Behind The Shield

With more than 30 years in medicine, including a background in diagnostic and interventional radiology, Jerome Puryear helps people navigate one of the hardest parts of modern healthcare: knowing what to trust, what matters most, and what to do next. His work focuses on cutting through conflicting advice, misinformation, overlooked warning signs, and complex medical information so people can make clearer, more intentional decisions about their health.

At the center of his work is The Puryear Lens, a simple three-step framework for making better decisions when health information feels noisy or overwhelming: Clarify. Focus. Respond. It helps people separate signal from noise, identify what matters, and take an intentional next step, especially when making decisions about their health.

For over 30 years, Dr. Jerome Puryear has helped people look beneath the surface of their health. As a radiologist and interventional physician, he has seen what most people never do the early progression of chronic disease, the hidden inflammation, the silent damage that begins long before symptoms appear. Those years taught him a powerful truth: most disease is preventable.

While many patients receive advice, few receive the tools to make sustainable lifestyle changes. Dr. Puryear’s mission became clear to guide people across the wellness bridge between knowledge and action. He focuses on preventive medicine, functional health, and evidence-based wellness strategies that empower individuals to regain control of their health before disease takes hold.

After completing his residency and fellowship training at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Jackson Memorial Hospital, Dr. Puryear pursued board certification as a Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) through Duke University and advanced certification in Obesity Medicine. Instead of simply treating illness, he committed to helping people build long-term vitality, resilience, and longevity.

He later developed the CLARITY Bridge™, a structured, science-backed framework that blends behavioral health coaching, functional medicine principles, sustainable lifestyle change, and personalized wellness strategies. It’s designed to help individuals align daily habits with deeper values creating real, lasting transformation.

Dr. Puryear’s books go beyond information they equip. Each page gives readers the insights, tools, and motivation needed to break free from self-defeating habits and move toward a healthier, stronger, and more vibrant life. His work supports anyone seeking integrative wellness, disease prevention, or the path to healthy aging.

https://www.drjeromepuryear.com/

Timmy Gleason is a veteran Miami firefighter and member of USAR TF-2.

We discuss losing his home to a hurricane as a child, his journey into the fire service, the Haitian earthquake, Hurricane Ian, the Surfside collapse, his own powerful mental health story, addiction, suicide, post traumatic growth and so much more.

Sara Wilkinson is the founder of the Step Up Foundation, skateboarder and Gold Star Widow. In this third conversation, we discuss catharsis through travelling, addressing the mental health crisis through community, turning the page on grief and so much more.

Sara was always familiar with a military life as she grew up the youngest to a father in the Marine Corps. Her upbringing allowed her to understand the stress, high cycle times, of deployments and frequent training trips while furthering to instill her independence and resilience.

Unfortunately, she’s learned even the most prepared can be unprepared in the wake of suicide. Sara has seen firsthand the hardships among the special operations community specific to multiple combat deployments, high cycle times and too many friends lost leaving lasting stress on the operators and their families.

While her experience is within the Navy SEAL community she fully understands that many of our veterans are struggling regardless of branch, rank, or time in service. Sara is dedicated to using her voice and her story to change the narrative and the number to this veteran suicide epidemic.

Chad Eldridge, DC is a Chiropractic Physician with a primary focus on performance enhancement, movement, and corrective exercise. We discuss the ailments that led him on the medical path, choosing chiropractic, functional medicine, foundation training, the obesity epidemic and so much more.

Chad Eldridge, DC is a Chiropractic Physician with a primary focus on performance enhancement, movement, and corrective exercise. His passion and curiosity of the human body started at a young age where he spent many hours after school in medical doctor and chiropractic offices, in which his mother worked. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communications from the University of Central Florida and then moved to California to live out a dream of his and pursue other creative endeavors.

Eventually, that passion and curiosity of the human body led him to return to Florida and pursue a career as a Chiropractic Physician. He graduated Cum Laude from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2012. While attending chiropractic college, Chad developed an immense interest in human movement. This led him to attend a multitude of courses to develop his skills and knowledge in this subject. These courses provided him with valuable concepts and techniques to spot out dysfunctions in movement, ways to address these dysfunctions, and to narrow down the true cause of your pain or restrictions.

Chad has been an athlete his entire life, participating in a wide variety of sports and physical activity. Plagued and sidelined by a multitude of injuries in his earlier years, Chad has experienced the feeling of not being able to participate in the things you love. This has sparked his continued pursuit of knowledge and skill to provide patient’s with the greatest potential for pain-free living and quality movement in order for them to perform the activities they love for as long as they wish.

https://www.platinumfitnesssummerland.com/chad-eldridge

Dr. Jessa LaCroix is a social psychologist, behavioral health researcher, and scientific advisor focused on advancing mental health, suicide prevention, and human performance. She is a Research Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and serves as a Lead Scientific Advisor for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) through Strategic Engineering Solutions.

Her work has spanned federally funded research initiatives addressing suicide prevention, cognitive optimization, and mental health. She is passionate about bridging behavioral science and health innovation to develop more effective approaches to prevention, treatment, and resilience.

Dr. LaCroix is particularly interested in how biology, psychology, social context, and meaning-making interact to shape human health—and how a deeper understanding of these processes could unlock new possibilities for healing and well-being.

Please note that Dr. LaCroix's views are her own and do not represent her employer, the Department of War, ARPA-H, or the federal government.

Julie Lewis, a 38-­year AIDS survivor, and mother to Grammy Award winning musician, Ryan Lewis, was infected with HIV in 1984 but not diagnosed until the early 1990s when she was given three to five years to live. After years of silence about her disease, she found an unlikely community of friends to fight alongside and began using her story to make a difference. Her experiences as a woman living with AIDS offers insights about grief and loss, caregiving, spirituality, and the importance of community in the midst of tragedy.

