Ian Patterson has built his career on a passion for leadership, innovation, and meaningful impact across industries. A founding board member of his current organization, he draws on deep hospitality experience, specializing in scaling startups and refining operations, to shape strategies that foster both growth and genuine collaboration. Whether mentoring emerging leaders or streamlining processes, Ian’s focus remains on driving sustainable success and building consensus.

Ian’s leadership style is grounded in ten years of service with the United States Air Force, including multiple OEF/OIF deployments that instilled a calm, mission-focused perspective. After his military tenure, he pursued a passion for education by teaching high school science, sharing his enthusiasm for STEM and inspiring students with real-world lessons on resilience and determination.

Through it all, Ian has remained dedicated to uplifting those around him; supporting veteran programs, training future leaders, and cultivating inclusive work cultures. His authenticity and versatile background, from battlefield to boardroom to classroom, continue to define him as an innovative leader and dedicated mentor.

Jon Santiago, MD, MPH was sworn in by Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll as Massachusetts’ first Secretary of the Executive Office of Veterans’ Services (EOVS) on March 1, 2023. Secretary Santiago is a lifelong public servant, who brings an unwavering commitment to ensuring that Massachusetts veterans have access to services and benefits worthy of their service to our nation.

Most recently, he served as Massachusetts State Representative for the 9th Suffolk District (Boston) where he advocated to increase funding and services to address the substance use epidemic, affordable housing, and tackle health disparities. Secretary Santiago is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who practices at Boston Medical Center, the city’s safety net hospital and New England’s busiest trauma center. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he doubled his hours in the emergency room and served as a member of the House of Representatives COVID-19 Working Group and Vice-Chair of the COVID-19 Committee to advise policymaking and ensure state government accountability.   

Prior to completing medical school at Yale University, he spent five years abroad including service as Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic and a Fulbright Scholar in Paris. He is currently a Major in the United States Army Reserve and has deployed overseas twice.

Lt. Gen George W. Smith Jr., (Retired) was commissioned upon graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985 and served over 38 years as a Marine infantry and reconnaissance officer.  He commanded First Force Reconnaissance Company during two deployments to the Anbar Province in Iraq and Deputy Commander of Marine Forces in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He also served as Commanding Officer of The Basic School, responsible for the development of every newly commissioned Marine officer.  His 12 years of service as a General Officer included assignments as the Director, Strategy and Plans, U.S. Central Command; Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense; Deputy Commandant, Plans, Policies and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps; and Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Since his retirement in 2023, he has continued his service to the Marine Corps by serving on the boards of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and the Timothy T. Day Foundation. He resides in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Jack Hammond is a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General with multiple combat commands, and currently serves as the Chief Executive for the Home Base National Center of Excellence for Mental Health and Brain Injuries. He is a decorated combat leader and private sector innovator who has served on advisory groups for presidents, governors and businesses. Hammond has also presented on his innovative programs and leadership at the White House, United Kingdom’s Parliament, Presidential libraries, and with national companies working in defense, construction, biotechnology, marketing, and more. 

Hammond has led U.S. and NATO forces in combat and counter-terrorism operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This includes; simultaneously commanding two separate Battalion level Task Forces on more than one hundred successful intelligence-fused counter-terrorist operations in Iraq, responding to both WMD events and Mass Casualty suicide bombings, and an attack on our US Embassy.

In 2012 Hammond was invited to lead Home Base, which is a unique partnership between the Boston Red Sox and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Over the past decade Hammond and his team have; established the nation’s first private sector Center of Excellence for the Invisible Wounds, developed innovative solutions for mental health and brain injuries, and leveraged the faculty and clinical resources of MGH and Harvard Medical School to reimagine Veteran mental health and brain injury care. All of these treatments are provided at no cost to the Veterans, and military service members, and families we care for. 

General Hammond has earned Degrees from the University of Massachusetts and Boston University, and completed a National Security Fellowship at Harvard University. His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal for combat service, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medals, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, two Valorous Unit Awards, the Combat Action Badge, the French Medal of National Defense, and the Bulgarian Medal of Mission Support.

