Las Vegas business and community leader will guide growing national effort seeking healthcare and compensation for veterans exposed on the NTTR
Las Vegas, NV — The Invisible Enemy (TIE), the veterans nonprofit fighting for federal recognition, comprehensive medical care, and just financial compensation for those exposed to toxic and radiological contamination on the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), announced today that Las Vegas business and community leader Laurie Tanakaya has accepted the role of Chief Executive Officer.
Founded in April 2023 by U.S. Air Force veteran Sergeant Dave Crete, The Invisible Enemy began as a grassroots effort to expose what happened to military personnel who served on the NTTR and later developed serious illnesses following their service. In just over three years, the organization has grown into a national effort to identify exposed veterans, raise public awareness, advance federal solutions, and connect veterans and their families with the recognition and support they have long been denied.
The urgency of that mission continues to grow. The Invisible Enemy’s memorial honoring deceased NTTR veterans and others associated with the mission now contains more than 600 names.
TIE’s advocacy has also helped bring the issue before Congress and Nevada’s federal delegation. In 2025, federal legislation was introduced to address gaps in toxic-exposure documentation for these veterans. In June 2026, U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen and U.S. Reps. Susie Lee and Mark Amodei announced the Sergeant Dave Crete FORGOTTEN Veterans Act, continuing the effort to establish a federal pathway for identifying and supporting veterans who served on the NTTR and may have been exposed to toxic substances.
As TIE moves from building awareness to building the infrastructure required to sustain a national organization, Tanakaya will work alongside Crete and the Board of Directors to lead the nonprofit’s strategic, operational, and financial growth.
Tanakaya brings more than 35 years of corporate experience spanning operations, marketing, finance, leadership and people management. She has spent the past year volunteering with The Invisible Enemy and working alongside Crete and the organization’s leadership before formally accepting the CEO position.
“I joined The Invisible Enemy because its mission deeply resonated with me,” said Tanakaya. “These veterans proudly served our country, often through highly classified work, and many later became ill only to find themselves fighting for the healthcare and benefits they earned. That is unacceptable. I am honored to help this organization grow so we can reach more veterans, strengthen our partnerships and continue this fight on their behalf.”
Tanakaya’s appointment represents an important evolution for the organization. Crete will continue to serve as Founder and Chairman, focusing on the veterans, federal recognition and mission that led him to establish The Invisible Enemy, while Tanakaya takes responsibility for helping build the organizational structure necessary to expand TIE’s reach and long-term impact.
“Laurie has spent the past year proving her commitment to this mission and, more importantly, to the veterans we serve,” said Crete. “What started with veterans coming together and demanding answers has become something much larger. We now need the organizational strength and leadership to support that growth. Laurie brings the experience, relationships and commitment we need for this next chapter, and I could not be more grateful to have her at the helm.”
Under Tanakaya’s leadership, TIE plans to expand its Board of Directors, develop new corporate and community partnerships, broaden its fundraising base and strengthen the infrastructure needed to identify and support more veterans across the country.
“This next chapter is about building an organization capable of carrying this mission forward for as long as it takes,” Crete added. “The more people and corporations we bring into this fight, the more veterans we can find, the more families we can reach and the stronger our voice becomes in Washington.”
Tanakaya is well known throughout the Las Vegas and Henderson communities for her business leadership, philanthropy and civic involvement, including her leadership with Serving Our Kids Foundation, a Southern Nevada nonprofit fighting childhood food insecurity. During her tenure, the organization increased the number of children receiving weekly weekend meal bags by 63%, grew donations and grant funding by 78% and increased the number of companies supporting its mission by 526%. Serving Our Kids was also recognized with the 2025 Vegas Inc Angel Award for Best Small Nonprofit. Tanakaya will bring that experience in organizational growth, fundraising, and corporate engagement to TIE as it enters its next stage of development.
Since its founding, The Invisible Enemy has also built significant public awareness around the NTTR veteran community. Through an aggressive national communications effort, the organization and its mission have generated more than 28,400 media mentions across nine countries and 68.4 billion media impressions, helping bring the experiences of these veterans from secrecy into the national conversation.
For Tanakaya, however, the organization’s growth ultimately comes back to the individual veterans and families behind those numbers.
“This is about people who answered the call to serve their country and are now asking their country to answer the call for them,” Tanakaya said. “Our responsibility is to make sure they are found, their stories are heard, and this mission continues until they receive the recognition, healthcare, and support they have earned.”
About The Invisible Enemy
Founded by Air Force Sergeant Dave Crete in April 2023, The Invisible Enemy (TIE) advocates for federal legislation providing healthcare and financial compensation to military servicemembers, veterans, DoW employees and contractors, and their families who were exposed to radioactive and chemical contamination on the Nevada Test and Training Range. TIE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Learn more at TheInvisibleEnemy.org.