Veteran Artist Program

Madison Rising strives to create music with meaning; songs that are about something: our military, sacrifice, freedom, liberty, gratitude, and living the American dream. Lead Singer Dave Bray was a Recruit Chief Petty Officer in basic training, a Master at Arms in A-school, and was awarded the honor of Top Dog in Field Medical Service School. He served in the U.S. Navy as an 8404 FMF Corpsman for the 2nd Battalion / 2nd Marines stationed out of Camp Lejeune NC.

Bill O’Brien joined the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006 as Director of Theater. Since then, he has served as a Deputy Chairman of Grants and Awards and currently serves as the Senior Innovation Advisor to the Chairman. Bill has acted on film, television, and on stage in 48 states currently and works directly with military veterans through Operation Homecoming.

Maria Sam Moeller served on a Cultural Support Team that was recently highlighted in the book “Ashley’s War”. Sam currently lives in Virginia Beach, VA, pursing her BFA in drawing and design. Sam and I talk about what it’s like to go through selection and joining an elite force as an artist.

Shannon Huffman Polson is the author of North of Hope; A Daughter’s Arctic Journey. She served for eight years in the U.S. Army as an attack aviation officer and was one of the first women to fly the Apache attack helicopter. I found out in this interview that Shannon is also a singer, something near and dear to my heart.

Roman Baca is a Marine Iraq War Veteran and the Artistic Director of Exit12 Dance Company in NYC and the Artistic Director and General Manager of Ballet Theatre Company in CT. I’ve worked with Roman many times over the last 4 years and I’m excited to share his story on the VAP Podcast.

I had the amazing opportunity in 2013 to be part of the 1st Veteran Immersion Program at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Elise Terrell and Camille Hebert are producers at The Daily Show, ran the program and have now worked with 70 veterans looking to transition into TV, Film and Media. Jon Stewart's focus on assisting veterans is the reason I moved to New York City and the interview today is my way of saying Thank You to Elise and Camille, the whole staff at The Daily Show and of course Jon Stewart.

Stephan Wolfert was one of the first people I called when I founded VAP and has continued to be a friend and mentor. Stefan served as a medic and infantry officer in the US Army and is currently the Head of Outreach at Bedlam Theatre in NYC and the creator of DE-CRUIT: a program to reintegrate military Veterans using classical actor training.

Sandra Lee earned her B.A. in International Relations with a minor in Voice from Portland State University and served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army for 8 years completing a tour of duty to Baghdad, Iraq. Sandra is a seasoned VAP perfomer and is making her off-Broadway debut in Comfort Women in July. As a survivor of sexual assault, Sandra is using the power of art and creativity to heal and become a role model for so many returning veterans.

John Lee Dumas is the Founder and Host of EntrepreneurOnFire, an award winning Podcast revealing the journey of today's most inspiring Entrepreneurs 7-days a week. JLD was an officer in the Army and deployed to Iraq where he wrote he wrote his novel The Ancient, which he just released via podcast.

Karen Courington is a visual artist and currently working as a technology consultant in the Bay Area. She served as a senior adviser to Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). Karen is a Major in the US Air Force Reserve, was an active duty C-17 pilot, and is a graduate of both Georgetown University and The University of Virginia.