Jennifer S. Wortham, Dr.PH, is a religion, spirituality, and forgiveness research associate for the Program. She earned her doctorate in public health at the UCLA, Fielding School of Public Health, and she teaches graduate-level courses in health services quality management and patient safety methods. She has extensive experience in health system transformation, and she has served as a strategy and population health consultant for leading healthcare organizations in the public and private sectors for over 30 years. Dr. Wortham's current research focuses on the impact of moral and spiritual injury on health outcomes, and she is leading an international research project on the development of psycho-social-spiritual interventions for victims of moral injury. She authored a memoir on forgiveness titled A Letter to the Pope: The Keeper of the Nest, based on her family's experience with clergy abuse; and she is leading a survivor led coalition focused on the establishment of a United Nations World Day for the Protection of Child Dignity.

Dr. Joseph Bonvie is a retired U.S. Navy Operational Psychologist who currently serves as the Senior Director of Clinical Services for Home Base, and Instructor with Harvard Medical School. His 21 years of active-duty service includes multiple Joint Special Operations Forces deployments and support of overseas contingency operations throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. During his Navy career, Dr. Bonvie has held several senior leadership positions within the Department of Defense, to include Force Psychologist for Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, Director of Operational Psychology for two Naval Special Warfare Major Commands, Chief Consultant for Navy Operational Psychology (2013 to 2018), and the inaugural Director of the Navy Operational Psychology fellowship (2014 to 2018). His military awards and decorations include Navy Senior Psychologist of the Year (2014), Navy Junior Psychologist of the Year (2007), the Legion of Merit Medal, Bronze Star Medal (two awards), and the Presidential Unit Citation (three awards).

Raised in Newfoundland, Canada, Dr. Bonvie competed as a professional athlete before focusing his efforts on academics. He attended Salem State College where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology (1994) and a Masters in Counseling Psychology (1999). He was commissioned into the Navy in 2002 before earning his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (2003) from the Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Bonvie is Board Certified in Clinical Psychology, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant.

Dr. Daneshvar serves as Vice President of Medical Staff at Spaulding Rehabilitation and Chief of Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, where he conducts research on the long-term effects of moderate-severe traumatic brain injury, concussion, and repetitive head impacts, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Dr. Daneshvar has authored and co-authored over 80 scientific papers including in JAMA, Nature Communications, and Brain, and his work has been featured broadly including in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and ESPN.

He also founded Team Up Against Concussions, the first scientifically validated concussion education program for kids, for which he received the 2016 Excellence in Public Health award from the United States Public Health Services. He is the Director of the Institute for Brain Research and Innovation at TeachAids, which created CrashCourse: a free, scientifically validated virtual reality and computer-based concussion education program, for which he received the 2021 Dean’s Community Service Award from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Daneshvar received his SB from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed his MD/PhD at the Boston University CTE Center, where his research resulted in the first dissertation in history to study CTE. He completed residency at Stanford University before joining the faculty at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Koenig completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University, his medical school training at the University of California at San Francisco, and his geriatric medicine, psychiatry, and biostatistics training at Duke University. He is board certified in general psychiatry, and formerly boarded in family medicine, geriatric medicine, and geriatric psychiatry. He is on the faculty at Duke University Medical Center as Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Medicine. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and is Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health at Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China (2014-2023). In addition, he is a Visiting Professor at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran. Dr. Koenig has published more than 650 scientific peer-reviewed academic articles, 100 book chapters, and 65 books in print or preparation. His research has been featured on many national and international TV programs (including ABC’s World News Tonight, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz Show, NBC Nightly News) and hundreds of national and international radio programs and newspapers/magazines (including Reader’s Digest, Parade Magazine, Newsweek, Time). Dr. Koenig has given testimony before the U.S. Senate (1998) and U.S. House of Representatives (2008) concerning the benefits of religious involvement on public health. He is the recipient of the 2012 Oskar Pfister Award from the American Psychiatric Association, the 2013 Gary Collins Award from the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), and the 2021 Frank Minirth Award for Excellence in Christian Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine from AACC. He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Religion and Health and is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine (2022-present).

