A Moral Injury Convening: A Deeper Conversation

Speakers/Panelists

• Walidah Bennett

  Founder and Director, Multi-Faith Veteran Initiative - Egan Office, DePaul University

  Walidah G. Bennett, is the founder and Director of the Multi-Faith Veterans Initiative (MVI),

  Walidah G. Bennett, is the founder and Director of the Multi-Faith Veterans Initiative (MVI), housed in DePaul University’s Egan Office for Urban Education & Community Partnerships. The initiative works citywide to integrate mental and behavioral health with faith institutions in developing community circles of support by linking veterans and their families to local services and resources available within the community. Providing education and training on issues that impact veterans and their families and works to facilitate partnerships between the faith community and behavioral health providers. She holds degrees in Psychology from Northeastern Illinois University, Center for Inner City studies, and professional certificates in therapeutic intervention strategies from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

• Megan Everett (veteran)

  Director, Veterans Program at Robert R. McCormick Foundation

  Everett oversees the Foundation's Veterans grant program, funding organizations and initiatives

  Everett oversees the Foundation's Veterans grant program, funding organizations and initiatives that help returning veterans and their families lead successful lives in Illinois. Everett was a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy serving in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Everett is a co-founder and former staff advisor to the Northwestern University Veterans Association, a Director Appointee to the Illinois Veterans Advisory Council, an Advisory Board Member on the Advisory Council for Veterans Affairs for the city of Chicago, and Program Chair of the Veteran Leadership Council. Everett obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Society from Cornell University, a Master of Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University and a degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University.

• Rev. Toyin Hines

  Road Home Program at Rush

  Oluwatoyin Olabisi Hines is Sole Proprietor of Oluwatoyin Olabisi Consulting; Founder/CEO of

  Oluwatoyin Olabisi Hines is Sole Proprietor of Oluwatoyin Olabisi Consulting; Founder/CEO of Grace Revealed Ministry and The Woman Cave Fellowship; National Director of the Hope Outreach Commission on Veteran Affairs; Midwest Director of the Pastoral Care and Mental Health Consortium at Hope Outreach Ministries; and Licensed Professional Counselor at Road Home Program: The Center for Veterans and their Families at Rush. She also serves as Brigade Chaplain at the rank of Major with Family Life Chaplain skill identifier in the Illinois Army National Guard (ILARNG). In her role as a counselor, Hines provides timely and confidential support, counseling and veteran health services to help understand, heal from and cope with the invisible wounds of war.

• Dr. John Mundt

  Jesse Brown VA

  John Mundt is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist whose primary professional focus for more than 25

  John Mundt is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist whose primary professional focus for more than 25 years has been the mental health issues impacting military veterans. This includes full-time employment at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois since 1992, where he has provided both long-term and time-limited psychotherapy as well as crisis intervention and case management for veterans. Since 1996, Dr. Mundt has been the psychologist in the Medical Center's acute-care partial hospitalization program with a focus on brief treatment of PTSD and “Moral Injury” stemming from combat, sexual assault and inner-city violence as well as other types of trauma. He is an experienced teacher, lecturer and trainer, and has presented on issues related to veterans’ mental health in more than 60 cities, and to audiences as diverse as the Alaska Bar Association, the Cook County Adult Probation Department, and the Montgomery County (Maryland) Mental Health Association . Dr. Mundt holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• General Mukoyama (veteran)

  Military Outreach USA

  Ret. General Mukoyama served for over 30 years with the US Army. He was the youngest General

  Ret. General Mukoyama served for over 30 years with the US Army. He was the youngest General Officer to serve and was the first Asian-American in the history of the United States to command an Army division.

• Director Erica Jeffries (veteran)

  Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs

  Erica is a graduate of West Point and was an aviation officer for the U.S. Army. Currently she is

  Erica is a graduate of West Point and was an aviation officer for the U.S. Army. Currently she is the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

• Rev. Dr. Zachary Moon

  Chicago Theological Seminary

  Dr. Moon is the Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary. He

  Dr. Moon is the Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary. He has actively been researching topics related to military service, post-deployment reentry and reintegration, and military moral stress.

• Director Victor LaGroon (veteran)

  Office of Veterans Affairs for the City of Chicago

  Victor is a Veteran of the U.S. Army where he was a soldier, Junior NCO, and Team Leader. Since

  Victor is a Veteran of the U.S. Army where he was a soldier, Junior NCO, and Team Leader. Since leaving the army he has worked to serve and advocate for fellow Veterans and their families and is the Director of the Chicago Office of Veterans Affairs for the City of Chicago.

• Lisa Goodale

  Consulting Services Vice President, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

  Lisa Goodale is Consulting Services Vice President at the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

  Lisa Goodale is Consulting Services Vice President at the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance where she directs training and consultation services for peers, clinicians, and the general public. She served as Project Manager for DBSA’s national contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs to train nearly 500 of the VA’s newly-hired Veteran peer specialists throughout the country. Goodale was Co-Investigator for two NIMH-funded studies: Developing a Sustainable Consumer Clearinghouse for Translational Depression and Bipolar Disorder Research at the University of Michigan Depression Center; and Pilot Trial of Peer Support for Bipolar Disorder at Group Health Cooperative/Center for Health Studies. She served as an Expert Panel Member for the Peer Specialist Services in the VA: Fidelity of Implementation study and was a co-author of Pillars of peer support: transforming mental health systems of care through peer support services. A long-time member of the DBSA team and a licensed social worker, Goodale holds an MSW degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BA degree from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. It is her joy and special privilege to have been invited along on the recovery journeys of so many courageous people.

• Michael Desmond (veteran)

  Hero 2 Hero Program, Volunteers of America of Illinois

  Michael served in the Marine Corps from 2007 to 2012 with the 1st Marine Division where he

  Michael served in the Marine Corps from 2007 to 2012 with the 1st Marine Division where he was deployed to three times to include service in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his transition from the military, Michael became active in the Veteran community and studies that led to his work in Moral Injury. During his time with Volunteers of America of Illinois, Michael has worked to infuse the peer support model into an approach to work with Veterans experiencing Moral Injury. This work has been as a result of witnessing firsthand the strong bonds and communication that occur among Veterans that can promote the healing process.