Col. gerry w leonard (ret)
Business Leader | Veterans' Advocate | Fundraiser | Former Congressional Candidate | Jamestown, Rhode Island
Col. Gerry Leonard served over 30 years in the United States Marine Corps, leading at every level from company command to senior staff. Early in his career, he commanded the I-I Staff of 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines (2006–2008) in Houston, managing more than 900 personnel and $35 million in assets while improving equipment readiness, cutting budget growth, and streamlining global deployment logistics. He then taught at the U.S. Naval War College (2008–2010), mentoring senior officers and revamping the Marine Corps strategy curriculum.
Leonard went on to serve as chief of plans for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan (2010–2011), developing the strategic plan endorsed by all 28 member nations. Selected as a Senior Fellow in the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group (2011–2012), he helped design innovative warfighting concepts adopted for further development. As commanding officer of the Weapons and Field Training Battalion at Parris Island (2013–2015), he transformed organizational culture to boost performance.
Before retirement, he served as chief of staff for Marine Forces Reserve (2015–2019), he drove operational reforms improving key performance indicators by 58%, delivered cost savings of $3 million annually, and secured critical cyber infrastructure funding, all while reinforcing the Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment.
After retiring from the Marines, Leonard became vice president of operations at Bentley Builders, a Rhode Island-based construction and facilities management firm. He oversaw projects across New England, emphasizing teamwork, operational excellence, and delivering results for clients in a highly competitive industry.
In 2023, Leonard left his position in Bentley Builders LLC and ran for Congress in Rhode Island’s 1st District as a self-described “common-sense Republican.” He won the Republican primary and ran on a platform of bridging partisan divides, supporting small businesses, and restoring trust in government. Though he lost in the general election, he earned respect for his thoughtful, mission-focused approach to public service.
Leonard’s career history includes over 15 years of expertise in organizational strategy, process optimization, performance improvement, and risk mitigation.
Deeply committed to supporting fellow veterans, since 2019 Leonard has volunteered as a fundraiser for Project Healing Waters Fly-Fishing, a nonprofit helping disabled veterans heal from the physical and emotional wounds of war. With his son, he raised over $20,000 by hiking the entire 2,200-mile Appalachian trail over five months, demonstrating his belief in the Marine ethos of caring for your team—on and off the battlefield.
Leonard holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hartwick College, a master’s from Marine Corps University, and a Master of Art in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. Thirteen generations of his family have lived in Rhode Island and he remains active in his Rhode Island community, dedicated to leadership development, veterans’ advocacy, and applying Marine Corps values to every new challenge he takes on.
Harry Kizirian
Decorated WWII Veteran & Postmaster | Providence, Rhode Island
A first-generation American and lifelong resident of Providence, Rhode Island, Harry Kizirian was born in 1925, the son of two Armenian immigrants who had separately fled the targeted mass violence in their home country before meeting and starting a family in Providence. As Harry grew up, he became a top athlete in Rhode Island, shining as a local football star. When he was 15, his father passed suddenly, and the responsibility of caring for his mother, who bore the trauma of having lost her first husband and seven children to the atrocities committed in Armenia, fell to him. He dutifully took roles at a meat-packing plant and the Providence post office while attending high school.
The day after graduating high school in 1944, Kizirian enlisted in the Marine Corps. Eight months later, he was deployed to the Pacific as a fire team leader with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Marines, 6th Marine Division. During the invasion of Okinawa, April 1945, Kizirian was in the first assault wave on the heavily fortified island. From more than two months in combat on Okinawa, his heroic efforts earned him the Bronze Star with Combat “V”, two Purple Hearts, and the Navy Cross, the second highest medal awarded to any United States military personnel. A photo taken of Kizirian during a break in fighting found its way to the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine in June 1945, becoming the defining image of the battle for Okinawa to millions of Americans.
After seventeen months overseas, Kizirian was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in February 1946 as the most decorated veteran in Rhode Island’s history. He returned home to Providence, where he was awarded the Rhode Island Cross by then-governor John Pastore, one of the few recipients to ever receive this honor from the state. He married and started a family while also undergoing surgeries to repair physical trauma he had suffered during his time in Okinawa.
Returning to work for the Providence post office, Kizirian was hired as an administrative clerk, promoted to foreman, then later chosen by President John F. Kennedy to serve as Postmaster of Providence, making him one of the youngest postmasters in the nation at only 36 years old. During his tenure, he led the effort to transform Providence’s post office into the first automated postal facility in the United States. The Providence location became a global model of postal innovation under Kizirian’s leadership. "There is no nation on this earth that didn't send representatives to see the new post office,” he would say years after the transformation was completed.
Kizirian retired from the postal service in 1986 and devoted his time as a board member of numerous community organizations in Rhode Island including the Providence YMCA, Rhode Island Blue Cross, the Rhode Island Heart Association, the Rhode Island Lung Association, and many more. He also served in various capacities with the American Legion, the Marine Corps League, and his local VFW chapter. He was chairman of the federal department of the United Fund from 1962 to 1981 and served as the president of two local postal worker unions over the course of his career. He remained active with Providence’s Armenian community throughout his life, serving as a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Govdoon Youth of America. In retirement, he continued to volunteer regularly with groups such as Big Brothers, the Veterans Home in Bristol, and the Heart Association.
Harry Kizirian passed away in 2002, at age 77. Even today, his legacy in Providence is visible throughout the town with a post office, plaza, and elementary school all bearing his name, standing testaments to the powerful impact this proud Marine left on his community.