2025 Military & Veterans Mental Health Summit

Susamma Seeley is a U.S. Army Veteran who served in Landstuhl, Germany and Fort Irwin, California before transitioning out of service following the suicide of her husband. As a service-connected Veteran living with PTSD, Susamma is open about her disability and her experience as a suicide loss survivor. The VA played a pivotal role in her healing journey and supported her as she prepared for her TEDx talk advocating for changing how we talk about suicide and mental health. 

Currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Disaster Science and Management, Susamma transitioned from frontline disaster work to teaching, training, and consulting. Her background in disaster human services shaped her commitment to equity, justice, and structural change in the pursuit of resilience. Teaching brings Susamma great joy and offers a platform to share lessons in self-awareness and resilience, helping students become more socially conscious and adaptable leaders. 

Jesse Hermanson is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and member of the Veterans Advisory Council in Wilmington, DE. Originally from the Midwest, Jesse carries with him the values of community and hard work instilled by his upbringing. After his service and medical discharge, he found renewed purpose through veteran support organizations, higher education, and community involvement. With studies in Industrial Technologies and Biochemical Engineering, along with a passion for the arts, Jesse has used creativity as a means of healing and expression. Now living in Delaware, he continues to advocate for improved healthcare and resources for veterans and their families. 

Wayde Rozniewski was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is an Iraq veteran and infantryman. Additionally, he is a Afghanistan veteran as Brigade recon. He left the military and although he belongs as a statistic, he walked a different path  thanks to Project Refit. He now worsk in the SUD and mental health fields getting people into treatment and recovery. 

Representative William J. Carson has proudly served as a full-time legislator in the Delaware House of Representatives since 2007. A lifelong resident of Smyrna, he is deeply rooted in community service, particularly in Delaware's fire service. Carson joined Citizens House Company in 1964 and went on to serve in leadership roles including Chief and Fire Chief Emeritus. He is a life member of multiple fire companies and was one of the first Hurst Tool instructors at the Delaware State Fire School.

Throughout his legislative career, Representative Carson has championed public safety, veterans' affairs, agriculture, and infrastructure. His legislative accomplishments include increased funding for volunteer fire services, enhanced road safety laws, and critical support for first responders and agriculture programs. 

Carson chairs the House Agriculture Committee and serves as Vice Chair of both the Economic Development and Veterans Affairs Committees. He is also a member of several community organizations, a veteran of the Delaware Air National Guard, and has been married to his wife Betty for 51 years. 

United States Army, Gulf War-era Veteran, Freddy Lee Allen Jr. joined the VA Medical Center in 2021, and then the VA Readjustment Counseling Service, in 2016. He demonstrates a passion for service by giving back to the community and connecting Veterans, service members, and their families to needed resources. Freddy Lee began his VA career in the VA CWT program, in the Medical Media Department, before transitioning into behavioral health, as a Certified Peer Support Specialist. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ashford University in 2016, completed his graduate program (MEd) in 2018, obtained his Social Work license in 2021; and serves as the Wilmington Vet Center's Veterans Outreach Program Specialist.

Freddy Lee is a Suicide Prevention advocate, and a Delaware Board Member of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). He is also a practitioner of Mindfulness Meditation, an Archer, and an Adaptive tai-chi facilitator. He credits these practices with helping him to establish calmness, balance, and a centeredness that he willingly shares with whom he encounters. Freddy Lee is a husband, a father, a life-long learner, and is here to serve the community. 

Christopher Crowley is a five-year Army airborne paratrooper. He struggles with both mental health and physical health plus a long history of substance abuse. He has a wife and five kids. Currently on VA disability, he works part-time at Five Below. Christopher enjoys spending quality time with his family, watching sports, and other outdoor activities. The VA and veteran care are important to him because he has experienced firsthand how the VA resources can change veterans' lives for the better.

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Tapp served in the United States Coast Guard for 27 years.  His assignments included tours domestically at stations where his duties included leading search and rescue and law enforcement operations as a boat coxswain and boarding officer.  While doing so he was formally recognized for having saved numerous lives as a first responder.

CWO Tapp served internationally aboard Coast Guard and Navy ships where he led military, homeland security and illegal drug and migrant interdiction operations across the Pacific and Caribbean.  He was decorated for developing and implementing improved interdiction tactics currently employed by the U.S. Coast Guard.   In unit command assignments he led Coast Guard Boat Forces and Cutters charged with establishing and maintaining the nation’s navigation-aid infrastructure along the west coast and the Great Lakes.  His collateral assignment included serving as a Crises Intervention and Stress Management peer where he deployed in response to critical incidents.