Dr. Koenig is lead author of the Handbook of Religion and Health, 3rd edition (2024, Oxford University Press, with professors Tyler VanderWeele, Ph.D., TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, and John Raymond Peteet, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School). He also co-led the 2022 Professional Development Training Course (PDTC) that trained over 1000 U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard chaplains and religious program specialists on “Spiritual Readiness” for combat operations for military personnel, as well as trained Ukrainian military leaders and chaplains on prevention of suicide. He is lead author of Spiritual Readiness: Essentials for Military Leaders and Chaplains (2022) and Moral Injury: A Handbook for Military Chaplains (2023), both available on Amazon.com.

Dr. Sofia Matta is the Senior Director of Medical Services at Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program. Dr. Matta received her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY. She completed her residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Payne Whitney Clinic. Dr. Matta is a Diplomate in Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Brain Injury Medicine, and Addiction Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. She became a medical acupuncturist prior to working for the Department of Defense/Defense Health Agency with the US Army and US Navy. Dr. Matta received the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service from the Department of the Army. She obtained her board certification in Brain Injury Medicine while working at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Intrepid Spirit Center at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton. She then served as the Consult Chief of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. While there, she was awarded the Spark-Seed-Spread Innovation Investment and Accelerator Program Innovation from the VHA Innovators Network for the VA Mental Health Mobilization, Engagement, Navigation and Delivery (VA MEND) Proactive Consult Model. She has presented research from the VA on the social determinants of mental health in Veterans including age, race and ethnicity, income, and homelessness. Dr. Matta is the Senior Director of Medical Services at Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, a national nonprofit dedicated to healing the invisible wounds of war for Veterans of all eras, Service Members and Special Operations Forces, Military Families, and Families of the Fallen through clinical care, wellness, education and research – all at no cost to them – regardless of era of service, discharge status or geographical location.

Dr. Matta is an Instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and has held academic appointments at New York Medical College, Tulane University School of Medicine, Hofstra-North Shore LIJ Medical School, and Tufts University School of Medicine. She has presented at National and International Conferences in Brain Injury Medicine, PTSD, and Proactive Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Her areas of interest are Military and Veteran healthcare, PTSD, brain injury, pain, and the interface between medicine, psychiatry and neurology, as well as social determinants of mental health, multi-morbidity, and co-occurring substance use disorders.

Colonel Fred Dummar's distinguished 29-year military career began with his enlistment as a medic in 1986. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1990 and later selected for Special Forces in 1994.

Throughout his service, he commanded at every level in Special Forces from Captain to Colonel, with notable deployments including the liberation of Kurdish Northern Iraq in 2003 and serving as Commander of the Advisory Group for Afghan Special Forces (2014-2015). 

After retiring in 2015, Fred returned to Afghanistan as a defense contractor, leading training programs for Afghan Special Operations until 2017. His leadership extended to nonprofit organizations, serving on the Board of Directors with the Special Forces Charitable Trust (2015-2022), supporting Task Force Dunkirk during the evacuation of Afghan allies, and advocating for veterans in Idaho.

Fred holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Master's degrees in Military Art and Science and Strategic Studies. His civilian career includes executive positions in investment training and real estate education companies.

An avid ultramarathoner, Fred has completed twenty-three 100-mile runs while guiding his vision-impaired friend through 40 marathons and various adventures to raise awareness for Special Forces soldiers.

Fred and his wife, Rebecca, reside in Idaho and have four children. Their daughter, Alana, attends the University of Michigan.

Dr. Jonathan Sherin is a longtime wellbeing advocate who has worked tirelessly throughout his career on behalf of vulnerable populations. In his former role as Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), he oversaw the largest public mental health system in the United States with an annual budget approaching $3 billion.

Prior to joining LACDMH, Dr. Sherin served for over a decade at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where he held a variety of posts, most recently as chief of mental health for the Miami VA Healthcare System. He has also held a variety of academic posts, formerly as vice-chairman for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Miami, and currently as volunteer clinical professor at both UCLA and USC.

In addition to his leadership in the health and human services sector, Dr. Sherin has made significant contributions to the field of neuroscience, which include seminal sleep research studies, published in Science magazine, and a conceptual model of the psychotic process for which he received the prestigious Kempf Award from the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Sherin completed his undergraduate work at Brown University, his graduate studies at the University of Chicago and Harvard Medical School, and his residency in psychiatry at UCLA.