Thirty years later, wanting to find a way to celebrate her incredible journey, and her passion for community health, she launched the 30/30 Project to positively impact the lives of other women, girls, and families who didn’t have the same access to the healthcare opportunities that she’s had.

https://stillpositive.com/

Dixon Phillips is a former collegiate athlete, Pasco County firefighter and former union president of IAFF Local 4420. In this third conversation, he unpacks the history, mistruths and realities of Florida's Amendment 3, the negative impact it will have on Florida's first responders and the safety of their citizens. We also discuss proactive solutions to government overspending from community medicine to the 24/72 firefighter shift.

"As President of IAFF Local 4420, Pasco County Professional Firefighters, I proudly represented over 800 members who serve our community with dedication and professionalism. In this role, I led collective bargaining efforts, negotiate contracts, handle member grievances and disciplinary matters, and advocated for legislative change and appropriations that directly impact the fire service.

With nearly a decade of experience as a firefighter paramedic, I understood the challenges our members face on the job and fought every day to ensure they have the support, protections, and resources they need. Whether it's pushing for better benefits, addressing workplace issues, or securing funding at the local and state level, I was committed to advancing the rights and well-being of our membership."

Hon. Allen Clark is a Vietnam veteran, author, public speaker and Minister. We discuss giving both his legs for his country, the physical and mental rehabilitation journey, working with the VA, the spiritual arm of healing, the industrial military complex and so much more.

After attending Phillips Exeter Academy, Allen graduated the United States Military Academy in 1963, after which he was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers. Two years after graduation from West Point, he volunteered for a tour in Vietnam where he served as a Military Intelligence officer assigned to the Fifth Special Forces Group. Allen sustained injuries in an early-morning mortar attack at the Dak To Special Forces camp on June 17, 1967, that necessitated the amputation of both legs below his knees. His military service and sacrifice were recognized with receipt of a Silver Star for Gallantry in Action, the Purple Heart, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. He was airborne-qualified.

While learning to adjust to his disability and to walk on prosthetic legs, he obtained an MBA in finance and investments from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Allen's first post-graduate position was as an investment manager for Ross Perot. His other private sector experience has spanned oil and gas exploration, real estate marketing, and mortgage lending. He has been vice president of a bank, president of three oil service companies, and co-founder of a real estate investment company in Texas.

Allen's impassioned commitment to public service and to helping veterans began with an appointment in 1979 as the Special Assistant for Administration to Texas Governor William P. Clements, Jr. In 1981, Allen was President Ronald Reagan's selection to be Deputy Administrator for the Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs). However, he chose to remain in Texas where in 1982 he received the Texas Republican Party's nomination to run for State Treasurer in a race that was won by former Texas State Governor Ann Richards.

In 1989, he was nominated by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Veterans Liaison and Program Coordination at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1991, he received his second VA confirmation as Director of the National Cemetery System, a position in which he served until the end of the President George H. W. Bush administration.

Allen's dedicated efforts to support veteran's causes at the national and state levels were recognized with his selection in 2011 by the Texas state Disabled American Veterans organization as their Outstanding Disabled American

He retired in 2005 as the Public Affairs Officer of the VA North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, Texas. His current lay ministry, Combat Faith is involved in outreach efforts to help active duty military personnel and veterans recover from the traumas of combat and their adverse wartime experiences. Allen participates in many community and civic activities, including regularly speaking at warrior transition battalions, military post chapels, high schools and colleges, service and veteran groups, youth conferences, and churches. He has addressed many audiences nationwide as a public official, motivational speaker, and political candidate.

www.combatfaith.com

Dr. Thaer Ahmad, MD is a board-certified emergency medicine physician, global health expert, educator, and humanitarian who has provided medical relief and healthcare capacity-building in some of the world's most devastated conflict zones for over fifteen years.

A Palestinian-American raised on Chicago's South Side, Dr. Ahmad first traveled to Gaza in 2009 on a medical mission and has returned multiple times since. After borders reopened in late 2023, he was deployed by the World Health Organization as part of an Emergency Medical Team to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in 2024, where he worked in the emergency department's resuscitation room.

His humanitarian medical work has also taken him to Lebanon (missions in October 2024 and May 2026) and to the West Bank (four medical missions, most recently July 2026), with capacity-building across Syria, Türkiye, Jordan, and Kenya, and refugee-health work across Europe and the Middle East.

Since October 2024, Dr. Ahmad has been denied entry into Gaza by Israeli authorities on five separate occasions, most recently on July 29, 2026, despite planned humanitarian medical missions.

At home, he is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Global Emergency Medicine Academy at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) and on the advisory board of The Borgen Project. He is a board member of the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and a past board member of MedGlobal.

A three-time recipient of the Humanitarian Award from his medical staff and the 2025 SAEM Global Emergency Medicine Academy Humanitarian Service Award honoree, he has become a leading public voice — testifying before the United Nations, speaking with Refugees International, and now appearing in the documentary American Doctor (dir. Poh Si Teng), which premiered at Sundance and opens in select theaters from August 14, 2026.

https://thaerahmad.com/

Nick O'Kelly is a former U.S. Army Green Beret and Special Operations Blackhawk Pilot. We discuss his early life, his journey into the military, Special Forces selection, serving in South East Asia, transitioning into Aviation, Organizational Stress, returning to the SF community as a pilot, his own powerful mental health story, NuCalm and so much more.