How do we keep the health of veterans at the forefront of the public health agenda? This program explored the mental and physical health consequences of trauma among veterans, and how we can better support the well-being of veteran populations.
Resources
Speakers
-
Richard Brookshire
Co-Founder, CEO, The Black Veterans Project
Richard Brookshire
Co-Founder, CEO, The Black Veterans Project
Richard Brookshire is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Black Veterans Project, an organization furthering research, national reporting and storytelling to advance racial equity for Black veterans in and out of uniform. As a storyteller, Richard leverages a background in political communications and digital advocacy to deliver strategic and dynamic social-impact campaigns. Richard has previously served as Director of Communications for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America and Deputy Director for Communications, Politics at the Human Rights Campaign. He is an alumnus of Morehouse College and a graduate of Fordham University and holds an MPA in Urban & Social Policy from Columbia University SIPA. A former infantry Combat Medic and U.S. Army veteran of the War in Afghanistan Richard’s commentary and efforts have been highlighted by the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, theGrio and others. -
Carl A. Castro
Professor, Director of Military and Veterans Programs, Director of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Carl A. Castro
Professor, Director of Military and Veterans Programs, Director of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Carl A. Castro is a professor, director of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families and director of Military Veterans Programs at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. He also serves as director of the USC-RAND Epstein Family Foundation Center for Veterans Policy Research. Professor Castro joined the faculty in 2013.Before joining the University of Southern California, Professor Castro served in the U.S. Army for over 30 years, beginning his career as an enlisted infantryman and retiring at the rank of colonel. He served in a variety of research and leadership positions, including as director of the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, Headquarters, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Fort Detrick, Maryland. Professor Castro has completed two tours in Iraq, as well as peacekeeping missions to Saudi Arabia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Professor Castro has chaired numerous NATO and international research groups and is currently co-chair of a NATO group exploring military and veteran violent radicalization. He is a Fulbright Scholar and member of several Department of Defense research advisory panels focused on psychological health. He is editor of Military Behavioral Health, the flagship academic journal about the biopsychosocial health and well-being of service members, veterans and military families.
Professor Castro has authored more than 150 scientific articles and reports in numerous research areas. His current research efforts focus on assessing the effects of combat and operations tempo (OPTEMPO) on soldier, family and unit readiness, and evaluating the process of service members’ transitions from military to civilian life.
-
Shaili Jain
Psychiatrist, VA Palo Alto Health Care System; Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
Shaili Jain
Psychiatrist, VA Palo Alto Health Care System; Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
Dr. Jain serves as a psychiatrist at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She is board certified in general psychiatry, with specialty expertise in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), primary and mental health integrated care, and women’s health psychiatry. She is a health services researcher, affiliated with the National Center for PTSD, who focuses on developing innovative ways to enhance the reach of mental healthcare in underserved populations with PTSD. Her work is widely accredited for elucidating the role of paraprofessionals and peers in the treatment of American veterans with PTSD.
Dr. Jain is an internationally recognized leader in communicating to the public about trauma and PTSD. Her posts for her Psychology Today blog on PTSD, In the Aftermath of Trauma, have been viewed over 250,000 times. Her acclaimed debut non-fiction trade book, The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science (Harper, 2019), was nominated for a National Book Award, and her essays and commentaries on trauma and PTSD have been presented by the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, STAT, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, TEDx, public radio, and others.
-
Lena K. Makaroun
Core Investigator, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System; Assistant Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Lena K. Makaroun
Core Investigator, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System; Assistant Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Lena K. Makaroun, MD, MS, is a Staff Physician and Core Investigator at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP), Affiliate Faculty of the VA Pittsburgh Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), and Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Makaroun‘s research examines health-related social riskfactors for older adults with a specific focus on elder abuse. Her current work aims to improve detection and response for elder abuse among older Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration. Dr. Makaroun is currently funded by a VA Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Career Development Award in which she seeks to improve elder abuse risk detection in VA by both evaluating and pragmatically optimizing current elder abuse screening approaches and by leveraging VA healthcare data to identify Veterans at high risk who may benefit from more in depth assessment. To address the complex problem of elder abuse, Dr. Makaroun‘s operations-partnered research relies heavily on close collaborations with interdisciplinary colleagues from social work, medicine, rehabilitation, law, protective services, and data informatics.
