HEAL WITH STEEL
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Our Team
Rob L. Duane
FOUNDER, CEO, & Secretary-Treasurer
Rob is a retired US Army Command Sergeant Major with over 30 years of service. The majority of his 30-plus year career was in Special Operations and Special Forces units. He deployed all over the world, including multiple tours to Afghanistan and Iraq. In his final duty position prior to retirement in 2015, Rob served as the Corps of Cadets Command Sergeant Major at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY. Rob began working with metal in the summer of 1976 between his freshman and sophomore years of high school. He continued metalworking as a hobby throughout the years since and earned a welding certificate from the Welder Training & Testing Institute in Allentown, PA in 2018. Between 2015 and 2021, Rob took blacksmith classes with Dave Fisher of Fisher Forge in Hamburg, PA, and with Allen Schaeffer of Furnace Creek Forge in Robesonia, PA. He considers himself an amateur smith and continues to hone his skills at every opportunity. Healing Flames Forge is Rob's way of giving back to a deserving community.
Nancy Grim
President
Bronson Duane
TECHNOLOGY ARCHITECT
An established Technology Architect who demonstrates expertise and broad ranging experience in the design, prototyping, performance validation and configuration of Enterprise Environments to meet specified business requirements. Adept in executing IT strategies that are in alignment with corporate objectives, collaborates with executives to use technology to transform and simplify business processes while delivering a top end business infrastructure. An energetic leader with a passion for team development and has demonstrated ability to effectively lead and work in a highly matrixed and fast paced global environment. Possess the ability to prioritize tasks to accomplish maximum results, timely completion of projects, and ability to address organizational problems with innovative solutions.
Frank Duane
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Frank is Rob's older brother. He is a graduate of Fox Valley Tech in Appleton, Wisconsin, with a degree in wildlife management. Frank has a vast knowledge of animal caretaking and has raised pretty much everything with scales, feathers, and fins. Frank lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is the master brewer at a small brewery. He is also an exceptional author. Look for his amazing fantasy book N'og-Ard Chronicles: The Crowning of Nathaniel on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Melissa Russell
Honorary Lifetime Board
Member for contributions to the startup of Healing Flames Forge. We are forever
grateful for her tremendous support.
Byron Russell
Honorary Lifetime Board Member for contributions to the startup of Healing Flames Forge. We are forever grateful for his tremendous support.
Byron is a 26-year Army Special Forces veteran with multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, and several other wonderful, exciting places.
Jim Langley
Board Member and Mentor
Jim lives in Woodlawn, TN. He is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and novice smith. Jim’s “been a few places, done a few things” and his motto is, “If it can't hang it can't stay.”
Russell Faulkner
Board Member and Mentor
Russell (Russ) Faulkner joined the Army in 1989, retiring in 2010 as a Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3), Automotive Maintenance Technician. Russ spent the majority of that 21 years in the 82d Airborne Division and in Special Operations as a support leader and commander. He served in the Persian Gulf, Haiti, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Iraq while in uniform. As a contractor supporting US Forces, Russ also worked in Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait. He started fabricating in his early career, adding blacksmithing in Iraq when introduced to it by a former Commander. Now, Russ is sharing his passion for bladesmithing and metal work as a guest mentor at Healing Flames Forge.
