Our Running Team

The Building Homes for Heroes Team will proudly be participating in the annual Marine Corps Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, Virginia to help raise awareness for the work we are doing for injured veterans, first responders and their families. Participating for Building Homes for Heroes will be Kim Vesey, Daniel Hernandez, Dan Nesci, and Melanie Nesci, joined by two of our veteran recipients, U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class Isaac Francois and U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Christopher Claude. Inaugurated in 1976, the Marine Corps Marathon is among the largest half marathon in the U.S. and is run by active-duty Marines. All donations will go towards our mission to build and modify homes for injured veterans, first responders and their families, and our many other programs to further support them with emergency funding, financial guidance, academic and athletic support, plus so much more.

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class Isaac Francois

Born and raised in Haiti, Isaac and his family moved to the U.S. in 2001 and it was his dream to serve his new country in the armed forces. He enlisted in 2004 served for 10 years as a medic before being honorably discharged. While serving in Afghanistan and caring for his fellow servicemen and women, Hospital Corpsman Second Class Francois was diagnosed with bilateral compartment syndrome, a condition in which insufficient blood flow reaches parts of the body. When he returned stateside, he underwent seven operations on his legs. He was also diagnosed with adjustment disorder and PTSD. His family received a mortgage-free home from Building Homes for Heroes in Maryland in 2020.

Kim Vesey

Kimberly Vesey is the Vice President and General Counsel at Building Homes for Heroes. Kimberly graduated from Hofstra Law School in 2006 and joined the Suffolk County District Attorneys’ office as an Assistant District Attorney.

She began volunteering for Building Homes For Heroes in 2008 in an effort to help the organization grow and progress. After four years of volunteer service, Kimberly joined the organization full time to focus her efforts on assisting our country’s injured heroes. She lives in NY with her husband and two daughters.

Daniel Hernandez

Daniel Hernandez enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 2012 right out of high school and served seven years. He graduated from Adelphi University in 2018 with a BA in Business. Wanting to do more for the military community, he joined the Building Homes for Heroes team in 2019 as Finance Manager and helps with the gifting of homes to injured veterans.

USMC Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Claude

Christopher enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1998 out of high school and served nine years before being severely injured in Iraq. While on an assignment, his team was ambushed by an Iraqi insurgent’s improvised explosive device (IED) designed to penetrate the armor of the unit’s Humvee. The front of the vehicle took the brunt of the explosion, and then crashed into a drainage ditch. Gunnery Sergeant Claude was the machine gunner in the rear of the vehicle and suffered severe burns and the eventual amputation of his right leg. The Claude family received a mortgage-free home from Building Homes for Heroes in Pennsylvania in 2017.

Sergeant Daniel Nesci

Sergeant Daniel Nesci enlisted in the Marine Corps right out of high school in 2010 and served his country for over ten years. While being stationed in Okinawa, Quantico, and Garden City, Sgt Nesci worked as the Logistics Chief for his unit. After being honorably discharged in 2021, he began his career working for the Department of Homeland Security. Sgt Nesci will be running in the Marine Corps Half Marathon alongside his wife Melanie who works for Building Homes for Heroes.

Melanie Nesci

Melanie Nesci started working for Building Homes for Heroes in 2022. Her husband, Daniel served in the Marine Corps for over 10 years and together they have two sons. After working in the Department of Defense school system for 5 years, she experienced the effect deployments and injures have on servicemembers and their families. She is passionate about working with our nations wounded veterans and giving back to the military community.