Dr. King is Director of Training and Education at the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics, Massachusetts General Hospital.  His focuses include the implementation and innovation in psychedelic-assisted therapies and utilization of PAT for functional medical conditions.  He is currently the Principal Investigator in a clinical of psilocybin-assisted therapy for IBS and is Co-Investigator for a study on the effects of MDMA-assisted therapy for fibromyalgia.  With colleagues, he is also co-developing a training initiative, the Harvard-wide Interdisciplinary Program in Psychedelics.

University of Massachusetts’ William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences has been a leader in facilitating discourse about the social consequences of war and military service. The Joiner was established in 1980 and named for a Vietnam Veteran, then serving as UMB’s  Veterans Administration counselor who passed from Agent Orange exposures during his selfless service in South East Asia. As the William Joiner Institute Director, Brendan will be working closely with the WJI team on fulfilling the Institute's recently refined mission and vision, “Facilitating objective discourse and positive change through research, service & celebration.”

The Joiner works to inform, develop, and implement equitable policies, programs, and pathways to help ensure the health, safety, well-being and success of veterans, their families, and others impacted by war or military service, without exception.  We are guiding research initiatives including exploring and pursuing collaborative research to broaden the scope of the Veteran Identity Study as an aspect of veteran suicide. We hope to turn the results of the Massachusetts Veterans' Service Officer (VSO) Study towards improvements in the preparation of VSO's and their delivery of services.  Consistent with the Joiner's forty-year history, we look to return the Joiner to a Beacon of expressive arts as a source and outlet for Veterans to have their stories heard and their hearts and hands engaged.

Brendan O'Connor is the Director of the William Joiner Institute. He retired from the U.S. Army after a 38-year career. He served in the Cold War, the Drug War and the Global War on Terror. He wishes to produce positive change and meaningful engagement in our Veteran communities. He is profoundly grateful for the opportunity before him, and looks forward to working with, and for, veterans, their families, and others impacted by war and military service.

The Institute’s research portfolio is currently focused on three initiatives designed to ultimately have impacts locally, regionally, and nationally as it relates to:

1. Expanding veterans’ connection to benefits, programs, and opportunities

2. Understanding how younger generation veterans identify and connect

3. Improving veteran and military affiliated student recruitment, retention, and graduation rates

Nicole San Juan is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research explores how institutions shape belief systems, drawing from cultural sociology, social psychology, and political science. Prior to this, Nicole served as a Medical Technician in the U.S. Air Force (2007–2015), concurrently earning a BSc in Political Science from the University of Maryland Global Campus and later an MA in International Relations from Freie Universität Berlin. She spent five years teaching undergraduate courses to military personnel across the Middle East and Europe. The rise of political polarization in the U.S. ultimately motivated her return home to pursue a PhD and contribute to sociological research on these pressing issues.

In addition to her doctoral work, Nicole is the Lead Research Analyst at the William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences. She directs the Veteran Identity Project, a multidisciplinary initiative investigating how veteran social identities influence engagement with veteran communities and vital services. This project is supported by the William Joiner Institute and multiple grants, including the UMB Public Service Grant, and highlights the experiences of at-risk Post-9/11 veterans, particularly those who are currently or formerly incarcerated, unhoused, or experiencing substance use and mental health challenges. She has also been involved in veteran advocacy efforts through her contributions to the Women Veterans Task Force, a program of the MA Executive Office of Veteran Services. Outside of academia, she enjoys hiking, biking, and exploring cultures worldwide, having visited over 100 countries.

Dr. Tanev has conducted clinical research on sleep disturbances in hospitalized patients with dementia, on Huntington’s Disease, on neuropsychiatric correlates of TBI and served as a consultant to the NFL grant studying TBI.  In 2013, he received a NIMH career development award (K23) to study whether cognitive performance, MRI and DTI brain changes can predict the response to cognitive processing therapy in individuals with PTSD and co-morbid mild TBI.  Dr. Tanev is currently conducting research on biological markers of PTSD, memory reconsolidation blockade as treatment for PTSD, and novel treatments for post-TBI depression.  He is currently PI on a R21 NIMH grant, Mismatch vs. standard intervention during memory reconsolidation blockade with propranolol: effect on psychophysiological reactivity during traumatic imagery.  As the Senior Director of Research at the Home Base Program, Dr. Tanev has established collaborations with several regional, national, and international researchers, which have led to funded research collaborations.  He is building the Home Base research infrastructure.  In the future, Dr. Tanev plans to continue studying treatment effectiveness and mechanisms of neuropsychiatric diseases.

