Vincent Howard was born in Denver, Colorado. He was raised in San Diego, CA, graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1981.

​

After a short stint at West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas, Vincent joined the United States Air Force as a Medical Technician.  He was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; Malmstrom AFB, Montana; Kadena Air Base, Okinawa; and Hill Air Force Base Utah, where he was selected for duty as an Air Force first sergeant; he was named the Honor Graduate from the First Sergeant Training Academy in 1995.

 

As a first sergeant, Vincent moved from Utah to Misawa Air Base, Japan before returning to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa where he earned recognition as a Senior NCO Academy Distinguished Graduate.  Following that, he served as a first sergeant at the Presidio of Monterey, California; Moron Air Base, Spain and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. As a 15-year first sergeant, Vincent was the Air Force’s longest serving first sergeant when he relinquished the duty in 2010.

 

Starting in 2010, Vincent served as the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. In this position, Vincent was the base’s senior ranking enlisted servicemember, providing leadership to and caring for the needs of 8,000 servicemembers, their families, and 1,800 civilian employees.  He successfully deployed 4,300 Airmen supporting overseas contingency operations and positioned Davis-Monthan to win the President’s Installation Excellence Award in 2011, certifying it as the #1 Air Force base in the world. He was personally recognized by the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff and earned recognition as one of the 25 Most Influential African-Americans in Arizona for 2012.

 

After 30 years, 2 months and 14 days of service to his country, Vincent assumed civilian employment as Davis-Monthan’s Resilience Program Leader. Since 2013, he has increased human capital management and employee engagement by expertly employing the principles of positive psychology to develop and maximize the whole person wellness for over 10,000 service members and employees. He is a Master Resilience Trainer, expert in leadership and personal development, a certified Gallup strengths coach, and an experienced Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner.

​

Vincent has a Bachelor's Degree in Social Science from the University of Maryland and a Master's Degree in Leadership & Coaching from Bellevue University, Nebraska.  In his spare time, he has taught himself to play the piano and enjoys learning Swahili as a testament to his ancestral heritage.  His paternal and maternal origins are of the West African nations of Burkina Faso (Bissa tribe) and Sierra Leone (Temne tribe); his ancestral spread includes Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, England, Mali, Ireland, Senegal, Northern India, Northern Philippines, the Pamunkey Indigenous American tribe of Virginia, Wales and Scotland.