Aaron C. Schaffer
Founder · Board Chair
Aaron C. Schaffer is the Founder and Executive Director of Second Mission Shield. A U.S. Navy veteran, he served as a Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class aboard a guided-missile destroyer, deploying in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. His leadership is shaped by lived experience, formal education, and professional work across federal veteran support systems, nonprofit veteran treatment initiatives, and clinically supervised recovery agencies.
Aaron began his post-service career supporting veterans navigating housing instability, benefits barriers, and long-term stabilization through federal-level veteran homelessness work. That experience gave him direct insight into both the value and limitations of large systems, especially when veterans needed timely, personal, and sustained support.
He later served with a remarkable local nonprofit supporting veterans enrolled in Veteran's Treatment Court. Aaron initially joined assisting the mission as Lead Peer Mentor, meeting with, and supporting veterans as they attend court each week. Within just a couple of months with the organization, he had the pleasure of facilitating "Buddy Check" support groups for veterans navigating VTC every evening, six nights a week.
While completing his undergraduate degree, Aaron moved into frontline recovery work at an innovative recovery agency. Under clinical supervision, he acted as "Counselor-in-Training" (CIT) & Approved Treatment Provider (ATP) with Department of Corrections. In this position, Aaron conducted extensive client intakes, supported early stabilization, and worked directly with DOC clients through individual sessions. Aaron also has training certifications and experience facilitating Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, addiction, trauma,, peer support, and DUI treatment groups.
These experiences became the foundation for SMS. After seeing the limits of federal bureaucracy, nonprofit hierarchy, and fragmented recovery systems, Aaron began building an organization designed to respond faster, think more deeply, and support veterans across the full arc of recovery and reintegration.
Aaron holds a Bachelor of Science in Mental Health and Wellness Advocacy with a minor in Psychology from Metropolitan State University of Denver. He is currently attending Colorado State University, pursuing a Master of Science in Management, specializing in Strategic Innovation and Change Management.
Aaron applies his academic training directly to the design, scaling, and long-term sustainability of Second Mission Shield’s programs, systems, and operational infrastructure.
His leadership is grounded in a trauma-informed, systems-oriented framework that prioritizes stability, dignity, accountability, and long-term recovery.