Michael “Monty” Montoya 
Co-Founder & Executive Director
About IGR
About Invictus Global Response
IGR is a veteran-founded and led U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit working with communities and public institutions to reduce explosive threats, strengthen emergency response, restore safe access, and support recovery in conflict-affected environments.
The experience behind IGR
The experience behind IGR
Military service established the foundation. The years of global work that followed prepared the team to build IGR and carry its mission forward.
Invictus Global Response was founded by people whose careers had already been shaped by explosive hazards, emergency response, and work alongside institutions operating in conflict-affected environments.
Michael “Monty” Montoya and Stu Miller are military veterans from the explosive ordnance disposal and combat engineer communities, with multiple combat deployments between them. Across their military and post-service careers, they have built decades of combined experience supporting U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of State, United Nations, and other international partner programs focused on EOD, counter-IED, security assistance, and specialist training across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Laura Montoya brings a complementary emergency-response perspective through her background as an emergency medical technician. Together, the founders combine operational, medical, and international program experience with a shared commitment to protecting people and supporting those responsible for public safety.
Our Beginnings
Following Ukraine’s 2022 counteroffensive, Monty and Stu worked as volunteers for the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast. They assessed landmine contamination in liberated communities and supported local administrations confronting the hazards left by the fighting.
Working alongside Ukrainian military units, police EOD teams, and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the small volunteer team ultimately cleared thousands of landmines and explosive remnants of war.
In June 2023, Monty was moving to assist a member of another organization along a path that the individual had assessed as clear. Monty stepped on an anti-personnel landmine. He lost his foot and began a difficult journey through evacuation, surgery, and rehabilitation.
Plans for Invictus Global Response were already underway before the incident. In Monty’s hospital room, he, Laura Montoya, and Stuart Miller continued shaping those plans. They founded IGR later that year to turn field experience into sustained support for communities and local institutions facing explosive threats.
IGR today
The people behind the organization
Board members, leadership, staff, and advisors supporting IGR’s work around the world.
Board & Leadership
Michael “Monty” Montoya
Laura Montoya
Co-Founder & Chief of HR Operations
Eric Rudberg
Government Affairs
Joshua Laudermilk
EOD Technical Advisor
Cyrus Bunjo 
East Africa Operations Manager
Jason Brown
Chief Technology Officer
Global Staff
Brandy Lwekamwa 
East Africa Program Officer
Bryon Mapes
Technical Field Manager
Johnny Coe 
Training Coordinator
Olha Ilchenko 
IGR Ukraine Executive Director
Board of Advisors
Ralph Goff
Advisor
Tom Legones
Advisor
Beau Miller
Advisor
Steve Cassidy
Advisor
Stuart Miller
Co-Founder & Board Emeritus
2023 to 2026
Building a permanent presence
IGR grew from a small volunteer effort into permanent operations in Ukraine and East Africa.
2023
IGR is founded
Michael “Monty” Montoya, Laura Montoya, and Stuart Miller founded Invictus Global Response, drawing on their professional experience and the volunteer work in Kharkiv Oblast to provide sustained operational support.
2024
Permanent operations take shape
IGR received recognition as a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and established a permanent presence in Kharkiv. The team continued clearance work and expanded its operations to include emergency response, helping assess and clear explosive hazards along humanitarian access routes.
IGR also established its East Africa Coordination Office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to coordinate locally led initiatives and partnerships across the region.
2025
IGR Ukraine is established
As IGR’s footprint in Ukraine grew, the organization formally established IGR Ukraine as a Ukrainian charitable foundation. Registered on March 25, 2025, its legal name is Charitable Organization “Charitable Fund ‘Invictus Global Response UA.’”
The Ukrainian entity created a formal structure through which a locally led team could access partnerships, funding, equipment, and other resources directly.
2026
New locally led pathways into demining
IGR focused on developing programs that create pathways for Ukrainian veterans and women to enter humanitarian demining. Through internationally recognized training, technical mentorship, and practical field experience, these programs are designed to expand Ukraine’s national demining workforce with people prepared to carry the work forward.
Alongside continued growth in Ukraine and East Africa, IGR also began engaging partners in Southeast Asia and the Middle East to understand locally identified needs and develop responsible partnerships in response to ongoing conflicts in those regions.
Take the next step
See the work. Help move it forward.
Explore IGR’s results, support field operations, or start a conversation about partnership.