CWO Tapp has been awarded the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Special Operations Ribbon with Operational Device.  CWO Tapp is a permanent ‘Cutterman’ for his years of service abroad and at sea and was recognized in 2009 as the U.S. Coast Guard’s Enlisted Person of the Year for the Pacific Area.  

CWO Tapp now serves as a Military Liaison and proud member of Acadia’s Service Resiliency Unit where he connects active-duty service members with Acadia’s network of military centric behavioral health programs, a role he views as an extension of his military career spent serving the needs of his service members and their families.  He resides in Arizona where CWO Tapp is active in supporting other veterans as the President of a local non-profit veteran service organization.

Robert Corbett was born and raised in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1966 to a working-class family. He joined the Marines in 1987 and loved his job as a CH 53 helicopter mechanic. Robert's PTSD originated when he was in Saudi Arabia. When he came home, he didn't have any issues. He is an alcoholic who has been married a few times. He hit rock bottom when he had a flashback and almost killed his wife and child. 

Robert has been in the VA system for a couple of years now. He receives help from the VA and his doctor. He looks forward to chatting with and surrounding himself with positive people, other veterans and people who understand. He was almost one of the statistics for Veterans suicide. He went through life working and drinking and taking care of everyone else except himself. He realized he had to take care of himself before he could take care of anyone else, which changed him. He now volunteers for Veterans organizations. 

Vanesa Simon is an innovative Entrepreneur and Artist dedicated to integrating the arts into health and wellbeing. As the founder of Mariposa Arts, she serves as the Program Director of Healing Through the Arts, a program she launched in 2017 in partnership with the Delaware Art Museum. This initiative offers free art workshops aimed at enhancing wellbeing for participants and host organizations, focusing on communities affected by health, environmental, and historical traumas. The program emphasizes the use of various art forms in non-clinical settings to help individuals manage stress and develop a creative practice in a supportive environment.

In 2024 Vanesa began a partnership with the Delaware Division of the Arts and the Delaware Office of Veteran Services to help launch Delaware CreatiVeterans, a state-wide program to serve the military connected community through art workshops for wellbeing. 

Mariposa Arts thrives on strategic partnerships at the organizational, sponsor, and community levels, employing an entrepreneurial approach to community building that is human-centered and fosters a sense of belonging. 

In 2024, Healing Through the Arts received the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Creative Forces grant in recognition of its impactful work with the Veterans community, which began in 2022. Additionally, in 2024, Vanesa was nominated to the National Council on the Arts by President Joe Biden. 

Briana Henry is a Community Engagement Program Officer at the Delaware Division of the Arts. A graduate of the University of Delaware, she studied Fine Arts and Community Engagement, combining her creative passions with a strong commitment to public service. 

As a Delaware native raised in Kent County, Briana is deeply passionate about expanding access to the arts for all Delawareans. Both an artist and a teaching artist, she is actively engaged in community-based collaborations. She believes in the transformative power of the arts to elevate voices, foster understandng, and celebrate the beauty in everyday life. 

Jessica Lewis, CPT, CNC holds close to two dozen professional licenses in Tai Chi / Qigong (including T’ai Chi Chih, her primary focus), Personal Training, and Nutritional Counseling, providing her with unique insight into the constant interplay and positive impact of high-quality relaxation, movement, and whole food nutrition on all aspects of human health.

As the founder of both SCULPT YOUR LIFE®, a complete Lifestyle Coaching private practice, and the unique T’AI CHI CHIH FOR VETERANS program especially designed for Veterans and their loved ones, for over two decades Jessica has been guiding others to achieve holistic and integrative wellness.

Chris Nichols is a Senior Probation Officer and Veterans Treatment Court Officer in Sussex County, Delaware. As a combat veteran, he developed the Veterans Awareness Training for law enforcement and leads initiatives to better identify, engage, and support justice-involved veterans. He also serves on the Veterans Response and Crisis Intervention Teams.

James Corbett is a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. As the founder of IMPaCT and Project Refit, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to community impact. He has raised millions for his nonprofit, led the software development of IMPaCT, and mentored entrepreneurs to achieve six and seven-figure businesses. James' leadership has empowered over 220 Veterans and first responsders, and he currently leads a team of 40 volunteers. 

Stephanie Evan, MSN, RN, is the CEO of Starlite Recovery Center. She is a U.S. Navy veterans. She started her nursing career at LVN in 2010 working in labor and delivery, then pursued her RN, graduating in 2011. She worked at an acute psychiatric hospital as a psychiatric nurse while pursuing her BSN. Moving to San Diego in 2014, Stephanie continued to expand her knowledge and experience in behavioral health and substance use working as a nurse at the largest privately operated psychiatric hospital in San Diego.