Poonacha Machaiah is the CEO of The Chopra Foundation, dedicated to improving health, social and planetary wellbeing. Co-founder of Seva.Love the metaverse platform for wellbeing and ChopraX, a venture platform backing transformative entrepreneurs reimagining the future of health and wellbeing, along with world-renowned mind-body medicine pioneer and New York Times best-selling author Deepak Chopra, MD.

He has co-founded initiatives such as NeverAlone® to address mental well-being and suicide prevention. Co-founded CIRCA®, an anxiety management platform, along with Srini Pillay, MD — Harvard-trained psychiatrist and brain researcher, and Cyberhuman.ai, a personalized AI platform for optimizing health and wellness.

He is on the board of transformative companies such as The Healing Company, Beacon Media, Limitless Minds and Reulay. He has also held senior management positions at Nortel, Iridium, Motorola and Sasken. He holds an MBA from the College of William and Mary, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering.

Dr. Craig J. Bryan, PsyD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist in cognitive behavioral psychology, and an internationally recognized expert on suicide prevention, trauma, and resilience. He is the Trott Gebhardt Philips Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University and the Division Director for Recovery and Resilience. Dr. Bryan’s research has been funded by the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and multiple foundations. He has published over 300 scientific articles and multiple books including Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention and Rethinking Suicide, and has received numerous awards and recognitions for his research.

Dr. Lento is the Director of Addiction Services and a licensed clinical psychologist at Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) program that provides clinical care to military veterans and their families. She is also the project lead for generating and implementing Home Base’s program-wide strategic plan for suicide prevention. Dr. Lento has extensive clinical and research experience in suicide prevention. She completed her doctorate under the mentorship of leading suicidologist Dr. David Jobes at Catholic University and has been awarded grant funding to support her research on moderators of treatment outcomes for suicidal patients, as well as the impact of suicide prevention training among Army National Guard service members and MGH clinicians. She has published multiple papers and presented at national conferences on treatment engagement, course, and outcomes for suicidal patients with varying clinical presentations. She has also contributed to systems-level projects within suicidal military and veteran populations, including process improvement initiatives and randomized clinical trials funded by NARSAD, CDMRP, and MOMRP.

Rajeev Ramchand (he/him) is codirector of the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute, a senior behavioral scientist at RAND, and a professor of policy analysis at Pardee RAND Graduate School. He studies the prevalence, prevention, and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders with a primary focus on suicide and suicide prevention and caregiving. In addition to publishing over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, reports, book chapters, and commentary, he has held numerous official roles and responsibilities including being a member of the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee, on the Executive Committee of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, Chair of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Research Advisory Council, and Co-Chair of the Face the Fight Scientific Advisory Committee. He has testified on his research before congress five times.

Mike "Sully" Sullivan is a retired Special Forces Colonel who served 30 years in the U.S. Army. Sully first joined Team RWB in early 2011 as the founding member of the Team RWB Fayetteville Chapter.

Sully is a 1994 graduate of Claremont McKenna College where he was commissioned as an officer. He became a Green Beret in 2001 and served 23 years in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. His distinguished career included six combat tours in Afghanistan, a year as the Special Operations Commander in Lebanon, and multiple training deployments across the African continent. Sully commanded the U.S. Army's and Joint Special Operations most elite service members from the ranks of Captain to Colonel in 3rd Special Forces Group, Special Operations Command Forward – Lebanon, and 2nd Security Forces Assistance Brigade.

Sully's military service heritage spans four generations, beginning with his great grandfather, a WWI veteran who volunteered as a medic and later commissioned as a doctor in the Army Medical Corps. This legacy continued through his grandfathers' Naval and Army Air Force service in WWII, and his father's Army service in Vietnam.

Sully resides in North Carolina with his wife Cindy, a career high school math teacher. They have three children. The "Family Business" continues through the couple's twins: Jackson, a Ranger-qualified Infantry officer, and Samantha, an Engineer Officer and an Army World Class Athlete who plays for Team USA Rugby 7s. Their oldest son Ryan is a North Carolina Fitness Trainer and Meal-Prep Chef.

