General Peter Chiarelli,
United States Army (Ret.)
General Peter Chiarelli, USA (Ret.) was appointed CEO of ONE MIND in 2012. As the 32nd Vice Chief of Staff in the Army, Chiarelli was responsible for the operations of the Army and its 1.1 million active and reserve soldiers. This included the oversight of the Army’s R&D programs, and the implementation of recommendations related to its behavioral health programs, specifically its Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Program.
Chiarelli continues his advocacy to benefit all affected by brain disease and injury by eliminating the associated stigma and fostering changes to accelerate development, improved diagnostics, and treatments. ONE MIND is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that believes in Open Science Principles and creates global public-private partnerships between health care providers, researchers, academics and the health care industry, while supporting groundbreaking new research.
In 2013, Chiarelli received the National Patriot Award, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s highest honor for his dedication and ongoing efforts to help soldiers, civilians and families suffering from the invisible wounds of war.
Professor Neil Greenberg
Royal College of Psychiatrist and King’s College London
BM, BSc, MMedSc, FHEA, MFMLM, DOccMed, MEWI, MInstLM, MFFLM, MD, FRCPsych
Professor of Defence Mental Health
Professor Neil Greenberg is an academic psychiatrist based at King’s College London UK and is a consultant occupational and forensic psychiatrist. Neil served in the United Kingdom Armed Forces for more than 23 years and has deployed, as a psychiatrist and researcher, to a number of hostile environments including Afghanistan and Iraq.
Neil has published more than 190 scientific papers and book chapters many of which are on occupational and traumatic stress management within organizations. He is the current President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society, the Royal College of Psychiatrists Presidential Lead for Military and Veterans’ Health, and a trustee for two military charities in the UK. Neil is also the clinical and managing director of March on Stress (www.marchonstress.com) which is a psychological health consultancy which aims to promote better mental health within organizations.
James Kelly
MA, MD, FAAN, a neurologist, is one of America’s top experts on treating concussions. With 32 years of experience, Dr. Kelly has worked with patients with traumatic brain injuries and has researched concussions in athletes and military personnel. In 2015, Dr. Kelly was named one of the Top Doctors in America in Neurology by Castle Connolly. Dr. Kelly currently serves as a private consultant and Clinical Professor at The University of Colorado School of Medicine. The Bush Institute has engaged Dr. Kelly as Senior Fellow for Wellness to help guide 2016 efforts in support of the Invictus Games and beyond.
Dr. Kelly served as the founder and director of National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), a Department of Defense institute that provides cutting-edge evaluation, treatment planning, research and education for service members and their families. NICoE also treats complex interactions of mild and traumatic brain injuries and psychological health conditions, conducts research, and provides clinical patient care.
Paul Warren
Liaison officer, Mates 4 Mates
Paul Warren was a martial arts national title winner as a teenager and at the age of 17 represented Australia in the World Championships held in Denmark, eventually finishing 4th. He spent the next 10 years competing and won two QLD super middleweight titles and two Australian super middleweight belts. In 2006, he fractured his shin so badly that his fighting career ended.
Warren then enlisted in the Australian Army and spent six years serving in the Australian Defence Force. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 where, while on patrol in the Baluchi valley, he was struck by an IED and lost his right leg. He underwent extensive physical and psychological rehabilitation and left the Defence Force in 2013. For his actions while deployed, Warren was awarded the Afghan campaign medal and ICB.
Although he was told several times he would never run again, Warren finished 5th in the 100m at Prince Harry’s inaugural Invictus Games in London in 2014. He recently completed his autobiography “The Fighter“in September 2015 and currently lives in Townsville with his wife and two children.
Rachel O’Hern, MSW
Executive Director, Quality of Life Foundation
Rachel O’Hern serves as Executive Director of Quality of Life Foundation, where she has enhanced the organization’s reach to support and empower caregivers across the country. In this role, she and her team educate policy makers, develop and pilot innovative programs to support veteran family wellness, and coordinate support from collaborating organizations and local partners to improve the lives of caregiving families every day.
An Army wife of six years, O’Hern was named the 2015 Pentagon Military Spouse of the Year. She is a subject matter expert on military caregivers and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Texas A&M University and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Southern California with a focus on program administration and military families.