Dr. Makaroun completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, MD at Weill Cornell Medical College, and MS in Health Services at the University of Washington School of Public Health. Following her Internal Medicine residency and Geriatric Medicine fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, she completed three years of VA Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Services Research at both the VA Puget Sound and VA Pittsburgh Healthcare Systems.
-
Barbara O. Rothbaum
Professor, Emory University School of Medicine; Executive Director, Emory Healthcare Veterans Program
Barbara O. Rothbaum
Professor, Emory University School of Medicine; Executive Director, Emory Healthcare Veterans Program
Barbara Olasov Rothbaum, PhD, is a Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Research at the Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is the Executive Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program and Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program. She holds the Paul A. Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmacology.Dr. Rothbaum specializes in research on the treatment of individuals with anxiety disorders, particularly focusing on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well as pioneering the application of virtual reality to the treatment of psychological disorders. She has authored over 400 scientific papers and chapters, including 11 books on the treatment of PTSD and edited 4 others on anxiety.
Dr. Rothbaum received the Diplomate in Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. She is a former President of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and received the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from ISTSS and the Lifetime Achievement award from ISTSS in 2021. Currently, Dr. Rothbaum is on the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD), as well as serving on the Executive Committee of the Warrior Care Network. She is a fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and American Psychological Association’s Division 56 (Division of Trauma Psychology). In 2010, Dr. Rothbaum, along with her collaborating team, was honored by Division 56 with the “Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Trauma Psychology.” She served as a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Study on Assessment of Ongoing Efforts in the Treatment of PTSD.
Dr. Rothbaum’s outreach efforts include training community clinicians in evidence-based treatment for PTSD. The Emory Healthcare Veterans Program is a member of the Warrior Care Network, funded by the Wounded Warrior Project, and is able to provide world-class treatment to post 9/11 Veterans from around the country at no cost to the Veteran.
Dr. Rothbaum is the Executive Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, a nationally recognized center of excellence for healing the invisible wounds of military service. The Emory Healthcare Veterans Program treats conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma (MST), anxiety, and depression. Treatment is free and confidential for eligible post-9/11 veterans and service members, living anywhere in the United States, regardless of discharge status, deployment history, or length of service. The two-week Intensive Outpatient Program is offered in-person at our clinic in Atlanta, Georgia, or via telehealth in eligible states.
-
Sarah K. Lipson
Associate Professor, Boston University School of Public Health (MODERATOR)
Sarah K. Lipson
Associate Professor, Boston University School of Public Health (MODERATOR)
Sarah Ketchen Lipson (she/her), PhD, EdM is an associate professor in the Department of Health Law Policy and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. She is Principal Investigator of the Healthy Minds Network, which includes the Healthy Minds Study, the largest, most comprehensive study of mental health in higher education.Dr. Lipson’s research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and William T. Grant Foundation, among others. Her work has been featured in the Boston Globe, New York Times, Huffington Post, on NPR, and in numerous other national and international media outlets.
Dr. Lipson completed a dual PhD at University of Michigan in Health Services Organization and Policy at the School of Public Health and Higher Education at the School of Education, where she was awarded best dissertation of the year. She holds a master’s from Harvard University and was a Fulbright scholar. She received her bachelor’s degree from Tufts University where she graduated with honors.
Video
Get Involved
Connect with SPH
How to engage with us on social media:
- Follow @busph and tag us in your stories and posts on all platforms
- Post, like, and retweet content, using event hashtag and tagging speaker(s)
- Share event information on social media
- Send registration link to your networks