Veterans take the stage to share firsthand accounts of their experiences, offering powerful insight into the realities of military service, the impact of combat, and the challenges of reintegration. This panel goes beyond personal stories—veterans will explore patterns they’ve observed among their peers and within their units, shedding light on common struggles, strengths, and resilience factors. The discussion will also turn to the future, offering recommendations for military and veteran leadership, healthcare providers, and community advocates to better support those who serve. By addressing gaps in care, proactive interventions, and the role of peer networks, this panel provides a roadmap for improving mental health outcomes and strengthening veteran well-being.

Colonel Fred Dummar's distinguished 29-year military career began with his enlistment as a medic in 1986. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1990 and later selected for Special Forces in 1994.

Throughout his service, he commanded at every level in Special Forces from Captain to Colonel, with notable deployments including the liberation of Kurdish Northern Iraq in 2003 and serving as Commander of the Advisory Group for Afghan Special Forces (2014-2015). 

After retiring in 2015, Fred returned to Afghanistan as a defense contractor, leading training programs for Afghan Special Operations until 2017. His leadership extended to nonprofit organizations, serving on the Board of Directors with the Special Forces Charitable Trust (2015-2022), supporting Task Force Dunkirk during the evacuation of Afghan allies, and advocating for veterans in Idaho.

Fred holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Master's degrees in Military Art and Science and Strategic Studies. His civilian career includes executive positions in investment training and real estate education companies.

An avid ultramarathoner, Fred has completed twenty-three 100-mile runs while guiding his vision-impaired friend through 40 marathons and various adventures to raise awareness for Special Forces soldiers.

Fred and his wife, Rebecca, reside in Idaho and have four children. Their daughter, Alana, attends the University of Michigan.

Timothy “Tito” Torres is the CEO of Moral Compass Federation, a coalition of veteran nonprofits dedicated to advocacy for moral injury through action, policy, and supporting our allies. A 20-year Army veteran, he served both enlisted and as a warrant officer in the 75th Ranger Regiment, British Special Forces, and other special mission units, specializing as an infantryman and intelligence officer.

Tito is a Founding Partner at SOF(t) and a member of the Atlantic Council Counterterrorism Project. His work sits at the intersection of technology, diplomacy, and human prosperity, all in pursuit of national security. He holds a master’s degree in International Business and Policy from Georgetown University and is a Presidential Leadership Scholar and Tillman Scholar.

Mike "Sully" Sullivan is a retired Special Forces Colonel who served 30 years in the U.S. Army. Sully first joined Team RWB in early 2011 as the founding member of the Team RWB Fayetteville Chapter.

Sully is a 1994 graduate of Claremont McKenna College where he was commissioned as an officer. He became a Green Beret in 2001 and served 23 years in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. His distinguished career included six combat tours in Afghanistan, a year as the Special Operations Commander in Lebanon, and multiple training deployments across the African continent. Sully commanded the U.S. Army's and Joint Special Operations most elite service members from the ranks of Captain to Colonel in 3rd Special Forces Group, Special Operations Command Forward – Lebanon, and 2nd Security Forces Assistance Brigade.

Sully's military service heritage spans four generations, beginning with his great grandfather, a WWI veteran who volunteered as a medic and later commissioned as a doctor in the Army Medical Corps. This legacy continued through his grandfathers' Naval and Army Air Force service in WWII, and his father's Army service in Vietnam.

Sully resides in North Carolina with his wife Cindy, a career high school math teacher. They have three children. The "Family Business" continues through the couple's twins: Jackson, a Ranger-qualified Infantry officer, and Samantha, an Engineer Officer and an Army World Class Athlete who plays for Team USA Rugby 7s. Their oldest son Ryan is a North Carolina Fitness Trainer and Meal-Prep Chef.

University of Massachusetts’ William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences has been a leader in facilitating discourse about the social consequences of war and military service. The Joiner was established in 1980 and named for a Vietnam Veteran, then serving as UMB’s  Veterans Administration counselor who passed from Agent Orange exposures during his selfless service in South East Asia. As the William Joiner Institute Director, Brendan will be working closely with the WJI team on fulfilling the Institute's recently refined mission and vision, “Facilitating objective discourse and positive change through research, service & celebration.”