She currently resides on Fort Belvoir, VA where she enjoys biking and exploring the D.C. area with her husband Larkin, an infantry officer and triple amputee.
Roxana E. Delgado, Ph.D.
Roxana Delgado, Ph.D., is the wife of SFC (Ret) Victor Medina, a combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient for wounds sustained on June 29, 2009, while on patrol in Iraq. Since his injuries, the couple decided to reach beyond their own struggles and stand up for others, a mission that would eventually result in Congressional recognition for their efforts to help improve the system of traumatic brain injury (TBI) care.
The couple identified gaps in TBI screening, diagnosis, and treatment, which they brought to the attention of military and civilian leadership to help shape new military health care policies. Delgado is active in the military and veteran caregiver community and is an Elizabeth Dole Foundation fellow representing the State of Texas. She is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Military Health Institute and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Texas Health Sciences Center San Antonio.
Terri Tanielian
Senior Social Research Analyst, RAND Corporation
Terri Tanielian is a senior social research analyst at the RAND Corporation and leading national expert in military and veteran health policy. Tanielian co-led RAND’s seminal 2008 study Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery as well as the 2014 study of military and veteran caregivers titled Hidden Heroes: America’s Military Caregivers.
She has conducted several assessments of issues facing veterans living in Detroit, Massachusetts, and New York state. She leads several other RAND studies including the Deployment Life Study, a study of military families across the deployment cycle, and a study examining community-based models for expanding mental health care for veterans and their families under the Welcome Back Veterans Initiative.
Tanielian has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and serves on many advisory committees related to veteran mental health policy. Tanielian has a M.A. in psychology from the American University.
Paata Patiashvili
Ministry Of Defense, Georgia
Paata Patiashvili has served as Head of the Wounded and Injured Warrior Support Department at the Ministry of Defense of Georgia since 2015 and works on wounded/injured warriors, their family members’ reintegration, and re-socialization-related issues and projects.
His career in the Ministry of Defense of Georgia started in 2012, when he served as the Head of International Protocol Department. Later in 2013, he was promoted to the position of Advisor to the Minister of Defense. His work concentrated on issues related to wounded warriors. In 2015, the Wounded and Injured Warrior Support Department was established and Patiashvili was assigned as Head of the department.
Prior to his work in the Ministry of Defense, Patiashvili worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the Parliament of Georgia, the National Security Council of Georgia, and the Georgian International Oil Corporation. He graduated from Tbilisi Ivane Javakhishvili State University in 2002 and earned a master’s degree in international relations.
Alex Gorsky
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Johnson & Johnson
Alex Gorsky is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson is the world’s largest healthcare company, with its broad base extending from pharmaceuticals to medical devices to consumer products.
As chief executive, Gorsky has put the patient and consumer at the center of every strategy and rededicated the Company to Our Credo. Written over 70 years ago, this document defines the responsibilities and commitments of the Corporation, and is considered a model of corporate responsibility globally.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of IBM, the Congressional Medal of Honor Board of Directors, and recently elected as a member of the Board of the National Academy Foundation. He was recently given the Joseph Wharton Leadership Award, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. After graduation from the United States Military Academy, Alex served six years in the United States Army and later earned an EMBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.
David J. McIntyre, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Triwest Healthcare Alliance
David J. McIntyre, Jr., is President and CEO of TriWest Healthcare Alliance. In 1996, he co-founded TriWest Healthcare Alliance and has since led the corporation, which is working to ensure that veterans in roughly half the nation have access to high-quality health care when it is unable to be provided directly by VA. McIntyre has more than 30 years of experience, success, and accomplishments in national health care policy development, business development, and leadership in both government and the private sector.
McIntyre has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Seattle Pacific University, a master’s degree in administrative sciences (with an emphasis in management and health policy/administration) from Johns Hopkins University, and he participated in the Executive Education Program for Senior Government Managers at Harvard University.
In addition to leading TriWest Healthcare Alliance, he serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation Board of Directors and the Fisher House Foundation Board of Trustees.
Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.
Founder and President, Give an Hour™ and The Campaign to Change Direction”
Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D., named to TIME’s 2012 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, is the president of Give an Hour™, a nonprofit she founded in 2005 to provide free mental health services to the military and veteran community.
