Strong Coffee Strong Women: Veteran’s Edition

The Catalyst Center is excited to announce a special Veteran’s Edition of Strong Coffee Strong Women on Thursday November 13th, in honor of Veteran’s Day. This session will feature Shannan Starling of Astra Solutions, Bailey Erickson and Alexis Nichols of Wafel Bitte, and Samantha Brinkley of Rocket City HR. Learn more about these amazing women below!

Shannan Starling, CEO / President of Astra Solutions

A former Warfighter and Combat Veteran, Shannan has a passion for supporting Warfighter needs and helping clients meet customer requirements. She is an experienced industrial base executive with a strong track record of exceeding customer requirements and expectations. Ms. Starling retired from the U.S Air Force after 23 years of service and a myriad of duty stations and operational deployments. After retiring, she supported the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) providing direct support to senior leadership on system level integration issue resolution across their $9B Missile Defense System (MDS) program.

Bailey Erickson and Alexis Nichols, Founders of Wafel Bitte

Bailey and her daughter Alexis sought a meaningful project during lockdown and decided to start a business together. Bailey, an experienced entrepreneur and Air Force veteran, wanted to teach Alexis how to turn an idea into reality before her enlistment. With Alexis’s love for baking, they aimed to create something that would bring joy to others. Having been stationed in Europe, they were familiar with the authentic taste and look of Belgian Liege Waffles. Noticing a lack of them in Madison, Alabama, they saw the perfect opportunity and began perfecting their recipe. They started selling pre-packaged waffles at local farmers markets, where they quickly became a hit. In 2022, Wafel-Bitte was named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by the Catalyst Center. In 2023, Wafel-Bitte was named Culinary Business of the Year (Gold) and Start-Up Business of the Year (Bronze). In 2024, Wafel-Bitte was selected as Alabama’s Small Business Success Story for Disaster Preparedness and Resilience.

Samantha Brinkley, CEO of Rocket City HR

Samantha Brinkley served 5½ years in the United States Air Force as a Personnel Officer. It was during her time leading the Personnel Services team at the Sacramento Police Department that she discovered her true passion for Human Resources. She realized HR is where business and people intersect — a place where strong leadership, empathy, and strategy come together to shape thriving workplaces. In 2011, Samantha founded  Rocket City HR Consulting to provide strategic HR solutions for organizations in need of part-time or project-based HR leadership, all while maintaining the balance of family life. What began as a solo venture has grown into a team of dedicated professionals serving clients across diverse industries, guiding businesses through every stage of the employee lifecycle.

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Join us to hear the inspiring “espresso-monials” of these Veteran Women in small business in the Huntsville area.

The Catalyst Strong Coffee Strong Women program shines a light on a woman business owner or community leader who exemplifies every woman’s unique path to success. Hear an“Espresso-monial” that will uplift and inspire and connect with other innovative, resourceful, and highly productive business owners and industry/government experts.