BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joshua Hendryx, President
As the President of Phoenix Builders, Josh brings a high level of experience, passion, and dedication to the company goals and direction, while managing overall strategy and operations. His more than 20 years of industry experience and military service have yielded some of the largest, fastest and most technically complex projects throughout the country. Josh lives by and leads the Phoenix Builders Team by the mantra to always “rise above the ordinary” in every situation. When asked what motivates him, Josh emphatically states that he is motivated by delivering his clients with exceptional, rather than expected results. When Josh says that Phoenix Builders does project planning and execution better than the competition, he has the personal experience and expertise to confidently make that claim.
James Connelly, Vice President
James serves as the COO at Phoenix Builders and its affiliate companies where he brings almost 30 years of design, engineering, and lean operations experience. He started his career in Aerospace at Sundstrand where he served as a team member on many notable government programs, such as the F-22 Raptor, Boeing JSF X-32, RAH-66 Comanche, and NASA Space Development among many other commercial and private aircraft. He transitioned into the world of Robotics and Automation where he served as President of BBD for 10 years. He also owns and operates C-Werks, a small design engineering firm, where he helps bring concepts to life and has developed a line of aftermarket products for the powersports industry. James currently is the Phoenix Builders liaison for the DOD SkillBridge and Hiring Our Heroes programs, where the focus is placement of veterans and/or their families as they transition into civilian life. When he is not in the office, you can find him on a golf course or traveling by RV with his wife and Australian Shepherds - Journey James and Briggs.
Brittany Freiberg, Secretary
Brittany currently serves as the Chief Development Officer and Executive Director of the Rock Valley College Foundation and has been with RVC for over eight years. Before joining Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL, she held various roles over eleven years within The Citadel Foundation, the military college of South Carolina, with her last role being the Director of Annual Giving.
With over 18 years of experience in higher education fund development, Brittany enjoys broadening her fundraising experience by serving on the following boards that hold great importance to her: Secretary of The Sparta Project Board of Directors, President of The Association of Fundraising Professional’s Rockford Chapter, and Rockford Lutheran Schools Resource Development Committee.
Jared Eischeid, Treasurer
With a master’s in taxation and his CPA, Jared is responsible for overseeing the finances of Sparta as well as Phoneix Builders and its affiliate companies. He is head of the overall investing, accounting, tax, and financial development. Prior to joining the team, he was the CFO of Aircraft Gear Corporation and owned his own financial advisory company. In addition to his CFO role, Jared is committed to making Phoenix Builders an industry leader in employee retention and HR benefits and has established internal hiring practices for veterans joining the Phoenix team. He is passionate about fostering a human-centered workplace for Sparta while
supporting social, cultural, wellness, education, and leadership development programming. When Jared is not at work, he is the Head Coach of his kids’ basketball, baseball, and soccer teams.
Tony Ingarra, Executive Director
Tony's passion for service began when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2004. While continuing to serve his country in the Marines, Tony began serving his local community as a law enforcement officer in 2009. Tony has been called upon to perform stability operations, community development, as well as humanitarian assistance both stateside and overseas. Tony currently serves as a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps for the Wounded Warrior Regiment providing and coordinating support for our wounded, ill, and injured service members. Combining his passion for service and his dedication to martial arts, Tony owns and operates a jiu-jitsu academy where he partners with multiple organizations to offer free training and instruction for veterans and law enforcement officers.
Tawny Biggs, Operations Director
Tawny has spent over a decade in human service organizational management - working in both senior living care, inpatient and outpatient behavioral health units. The past five years, Tawny has been involved in creating and developing intake procedures and best practices for multiple veterans organizations and substance abuse programs operating a crisis intervention helpline.
Tawny is currently working for an association of substance abuse and mental health facilities securing contracting with insurance companies, running call center operations and consulting for facilities.
She holds a certificate in CPI (Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training). Tawny's relationship with her father, Retired Glendale Fire Chief Donald Biggs (US Army, Vietnam veteran, 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and Fire Chief, retired Glendale Fire Department) has been her inspiration to serve our present warrior population. When time permits, Tawny can also be found lending a hand as a ropes course facilitator or out with the horses assisting with the equine assisted learning.