Policy Vets

Recent Afghanistan Ambassador to The United States Roya Rahmani sits down with former Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Dr. David Shulkin Executive Director Louis Celli to describe the final days of democratic Afghan rule as the Taliban move into the Presidential Palace. 

Sherman Gillums joins Secretary Shulkin and Lou Celli to talk about Veteran Service Organizations (VSO's) and what they need to do in order to ensure veterans continue to have a voice.  Sherman has served as a veteran, VSO Executive, and now as an advocate.

Barbara Ashe is the Executive Director for a program that teaches veteran businesses how to tap into the multibillion dollar federal sales market.  The Department of Veterans Affairs 2022 budget request is 270 billion dollars.  Find out how much of that will get spent on goods and services, and what type of priority veteran businesses have when selling to VA.

Zia Ghafoori is a former Afghan interpreter who served with the US Army Special Forces for 14 years.  The Taliban abused his family and the war ended high school when he decided to fight for his country by supporting the United States as an interpreter.  Ghafoori earned a Purple Heart and is now a US citizen advocating for other Afghan workers who stood shoulder to shoulder in Afghanistan.

Sarah Verardo is a national advocate for wounded Veterans and their Caregivers, and CEO of The Independence Fund (https://independencefund.org/). Her husband Michael was catastrophically wounded in Afghanistan in 2010, in two separate IED attacks that took his left leg, much of his left arm, and left him with polytraumatic conditions that required more than one hundred surgeries and years of speech, visual, physical and occupational therapies.

Sarah's compelling story delves into the impact of the war on Afghanistan, getting personal about the impact on her husband, her children, and of course, herself. 

Join Dr. Shulkin and Lou Celli as they speak with Phillis Wilson and Lucy Del Gaudio.  Phyllis is a retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 and Policy Vets BOD member, and Lucy is a Military Sexual Assault victim who works to advocate for other  Military Sexual Trauma victims. Different eras, different experiences, same problem - is it getting any better?

Join Dr. Shulkin and Lou Celli as they speak to Reuben Keith Green and Gloria Dent.  Keith is the author of "Black Officer, White Navy", and Gloria is a small business owner. Both had long careers in the military and have a perspective on race in the military that is especially important considering recent events.  

Dr. David Shulkin and Lou Celli speak with Ms. Danica Thomas, who shares her story about her husband Army Staff Sergeant Allen Thomas; how they met, what happened to SSG Thomas in Afghanistan; and the tragic afternoon he left the VA and murdered two people he had never met thinking they were enemy combatants before taking his own life.

Dr. Gordon Sumner, President and CEO of Veterans Moving Forward (https://vetsfwd.org/staff/) and Cole Lyle, President of the Working Warrior Foundation (https://workingwarriorfoundation.org/) join Dr. Shulkin and Lou in talking about how to increase our paw print in support of veterans without wasting taxpayer dollars on scientific studies.

In part 1 of this two part series Donald Overton and Danique Masingill join with Dr. Shulkin and Lou to talk about the power of animal regulation for the future of Veteran support.  Donald is the Executive Director of the Blinded Veterans Association (https://bva.org/), and Danique is the Co-Founder and President of Leashes of Valor (https://leashesofvalor.org/).