The Joiner works to inform, develop, and implement equitable policies, programs, and pathways to help ensure the health, safety, well-being and success of veterans, their families, and others impacted by war or military service, without exception.  We are guiding research initiatives including exploring and pursuing collaborative research to broaden the scope of the Veteran Identity Study as an aspect of veteran suicide. We hope to turn the results of the Massachusetts Veterans' Service Officer (VSO) Study towards improvements in the preparation of VSO's and their delivery of services.  Consistent with the Joiner's forty-year history, we look to return the Joiner to a Beacon of expressive arts as a source and outlet for Veterans to have their stories heard and their hearts and hands engaged.

Brendan O'Connor is the Director of the William Joiner Institute. He retired from the U.S. Army after a 38-year career. He served in the Cold War, the Drug War and the Global War on Terror. He wishes to produce positive change and meaningful engagement in our Veteran communities. He is profoundly grateful for the opportunity before him, and looks forward to working with, and for, veterans, their families, and others impacted by war and military service.

The Institute’s research portfolio is currently focused on three initiatives designed to ultimately have impacts locally, regionally, and nationally as it relates to:

1. Expanding veterans’ connection to benefits, programs, and opportunities

2. Understanding how younger generation veterans identify and connect

3.Improving veteran and military affiliated student recruitment, retention, and graduation rates

Decorated US Army combat Veteran Calvin Cole (Steven Grayhm), is court ordered into treatment and into the care of a VA trauma therapist in-training (Virginia Madsen), who still works the night shift at a diner to pay for college. Things become even more complicated when Calvin's father-in-law and retired Vietnam Veteran (Curtis Hall), shows up on his doorstep, having just been released from prison. When Calvin's plan to run from the past blows up in his face, he learns through tough love and compassion that he must put himself back together again.

Shot on location in Western Massachusetts, SHEEPDOG aims to lift the veil on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that is responsible for the Veteran Suicide Epidemic.

This panel brings together the film’s cast, producers, and the VA provider who inspired the filmmakers to discuss the intersection of storytelling, science, and service.

Panelists will share their passion for the project and how authentic representation can drive awareness and advocacy for veteran mental health. Through film, personal experience, and clinical expertise, this conversation highlights how powerful narratives can break stigma, build understanding, and inspire healing—and connection—in service communities.

Steven Grayhm was born in London, Ontario Canada, to a Polish German mother and Canadian father whose family lineage descends from the Weskarini Algonquin First Nation people of La Petite Nation (Little Nation) from Western Quebec, Canada. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the UK, Steven was nominated for a Hollywood Film Award at the Hollywood Film Awards for his short film, Vodka, Winter and The Cry of Violin, for which he starred, wrote, directed and produced. The film, based on a true story about his Polish grandparents' perilous twilight plight to save their only son from a Nazi German POW camp during the last winter of WWII, was nominated at Raindance UK and was awarded 'Best International Short' at the New York International Film Festival. 

Steven received critical acclaim for his performance as Young Eddie in the film adaptation of Mitch Albom's best-selling novel, “The Five People You Meet In Heaven”, starring Academy Award Winner Jon Voight, Academy Award Nominee's Jeff Daniels and Ellen Burstyn and Emmy Winner Michael Imperioli. Steven also appeared as series lead Liam Cullen, in Netflix's post-apocalyptic drama “Between”, and Robert Zemeckis' big budget documentary-drama, “Medal of Honor”. Steven has performed on stage including multiple stints in the title role of “Hamlet”, and in the LA theater production of August Strindberg's “The Father”, directed by Academy Award Winner Estelle Parsons, and starring Academy Winner's Al Pacino, Dianne Wiest, and Jessica Chastain. 

Steven recently returned behind the camera to direct himself in the upcoming Veterans feature film SHEEPDOG, for which he also wrote and produced. The film is Executive Produced by Joe Newcomb (Dallas Buyers Club), and co-stars Academy Award Nominee Virginia Madsen, Emmy  Nominee Vondie Curtis Hall, SAG Nominee Dominic Fusuma, Tony Nominee Lilli Cooper and Matt Dallas. The film will be released In Theaters in the Fall 2025.

