energy solutions. He serves as an Advisor to Mineral Answers.com, a technology platform that brings transparency to mineral ownership. Additionally, he serves on the board of Hover Energy, a wind technology company that is transforming how businesses embrace renewable energy. Of notable mention, Patrick was recently recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year nominee, Dallas Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40, and Oil and Gas Investor’s Top 40 under 40. Patrick resides in Dallas and enjoys fly fishing, shooting, and geopolitics.
Sonny Alba
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Frank Alba Jr. "Sonny" graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1995 and subsequently received a commission as a Lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 2005. Sonny did several deployments including to the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He earned a Master of Arts in National Security Affairs for East Asia and the Pacific from the Naval Postgraduate School and graduated from the Defense Language Institute for both Persian-Farsi and Chinese-Mandarin. In July 2019 Sonny retired from the Marine Corps with over 24 years of active duty service. Sonny's top personal awards include: Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. Since retirement, Sonny has consulted and led high-level executive projects across multiple industries to include Oil and Gas, Security, and Textiles. Today Sonny is the Co-Founder and President of Global Frontier Communications, a Service Disabled Veteran Owned company providing broadcast engineering services and communications equipment solutions for government and private sector clients. Sonny currently lives in San Antonio, Texas with his son and daughter. As a Co-Founder of Ride For Your Flag, Sonny has the opportunity to continue to serve the community and the nation. Sonny also enjoys spending time with his kids, marathon running, fishing, and helping others.
Erik Ozuna
Erik Ozuna is best known for his work with This and That Inc. where he spearheaded the launch of a startup, helping take the product nationally within three years. Currently consulting as the Chief Wellness officer for DSS Distributing in Nashville, TN, Erik works directly with the CEO planning, implementing, and administering protocols for the wellbeing of Senior Management, employees, and independent contractors. Erik is an avid Adventure Motorcyclist, Rock Climber, and Overlander. He is also currently pursuing Mountaineering and Alpinism. After a devastating automobile accident, Erik passionately pursued a holistic approach to regain his mobility and wellness. This life change led him to obtain multiple certifications in Functional Training, Movement, and Nutrition. Erik's love for Epistemology inspired him to pursue a degree in Philosophy from the University of North Texas, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. After he completed his Undergraduate degree, he sought training in Real Estate and Finance to advance his work with his Construction company.
A local of the Dallas area, Erik’s time is shared between Denton, TX, Nashville, TN, and Monterrey Mexico.
Madison Briley
Madison Briley, daughter of Chris, graduated from Texas State University in 2022 with a Bachelors of Science in Health Sciences. She gladly handles the social media/ photography for RFYF, as well as works for her dad's concrete company, Mustang Valley Concrete. Madison loves to travel, playing with her puppies, her Jeep, and hanging out with her family and her fiancé, Midshipman Russell. As having grown up as a military child, Madison has a great amount of respect for those who serve for our country and she is extremely proud and excited to be working with her dad as a part of Ride For Your Flag.
Kelley Smith Spoljaric
Kelley was born and raised in San Diego, California into a family with several relatives who served in the armed forces. As the daughter of a Navy fighter pilot who later became a government contractor, she grew up with an enormous respect for the military and the liberties we enjoy each and every day. She also witnessed firsthand the highs and lows of an entrepreneur who pursued a career in the private sector following his military service. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, Kelley took her can-do attitude and fierce determination to the Big Apple where she sought a career in Luxury Marketing. She climbed the corporate ladder at various companies including David Yurman and eventually became the Director of Marketing for Patek Philippe, a position she held for nearly 12 years. Today, Kelley runs her own boutique marketing firm where she helps clients grow their businesses and deepen customer relationships through strategic partnerships, brand positioning, events, and public relations. After spending 18 years in New York City, Kelley recently moved to Delray Beach, Florida with her husband and three young children. In her free time she enjoys spending time at the beach with her family, playing tennis, and watching her oldest son play ice hockey.
Dr. Kenny Ozuna
Dr. Kenny Ozuna, born November 29th, 1980 in San Nicolas de los Garza, N.L., Mexico currently lives in Austin, Texas and is the youngest son of Dr. Teofilo Ozuna Jr. and Mirna Ozuna Barrera. He is an adventurer both intellectually and in life and is always up to a great challenge. He is a strategic thinker.
Dr. Ozuna holds several degrees including a Doctorate of Philosophy with a concentration in Finance from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, a Masters in Business Administration with a focus on Finance and Operations from the University of Texas Pan-American and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Texas. Dr. Ozunas’ areas of research interest currently include entrepreneurial finance, capital markets, equity crowdfunding, fundraising, fintech and artificial intelligence. His research has been presented at the Financial Management Conference and the Academy of Business Research. Dr. Ozuna is the owner of an economic and finance consulting firm, Ozuna Analytics
LLC. Dr. Ozuna´s firm specializes in working with start-ups looking to attract new investments and scale operations. Dr. Ozunas’ specialty lies in technology startups that include a software element, hardware ventures with a manufacturing and logistics element on a global scale. Dr. Ozuna has participated in raising multiple funding rounds for star-ups totaling $20.8 million in investments.
Dr. Ozuna currently leads the finance department as Director Finance at L7 Informatics, a Biotechnology Company headquartered in Austin, TX.