Veteran’s PATH

Abigail is the Founder of Create Awareness, Change Lives. She combines her academic education in Cognitive, Social and Behavioral studies with her first-hand, life-experiences of childhood abuse, domestic violence and PTS. With empathy, kindness and tough love, she authentically connects with others and inspires them to deepen their self-awareness, self-ownership and self-care. As a proud mother of a US Marine daughter and son, she has a heart-felt passion for the people she serves.

On this episode Abigail and I discuss her life as a child enduring abuse, her life as an adult experiencing domestic violence, her raising two great children as a single mother, destructive limiting beliefs, “purple threads” and Abigail even got me to admit something I’ve never shared openly before!

My guest today is good friend of mine - former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician turned entrepreneur Josh Duntz. Josh is the co-founder of Stasis - a human performance company that focuses on bringing cold water exposure training and immersion therapy to the masses. He is also a lifelong athlete and CrossFit coach who now uses yoga, breath work and that cold water exposure training as part of a daily routine to optimize his own performance.

Jorey Herrscher is a Police Officer and LawEnforcement Attorney who transitioned his career as Trauma Recovery Coach. Jorey teaches recovery skills to those who have experienced emotional trauma. He earned his law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas and his bachelors degree in Criminal Law with a Minor in Spanish from Weber (Wee-ber) State University in Ogden Utah.

Jorey is the CEO of Herrscher Consulting, LLC, where he provides corporate training in Leadership Development, Mental Health, Law Enforcement, and others. Jorey is an International Speaker, Mental Health First Aid Instructor, PTSD Recovery and Suicide Prevention Advocate, and soon to be author. He also serves as the Executive Director for The Unbroken Project, a nonprofit organization that works to help Veterans and First Responders find healing and recovery from emotional trauma such as PTSD.

Jorey’s wife Stephanie is an amazing mother to their four amazing children and is currently earning her Nursing Degree. They Herrscher family currently resides in Conroe, Texas.

My guest on Today’s episode is Army Master Sergeant and Social Worker Jessica Ridenour. Jessica has served in the US Army for 17 years.

On the episode, Jessica and I discuss alternative mental health modalities, the importance of sleep and sleep hygiene, nonprofits she works with and being a citizen soldier.

My guest today is 12 year Army Veteran June Moss. June says she not only fought in Iraq, but she also fought back here at home battling with PTSD.

She’s also struggled with the effects of divorce and homelessness and was featured in Time Magazine’s article “How We’re Failing Our Female Veterans” and in a CNN report on Women and Mother Vets with PTSD - but she found mindfulness and has worked to improve her mental and medical health since and is now working for the Chaplain Service in the Veteran’s Affairs office in Palo Alto.

Dr. Theresa Larson is a Marine Corps Veteran turned physical therapist and business owner.

In this episode we discuss her childhood and the loss of her mother at a young age, her Marine Corps service and deployments, her book - Warrior, her professional softball career, and how she overcame her battles with bulimia and perfectionism.

My guest on this episode is Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Breeja Larson.

In this episode Breeja and I discuss her childhood plans to be a gymnast and how those plans morphed; her Olympic mistakes and victories; her dealing with social media bullies; difficulties in being defined by your profession when you’re so much more; her use of meditation to prepare for life in and out of the pool; and the similarities of swimming,

dancing, and being mindful!

Kate Tumelty Felice started her career as a major crimes and narcotics detective. While she loved her job and helping others in that way, life continued to drive her toward teaching, and eventually she decided on a path that is more proactive than reactive.

She has taught at various levels before settling into higher education and teacher preparation. She believes that learning is a reciprocal process and should be fun, engaging, and inclusive no matter the age or level.

On the episode, Kate and I talk about her former career and how that affected her, her father being shot in the line of duty and the effects of that on her family, and her work and initiatives to promote an integrative and holistic approach to prioritizing well-being in all facets of schools, organizations, and advocacy.

Vanessa Meade is one of our fantastic Veteran’s PATH mindfulness facilitators! She’s a PsyD, LCSW, an assistant professor and licensed psychologist in the School of Social Work at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is a U.S. Army/Gulf War veteran, sexual assault survivor, former Alaska State Trooper, and licensed clinical social worker. The focus of her doctoral studies in psychology was mindfulness-based practices with women veterans. She facilitates mindfulness-based retreats and programs and is a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and a certified mindfulness teacher through the Engaged Mindfulness Institute.

On the episode we discuss living in Alaska, sexual assault, MBSR, and her life of service in the Army, as a counselor, as a State Trooper and now, as a psychologist and nonprofit volunteer!

Monica is a Veteran’s PATH retreat alum. She spent 20 years in the United States Army before she retired in Fort Campbell, KY in 2012. During her 20 years she deployed to Haiti, Iraq and Kuwait.

Now she’s working for the State of Tennessee as a Financial Services Investigator.

She’s married to a retiree and they have a 14 year-old son and a dog.

Monica is a survivor of military sexual trauma and receives counseling through the VET Center. On the episode we talk about that and her overcoming this through sisterhood, mindfulness, yoga and sharing her story. In a showing of the play The Vagina Monologues, Monica performed an original monologue calling for attention to sexual assault survivors who have served in the military.

She attended her first Veteran’s PATH retreat in Beckwith almost three years ago and recently attended a second retreat in October in California.