Jesse Colvin, the former Army Ranger and intelligence officer who ran a highly-touted campaign for Congress in Maryland last year, has a new gig.

Colvin has just taken over as CEO of the group Service Year Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes making a year of national service a mandatory part of public education.

“My military service, especially in Afghanistan, taught me what is possible when Americans from different walks of life join together to tackle shared problems,” Colvin said in a statement. “My service also left me with an unexpected sense of ownership over the future of our country.”

Colvin also said that as the Democratic nominee in the 1st Congressional District last year, “I regularly caught glimpses of deep divisions that are tearing our country apart. Those divisions painted a picture of a dystopian future unless we invest in solutions that unite us rather than divide us. I believe that national service not only allows us to address some of our biggest shared challenges in local communities, but also represents one of the last, best hopes to inoculate our country against these divisions in the future.”

Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, chairman of the Service Year Alliance, said Colvin “brings unmatched leadership, a dedication to public service, and commitment to country to the role.”

“At a time when American democracy is coming apart at the seams, national service can be the force we need to heal — and Jesse is the leader we need to bring that vision to life,” he said.

Colvin succeeds Shirley Sagawa, who has led Service Year Alliance as CEO since the organization’s founding in 2016. She worked for both the Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations, where she focused on promoting community service, among other issues.

Colvin ran an aggressive campaign and was hyped by Democratic leaders as he looked to upset U.S. Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R) last year. But the 1st District, based largely on the Eastern Shore, is too conservative for Democrats to genuinely contest, and Harris wound up winning his fifth term by 22 points.

So far, only Mia Mason (D), another military veteran and transgender rights activist, has filed to challenge Harris next year. She is based in Frederick, which is not in the 1st District.

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