Dominic Fumusa is an American actor renowned for his work in television, film, and theater. He was born on September 13, 1969, in Dane County, Wisconsin, and is one of ten siblings. Fumusa earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Lawrence University and a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

In television, Fumusa is best known for his role as Kevin Peyton on Showtime's "Nurse Jackie," which aired from 2009 to 2015. He has also appeared in series such as "As the World Turns," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Sopranos," "Bones," "Elementary," and "Blue Bloods." 

On the big screen, Fumusa has featured in films including "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Focus," Michael Bay’s blockbuster "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," and "Sweet Girl." In theater, he has performed in productions such as "Wait Until Dark," "Take Me Out," and "Tape." In 2022, he starred in the world premiere of "Jasper" at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre in New York City. 

Dominic Fumusa and Adam Driver have both participated in performances for military audiences through Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF), a non-profit organization founded by Driver and Joanne Tucker in 2006. These events were part of AITAF's mission to bring theater and film to active-duty service members, veterans, and their families, fostering meaningful dialogue and understanding through shared artistic experiences.

Fumusa will reprise his role as Kevin Peyton in the upcoming Nurse Jackie reboot, as well as appear in the new season of Dexter. Fumusa is thrilled to join the all-star cast of the upcoming feature film SHEEPDOG as “Clarence ‘Coach O’ O’Riordan”, which will be released in theaters Fall of 2025.

With 24 years of experience in the mental health field, Dr. Tara Consolino brings a wealth of expertise and dedication to her work as a licensed psychotherapist and owner of Darkling Psychotherapeutic Services, PLLC. Throughout her career, Dr. Consolino has worked across various sectors, including state hospitals, community mental health, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, offering a diverse and well-rounded perspective to her therapeutic approach.

Dr. Consolino’s practice is deeply rooted in a commitment to supporting individuals through challenging transitions. Specializing in PTSD, Post Traumatic Growth, suicide prevention, and identity development, she is a direct and acquired taste and enjoys infusing humor as appropriate in her sessions focusing on navigating complex emotional landscapes, building resilience, and finding joy.

In her work, Dr. Consolino employs a holistic, eclectic approach, tailoring treatment to meet the unique needs of each individual. With a foundation in trauma-informed care, and an extensive background working with military and first responders suffering from trauma, she is experienced in integrating evidence-based interventions alongside compassionate support, fostering healing and personal growth.

Amy K. Mitchell is a founding partner at Kilo Alpha Strategies. She brings extensive national security and defense experience to the firm having advised three Secretaries of Defense and several large defense contractors. Her unique understanding of U.S. national security and foreign policy interests provides companies with high-level insights and counsel.

Previously, Ms. Mitchell served as the Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for the Office of Global Women’s Issues at the State Department, where she advised the Department’s senior leadership on strategic diplomatic initiatives, concentrated on the Indo-Pacific. She represented the office in interagency policy processes, bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagements, and drove implementation of key policy decisions on China, Sudan, Sri Lanka, and other priority contexts. A member of the Senior Executive Service, she was also the Special Assistant to Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis. She advised the Secretary on public diplomacy and advanced the Department’s critical mission of forging international partnerships and oversaw all high-level engagements and events. She was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Medal for her service, the Department’s highest civilian honor.

Ms. Mitchell also has extensive Capitol Hill and public relations experience creating and executing a variety of public facing campaigns to inform veteran and military communities, as well as the public, including as the vice president of communications at National Review; vice president of public affairs at the United Service Organizations (USO); and as the director of communications at the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Under President George W. Bush, she served at the Department of Defense as the Director of Special Projects, overseeing the Department’s Wounded Warrior outreach efforts and supported the unveiling of the September 11 Pentagon Memorial. Ms. Mitchell’s international relations career began as the deputy director of public relations at the G8 Summit in 2004 in Sea Island, Georgia. She is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Ms. Mitchell is currently a Senior Fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at New Lines Institute; serves on the advisory board of the Vandenberg Coalition; is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Foreign Policy Study Group; a strategic consultant to several military and veterans service organizations; and is on the board of Eagle Online Academy. She has appeared on Voice of America and Scripps News, and she has written numerous articles for The National Interest, Foreign Policy, and The Hill, among other publications.