Stephanie worked with adult mental health programs (both inpatient and outpatient) including a trauma program, cognitive behavioral program, dialectical behaivor program, medical acute psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, chemical dependency and substance use, eating disorders, child and adolescent behavioral health, ECT, and dual recovery. That is when she began to immerse herself in the field of chemical dependency and substance use. Advancing through the ranks, Stephanie was awarded position of lead nurse, assisting in the opening of the hospital's first medication-assisted treatment program. In 2019, she left San Diego and moved back to her home state of Texas and took her previous role serving as the Director of Nursing at Starlite Recovery Center. Recently, Stephanie received her Masters in Nursing Administration from Texas Tech. 

Brian DiSabatino is the CEO of EDiS Company, a fifth-generation construction and development firm serving Delaware and the surrounding region. Under his leadership, EDiS has grown to $250 million in annual revenue and led landmark projects like the $1 billion Town of Whitehall.

Beyond business, Brian is a civic leader and humanitarian. He chairs the Delaware Business Roundtable and has raised nearly $100 million for community causes. He serves on the board of NAUH, helping resuce North Korean defectors. One of his signature projects has been to address the epidemic of veteran suicide. Along with his family and members of the community he founded the 22in22 movement to create awareness about the struggles of some of our veterans. Their response was Vet Fest, which is celebrating its 10th year on September 27th here in Delaware, has raised over $1M, galvanized the community and educated thousands.

Brian has been named Delaware's CEO of the Year, honored by the Boy Scouts, NASCAR, and Catholic Charities and holds a Doctorate of Humane Letters for his lifetime of service. He lives in Historic New Castle and is the proud father of three adult children. 

Dr. Gooden is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed his residency in pediatrics in 1984 at Case Western Reserve University. 

He practiced general pediatrics until 2002, when his interest in substance use disorders led to a position in the Case Western/University Hospitals/Cleveland VA Medical Center department of psychiatry, division of addiction medicine. After completing his fellowship in 2004, Dr. Gooden did research in addiction medicine with the Cleveland Clinic's department of addiction psychiatry. Dr. Gooden later served as an addiction medicine physician, and, eventually, associate medical director at a large residential treatment facility in Warrior, Alabama. In 2010, he established Birmingham Addiction Medicine, Inc., which provided hospital-based addiction treatment and consult-liaison services to an 860-bed community hospital with a large inpatient psychiatric population in the Birmingham metro area. 

Dr. Gooden is a certified member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine since its inception in 2009, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the Florida Society of Addiction Medicine. He continues to be active in community education on addictive disorders throughout the Southeast. 

He currently enjoys life on the Emerald Coast with his wife, Deb, fur kids Farley and Niles, and his Fender, Gibson, and Martin guitars.

Ashlie Nowlin, LCSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker in Maryland and North Carolina with a strong background in child welfare, intimate partner violence, and substance use disorders. Specializing in trauma-informed care, Ashlie has facilitated numerous workshops and continuing education trainings, equipping professionals with essential skills to support individuals affected by trauma. She holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) and is currently advancing her education to pursue a career as a psychiatrist. Passionate about holistic and evidence-based interventions, Ashlie is committed to bridging mental health and social work to foster healing and resilience in diverse communities. 

Dr. Salber-Black has been at the Wilmington VAMC since 2016 and serves as the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Coordinator, Measurement-Based Care (MBC) Champion, a supervisor for psychological interns, and as a staff psychologist on the PTSD team. She earned her B.A. in psychology from Villanova University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Drexel University. 

She completed her predoctoral internship at the Syracuse VAMC and a postdoctoral fellowship in Primary Care Mental Health Integration at the Crescenz (Philadelphia) VAMC. 

Her primary theoretical orientation is cognitive-behavioral, with a special interest in evidence-based psychotherapies. She has VA Provider Status in Cognitive Processing Therapy, Written Exposure Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Problem-Solving Therapy, and additional training in Prolonged Exposure and CBT for depression, insomnia, and chronic pain. 

Dr Shilpa Garg is a Board certified Family Practice, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physician. She is the Medical Director of the Home Based Primary Care Program at Wilmington Veterans Affair Medical Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Along with her interdisciplinary team, she provides care to veterans with complex medical problems and psychosocial complexities. She has a strong interest and passion in Whole Health & Integrative Medicine and has completed 1000 hours training in SKY Breathing and Meditation through the Art of Living Foundation, a non-profit organization. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for the past 20 years. She has been organizing SKY Breath Meditation Workshops for the veterans in Delaware and teaches this program to the community members.