About:
The Veterans Health and Wellness Foundation is pleased to present a second special edition conversation of our Veteran Lived Experience Series in collaboration with the Alphas & ACE's Leadership Foundation to discuss adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Our first discussion, "A Courageous Conversation" introduced a challenging and important dialogue for high achieving, high performing individuals (Alphas) regarding the internal experiences that might drive us, block us and inspire us. Our next conversation, "A Collective Conversation," will draw upon the role key relationships play in the ecosystem of those who have experienced ACEs. Alphas & ACE's is designed as a peer-to-peer (P2P) experience informed and supported through the clinical expertise of our subject matter experts Dr. B. Nilaja Green, PhD and moderator Dr. Evelyn Lewis Evelyn L. Lewis MD, MA, FAAFP, DABDA (VHWF).
Date and Time:
Tuesday, Oct 8th 1:00 – 2:15 PM ET
Registration:
To register for this free event, please use the URL:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErfuCtrzopH9w6lIdLZ0xBcr6K3kVArlBk
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar
Guest Speakers:
Dr. B. Nilaja Green. PhD writes, speaks and engages at the intersections of individual psychological distress and collective sociocultural oppression. As an Atlanta-based Licensed Clinical & Community Psychologist, Dr. Green is an expert in trauma care and delivering specialized, culturally responsive trauma treatments to vulnerable populations such as military Veterans, Black women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community through her unique, integrative private practice, Standpoint Wellness. She has engaged in several community level initiatives, including collaborating with the mayor of East Point in Atlanta to create community-level conversations addressing issues of race, class, history and equity. Dr. Green strives to share expertise in culturally relevant, holistic mental health practice.
John Sterling is a medically retired U.S. Army Noncommissioned Officer and completed his active-duty service as a Military Intelligence professional. He also served and was certified as an Army Master Resiliency Trainer. In this role he taught critical resiliency skills for career sustainment and enhancement to hundreds of service members and their families on military installations throughout the world. In 2017, Mr. Sterling founded Azimuth Leadership LLC, a behavioral health leadership platform which focuses on providing faith-informed direction and resiliency through robust and culturally competent conversations in sports, military, recovery/mental health and clinical communities. In 2022, he made his most authentic and important leadership decision which resulted in the creation of Alphas & ACE's Leadership Foundation. The genesis of this foundation was being “awoken from broken” after he discovered and began to understand how an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) impacted his life.
Brandon Puffer is an American former professional baseball player for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. Puffer was promoted to Boston Red Sox in 2004 when they won the World Series and received the world series ring that would later be featured on an episode of Pawn Stars. In 2007, Puffer signed with the Texas Rangers, playing for their Double A affiliate, the Frisco RoughRiders. After a playoff game, Brandon joined his teammates for a celebratory night out which led to a night of drinking and poor choices. As a result, he was arrested for the intent of a crime and sentenced to 5 years in prison. After three and a half years, he was eligible for parole and was free to start his new life. Today, Brandon Puffer is the co-founder of GPS Legends where he serves as a coach and mentor to high school players. It's his story of redemption that he shares with the hope of helping others navigate through the challenges of life and how to fill that "God - shaped hole" that has us seeking true fulfillment and satisfaction.