A licensed clinical psychologist practicing in Washington, D.C., she received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1991, her M.A. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1987, and her B.A., summa cum laude, from California State College in 1982.
Give an Hour’s nearly 7,000 mental health professionals have given more than 184,000 hours of care, and the organization now also leads the Campaign to Change Direction, a national initiative to change the culture of mental health in America.
Secretary Robert A. McDonald
U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Robert A. McDonald was nominated by President Obama to serve as the eighth Secretary of Veterans Affairs and was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 29, 2014.
Since joining VA, Secretary McDonald has led the Department in its ambitious transformational journey to be a world-class service provider and the No. 1 customer-service agency in the Federal government giving Veterans consistent, high-quality experiences. That undertaking began with reinforcing the importance of VA’s inspiring mission to care for those “who shall have borne the battle,” their families, and their survivors, and re-emphasizing VA’s commitment to its I-CARE Values of Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence. Prior to joining VA, Secretary McDonald was Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of The Procter&Gamble Company (P&G).
An Army veteran, Mr. McDonald served with the 82nd Airborne Division; completed Jungle, Arctic, and Desert Warfare training; and earned the Ranger tab, the Expert Infantryman Badge, and Senior Parachutist wings. Upon leaving military service, Captain McDonald was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. Secretary McDonald graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in the top 2 percent of the Class of 1975. He earned an MBA from the University of Utah in 1978.
Bronwen Evans
Founding Director and CEO of True Patriot Love Foundation
Ms. Bronwen Evans is a Founding Director and CEO of True Patriot Love Foundation (TPL), which has been raising record funds to support military families since 2009. Under her leadership, TPL has spearheaded Expeditions to the Himalayas, the North Pole and Antarctica, partnering prominent business leaders with wounded veterans. Last year, TPL secured a bid to host the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.
Previous to her role with TPL, Evans was the Vice President of Marketing at Medcan, the largest executive health clinic in North America. She also successfully ran her own communications and public affairs consulting firm for five years, following a career in Ontario politics where she held a number of senior positions, including Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance and to the Attorney General.
Evans is a Director of the 2016 Orlando Invictus Games and the National Ballet of Canada. She holds an undergraduate degree with Honours from McGill University and a master’s degree in philosophy from Carleton University.
Holly Kuzmich
Interim President at the George W. Bush Presidential Center
Holly Kuzmich serves as Interim President and Senior Vice President at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. In addition to serving as a member of the management team of the Bush Center, she oversees the strategy and management of the Bush Institute, a public policy center that uses leading research to develop and implement policies that offer practical solutions to pressing problems in the United States and abroad. Specific areas of focus within the Institute include education reform, economic growth, human freedom and democracy, the military service initiative, and the Presidential Leadership Scholars program.
Previously, she was Vice President and COO of Margaret Spellings & Company, a public policy consulting firm. Kuzmich also served as the Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs, and as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to that, she worked on the White House Domestic Policy Council, and spent five years working in the U.S. Senate on domestic policy issues.
MSgt Israel “DT” Del Toro
Sgt Israel “DT” Del Toro joined the Air Force In 1997. In August 2005, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In December, his humvee exploded when it rolled over a buried pressure-plate mine. The explosion severed one hand, most of the fingers on his other hand, and took his face. With over 80 percent of his body burned, he spent three months in a coma and was given less than a 20 percent chance of survival. Since that day, TSgt Del Toro has fought for every bit of recovery his body has made. He has persevered through many hard days filled with surgeries, skin grafts, and grueling physical therapy. Consistent with his humble attitude, he credits the love and closeness of his family, as well as the support of the Air Force, with the progress he’s made thus far.
For the injuries he sustained in the line of duty, the Air Force Chief of Staff presented TSgt Del Toro with the Purple Heart. On February 8, 2010, he became the first 100% disabled Airman to re-enlist in the Air Force. He is currently assigned to the 342 TRS at Lackland AFB as a TACP instructor/recruiter. TSgt Del Toro is a qualified jumpmaster and master parachutist with more than 115 jumps. He has completed Army Air Assault training, has been awarded the Air Force Command and Control Badge, and is a qualified Instructor Terminal Attack Controller. He and his wife, Carmen, live in Cibolo, Texas. They have one son, Israel.
