In June of 2001, Emily McMahan was a newly commissioned military police officer and recent graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Just three months later, she was assisting the Pentagon police in the wake of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.

“My first duty station was as a military police platoon leader in the 293rd Military Police Company at Fort Stewart, Ga.,” said McMahan, who grew up north of Boston and graduated from Masconomet Regional High School. “I was first exposed to Washington, D.C. after my unit was sent to the Pentagon to assist the Pentagon police immediately after the 9/11 attacks.”

Deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan in 2003, McMahan led her platoon into Afghanistan’s Shahi-Kowt valley and to the Pakistani border in support of the 2-505th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s combat operations. Following her tour in Afghanistan, McMahan was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2006.

“During my time in Iraq, I worked with the Iraqi Police and Special Police in Baghdad in support of the 3d Infantry Division,” said McMahan, whose military experience includes combat deployments supporting Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Noble Eagle. She is the recipient of two Bronze Stars for her service.

After leaving active duty in 2006 as a Captain, McMahan continued in the Washington, D.C. reserves until 2009. She went on to earn an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and in 2013, was named the director of the newly created Alexandria Veterans Business Enterprise Center.

“The AVBEC was created to establish Alexandria and the DC-metro area as the top community for veterans to start a business, grow their business, or explore a new career,” McMahan said.

Created under the umbrella of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, AVBEC provides new or soon-to-retire service members with job transitioning skills and information on entrepreneurship.

“I am excited about AVBEC and what we are doing for veterans in Alexandria,” McMahan said. “It’s a privilege and honor to help strengthen the veteran business community here and in the D.C. area.”

The mother of two young boys – John, 3, and Matthew, 11 months – McMahan met her husband Caleb during her time at Fort Stewart. The two were married at a courthouse in Savannah just days before their deployment to Iraq in 2005.

Prior to creating the AVBEC, McMahan served as a partner and chief financial officer at Halfaker and Associates, a start-up technology firm serving the federal government. She and her family have called Northern Virginia home for eight years.

“Serving in the military right after Sept. 11 was challenging amidst evolving conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan,” McMahan said. “However, the one consistent theme is that when you’re deployed with professionals who you trust, it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing. Now, our mission with AVBEC is to reconnect those professionals in the business world and in our community.”