Citadel Security CEO Justin Hale Chosen as 2025 Idealist of the Year
We believe mentors matter. It’s why we’ve built a team of more than 20 highly knowledgeable Industry Advisors to help us with our diligence efforts and portfolio company oversight. It’s also why we support City Year Kansas City, which places AmeriCorps mentors and tutors in systemically under-resourced schools.
As longtime City Year Kansas City partners, we have the honor of choosing someone from Great Range Capital to be recognized as an Idealist of the Year (i.e., someone who has the skills and passion to make the world a better place and the courage to act) during the organization’s annual Idealist Gala.
With a distinguished background that includes eight years as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army and two years as the Director of Security for an ambassador to the U.S., it’s easy to see why we chose Justin Hale as the 2025 Idealist of the Year. After all, putting your life on the line for others is inherently world-changing behavior. But that isn’t where Justin’s commitment to service ends.
Driven by a desire to help people reach their fullest potential, Justin launched a leadership development program at Citadel Security, where he serves as CEO of one of the nation’s most trusted private security firms. When he isn’t equipping employees with the skills and confidence they need to excel in the security field, you can find Justin on the field serving as a coach. Over the past two decades, he’s coached athletes at every level, from youth sports to high school and college, taking care to shape them as both competitors and leaders.
Justin’s dedication to empowering others has also led him to serve as a board member for the GP M.A.D.E Foundation, which helps children and youth overcome cancer, disabilities, and poverty—deeply resonant causes for Justin, who grew up in a low-income household and who supported his brother after a cancer diagnosis in high school.
Justin’s idealism has followed him in every role he’s undertaken, and we look forward to watching how his world-changing ways continue impacting those around him for the better.
Justin and his fellow 2025 Idealist honorees were recognized at the Idealist Gala on April 16. If you have any words of encouragement or congratulations to share with Justin, or if you’d like to learn more about how you can support City Year’s mission in Kansas City, we’d love to hear from you.
About City Year Kansas City
City Year Kansas City partners with Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) to support and accelerate the district’s overall Strategic Plan. City Year Americorps members serve as student success coaches who focus on the early warning indicators that place students at a greater risk of dropping out of school. These include low attendance, poor behavior, and/or course failure in English language arts and mathematics, and research shows that students with one or more of these indicators can have a 75% chance of not graduating high school. By improving graduation rates, City Year hopes to improve the lives of at-risk students now and in the future