Arnold Fisher
Arnold Fisher is personally responsible for the construction of more than 15 million square feet of space, both commercial and residential, and has left his indelible imprint on the Manhattan skyline and cityscape. The properties for which he was personally responsible include the four signature midtown office towers that are the centerpieces of the current Fisher Brothers portfolio. His wide-ranging philanthropic endeavors have been focused on members and veterans of the armed forces and their families, particularly those who died or were wounded in action. Most recently, he spearheaded the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund’s construction of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence on the Navy campus in Bethesda, Maryland, a 72,000-square-foot state-of-the-art research, diagnosis, and treatment center for service members diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions.
Colonel Miguel Howe, USA, Ret.
Colonel Miguel Howe, USA, Ret. is the Director of the Military Service Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute. As the Director, Colonel Howe is responsible for leading the Bush Institute’s work to honor the service and sacrifice of post-9/11 veterans, service members and their families. The Military Service Initiative will work to unite the efforts of non-profits, businesses, universities, individual citizens and communities to empower all post-9/11 veterans to continue to serve as national assets after they take off the uniform.
Colonel Howe retired from the United States Army where he served for over 24 years in a myriad of command and staff assignments to include in Iraq and Afghanistan. He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as the commander of the Afghan National Army Special Operations Advisory Group, Camp Morehead Afghanistan. He also deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the Chief of Staff for the NATO Training Mission in Al Rustamiyah, Iraq. A Special Forces Officer, he has commanded special operations forces on numerous deployments throughout Latin America with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Colonel Howe served as the Special Assistant to the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and commanded the U.S. Army Southern California Recruiting Battalion. He began his Army career in the 25th Infantry Division as a Rifle Platoon Leader.
Colonel Howe was selected in 2006 by President George W. Bush to serve as a White House Fellow. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and earned a Master of Arts in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. He is married with two children.
LCpl John James “JJ” Chalmers
JJ Chalmers, a teacher, was a Royal Marines reservist serving in Afghanistan in 2011 when he sustained serious injuries from a Taliban roadside bomb. He suffered severe injuries to his arms, face, and legs. Doctors saved JJ’s right arm, from which a large chunk had been gouged, by sewing it inside his midriff for six weeks. JJ has undergone 30 operations.
He credits the ongoing Invictus Games for the major confidence boost that changed his life. He is competing in cycling on a recumbent bike and in volleyball. JJ got married following his recovery and his father performed the ceremony.
Jeremy Schaap
Senior correspondent for E:60
ESPN
One of ESPN’s preeminent journalists, Jeremy Schaap is a senior correspondent for E:60, the network’s primetime news magazine, and the host of award-winning weekly ESPN Radio show The Sporting Life.
In 2015, Schaap won the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Award for reporting on human rights and social justice issues, a first for ESPN. The RFK Center honored Schaap for his story exposing the plight of migrant laborers in Qatar, who live and work in inhumane conditions.
Schaap has also won two national Edward R. Murrow Awards, two National Headliner Awards and nine national Sports Emmy Awards. He is the author of Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History, a New York Times bestseller, and Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics.
Randi Gavel
Invictus Competitor
Staff Sgt. Randi Gavell was born in Estes Park, Colorado and grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado. She joined the Army in 2004 after graduating from Grand Junction High School. She attended One Station Unit Training for Military Police at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri before being stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. After volunteering to fill an opening in an outlying platoon, she deployed out of Baumholder, Germany in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. Upon her return from deployment, Gavell was stationed in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. While there, she was a member of the Military Police Special Reactions Team, the Fort Huachuca Army 10 Miler Team, and went to Lackland, Air Force Base where she trained and was certified to be a Traffic Management and Collision Investigator.
In 2009, Gavell was sent to the Warrior Transition Unit in Kaiserslautern, Germany. It was there that she was introduced to and found a passion for adaptive sports. Staff Sgt. Gavell was a member of Team Army for the 2010 Warrior Games where she received two gold medals in swimming and a silver medal in Sitting Volleyball. Later that same year she went thru the medical board process and was retired. She is now living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and hoping to obtain her degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant to help others on their path to recovery. Since retiring, she has participated in several adaptive sports events, travels as much as possible, volunteers whenever she can, and is a member of a Veteran based Disaster Response Team.