A Life Well Lived
LtCol Justin Constantine was a champion who defied all odds and realized extraordinary achievements in his life.
About Justin
Justin joined the Marine Corps while in law school, and served on active duty as a JAG officer for six years. Then as a Reservist, Justin deployed to Iraq in 2006, serving as a Civil Affairs Team Leader while attached to an infantry battalion. During a combat patrol, Justin was shot in the head by a sniper.
Although the original prognosis was that he had been killed in action, Justin survived thanks to risks taken by his fellow Marines and a courageous Navy Corpsman George Grant. In fact, when Corpsman Grant first rolled Justin over, he was no longer breathing. But Corpsman Grant miraculously was able to perform a life-saving tracheotomy on Justin, and his fellow Marines rushed him to safety. For his service in Iraq, Justin earned the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
Justin retired from the Marine Corps at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His writing on military and leadership issues were published in The Washington Post, Time, CNN, The Atlantic, Forbes Magazine and other media outlets. In 2015, he completed his first book, My Battlefield, Your Office, which applies military leadership skills to the private sector. And in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Justin recently authored From “We Will” to “At Will”, an authoritative and interactive guidebook about veteran and military spouse employment.
Despite his injury, Justin was the Honor Graduate of his class at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. In 2012, the Virginia Legislature passed a resolution highlighting Justin’s continued support of veterans and other wounded warriors. In 2015, he graduated on the Dean’s List from Georgetown University with a Master of Laws (LLM) degree focusing on National Security. Also in 2015, Justin co-founded a nonprofit organization that provides innovative and impactful networking events for veterans and their family members on a national basis.
Justin was a Presidential Leadership Scholar, was named a Champion of Change for Veterans by President Obama, and also one of the wounded warriors painted by President Bush in his book Portraits of Courage. In 2017, he received the Henry Viscardi Achievement Award for shaping attitudes, raising awareness and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities, as well as the Veterans Advantage HeroVet award for significantly contributing to the veteran community through ongoing service and leadership.
In 2018, Justin became the Chief Business Development Officer of JobPaths, a robust workforce development platform that brings much needed tech solutions to help connect job seekers throughout the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) space to opportunities and services that best fit their skills and needs. Thanks to Justin, the company's powerful tool has benefitted thousands of veterans, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated individuals, women and minorities across the country. His relentless dedication to bringing these needed tools to DE&I candidates helped establish partnerships between the company and some of the largest employers and agencies in the country, including Apple, Society for Human Resource Management, Viscardi Center, Source America, Heartland Alliance, and New York City's Department of Veterans Services.
On May 5th, 2022, Justin passed away after at 2+ year battle with Stage IV prostate cancer. His passing has been a difficult and shocking reality for all those closest to him, and the thousands of men and women his hard work and dedication has had a lasting impact on. Nevertheless, the lessons of perseverance and triumph in the face of tragedy will live on forever in all of us, and we are forever grateful to Justin for everything he was.
RIP sir, you will be greatly missed.