Loni Richards is a highly decorated Navy veteran with a Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, MD. Her naval career highlights include her first assignment on the USS MONTEREY out of Norfolk, VA as the Electrical Officer, serving at the Pentagon with the Chief of Naval Operations Management Analysis reserve unit, deploying to Djibouti, Africa as the Strength Management Officer for the Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, and serving with Seal Team EIGHTEEN at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Virginia. She received an honorable discharge as a Lieutenant in 2017. Her corporate experience includes positions of increasing responsibility at Merck Pharmaceuticals, United Technologies Corporation, and Lockheed Martin Corporation. In her current endeavor, she is the CEO & President of the veteran founded non-profit, Service After Service in Shelton, CT. The mission is “serving our communities after serving our country”. Loni empowers veterans to get back out into their communities and serve again through various ways to include fiscal sponsorship. The focus areas are education, community, and health & wealth. Loni has successfully integrated one of her passions into her nonprofit through a program called Confidence Through Modeling. In addition to being a veteran Naval Officer, she is also a model, actress and producer, signed with New England Model Group. She has walked numerous runways from Los Angeles to New York City and trained with America’s Next Top Models Brittney Sharaun and Laura James. Her acting projects include the TV pilot, Brother, NBC TV show, Smash, independent film, 50 Pack, and web series Through It All. She has produced major runway shows for Connecticut Fashion Week, as well as the web series, Party Lines and even sponsored models for New York Fashion Week. Recently, she was featured in a Keno Lottery Commercial in New Hampshire. She models under the name Destiny Tenille and uses her runway expertise to teach self-confidence, charisma, and body language to males and females of all ages in her Confidence Through Modeling program. In addition to collaborating with Dress For Success, Confidence Through Modeling teamed up with CHAMPS for Autism in May 2019 for a fundraiser fashion show. Loni sits on the Board of Managers for the Julia Day Nursery School, as well as the Advisory Board for Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys and Girls Club both in Ansonia, CT. Additionally, Loni sits on the Board of Directors for The WorkPlace in Bridgeport, CT as well as the Veteran Advisory Boards for both Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal. Loni is a founding member of the Connecticut Fairfield and New Haven Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. Her awards include the 2017 Connecticut Wartime Veteran Service Medal, National Defense Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, 2017 Lockheed Martin Diversity & Inclusion Award, and the President”™s Volunteer Service Award, to name a few. Recently, Loni competed and finished in the Top 10 for the 2019 Ms. Veteran America Competition in Hollywood, CA. Loni Richards lives in Ansonia, CT with her husband and 10 year old son. Her second book, Said No One Ever, is set to release in 2020. It is a story about unapologetically creating your own path, utilizing stories from Loni”™s life.
