Dr. Martin is a Licensed Staff Psychologist at the Oklahoma City VA, Substance Treatment and Recovery Program (STAR). She completed her doctoral work at Our Lady of the Lake University located in San Antonio, Texas and her predoctoral training at the San Antonio Military Medical Center and Ft. Hood Behavioral Health Training Center; both located in Texas. Dr. Martin later relocated to Oklahoma to complete her clinical psychology internship and Geropsychology Residency with OUHSC. She remains active with the American Psychological Association, Division 19 Military Psychology and contributes regularly to veteran-related literature. Finally, Dr. Martin is a 19-year Army Captain, combat veteran, and military spouse.

Michael Skiles is a Marine Corps Veteran who served from 2002-2006 and completed one tour in Iraq (2005) with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. After his service in the military, he spent a few years working labor-intensive jobs. In 2009, he decided to go back to school and eventually received his Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (2013) and Master of Arts in Social Work (2014) from Millersville University. Michael wanted to go back to school to help veterans as he served with 5 different Marines who had committed suicide. Moreover, he experienced his own mental health symptoms that needed to be addressed. His engagement in recovery led him to becoming effective in his career of helping others to also achieve their mental health and addiction treatment goals.

Michael began his social work career in the juvenile justice system. He spent 4 years working with Medicaid and SNAP programs with the Department of Human Services. He also worked as a part-time substance use counselor and recovery specialist in Lancaster, PA. In March of 2020, Michael fulfilled his passion for helping his fellow Veterans by joining the Wilmington VA Medical Center. He currently works as an outpatient substance use social worker at the main hospital.

CH (MAJ-R) Van Alstyne was born 29 September 1946 in Catskill, N.Y. For the first five years of life, he was raised as an orphan by the Sisters of the Good Shepard in Albany New York. He remained in foster care in various homes until he was placed on a farm in Elizaville/Livingston, NY. He graduated in 1965 from Pine Plains Central High School at Pine Plains, New York.

Soon after his graduation, he was drafted into the Unite States Army. His first duty station was at Vint Hill Farm Station, Warrington, VA and later in the Army Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md. where he served as an Enlisted Aide De Camp for Brigadier General William H. Price Jr. In 1972, Chaplain Van Alstyne received an honorable discharge.

From 1968 to 1972 he attended American University, Washington, D.C. and graduated with a double major in Sociology and Philosophy. Chaplain Van Alstyne soon thereafter entered Religious Life with the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Washington Theological Union and went on to earn a Master of Social Work degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His professional pastoral training included supervised ministry at the Joseph P. Kennedy Institute, Washington, D.C. for the mentally challenged. He was subsequently awarded a summer scholarship for graduate study through Cardinal Stritch College in special education at Saint Coletta’s School in Jefferson, Wisconsin. This experience provided him with the skill to establish a Special Education Program in Sacramental Catechesis for the mentally challenged at Saint Bernadette Parish in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

In May of 1979, Chaplain Van Alstyne was ordained to the Diaconate, and for two years he served as Vocation Director for his Religious Order. Upon Ordination to the Priesthood in 1981, Chaplain Van Alstyne was assigned as associate pastor of Saint Jude’s Church in Rockville, Maryland. In May of 1984 he was assigned to the Marian Provincial Headquarters as the Director of the Marian Helpers Center, a spiritual publication Center promoting Marian Devotion and spreading the Message of Divine Mercy.

As a Marian priest, attempting to live out more radically his vocation, he followed the various paths that opened before him. Chaplain Van Alstyne has always felt that his main role should be that of a peacemaker. “This is the primary expression of my ministry as a priest”, he explains, “to be an instrument of reconciliation and healing for God’s people, affirming their human dignity, and helping them to realize their full potential as God’s children.” The seed of this vision was planted in Chaplain Van Alstyne’s heart during his enlisted years in the 1960’s while the Vietnam War was raging. He was inspired by the leadership and principled values of the General Officer Corps as he served as a General Price’s Aid De-Camp. He told himself: “Someday I will become an Army Chaplain.”

That dream was finally realized when his Provincial Superior endorsed him to serve his Country again. After a 27-year break in service, Chaplain Van Alstyne came back to active duty in August 1998 as a Catholic Chaplain.

Anthony “Joey” Damiano, LCSW is the local recovery coordinator for Wilmington VA Medical Center. He has worked in the mental health field for 12 years, starting out as a community-based psychosocial rehabilitation case manager who assisted clients with serious mental illness (SMI) and co-occurring disorders. Joey worked within VA primary care and HUD-VA Supportive Housing programs in Long Beach and Los Angeles, CA. He is a certified psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner (CPRP) and is dedicated to the causes of promoting the mental health recovery model and ending stigma. Joey is passionate about instilling hope in veterans through mutual collaboration and identification of inherent and potential veteran strengths. The goal is to empower veterans as they find meaningful roles and purpose in their communities. Joey previously served in the Marine Corps as an amphibious assault infantryman in 2nd Battalion, First Marine Division. His father was a former Marine officer and combat-injured veteran during the Vietnam War, and his grandfather served as an infantry mortarman in the First World War.

I am originally from Northern NJ. I graduated Cornell University as an undergraduate and then went to New York University School of Medicine. While in medical school, I rotated through Bellevue Hospital in New York City, where I became interested in public health and addiction problems. I went on to residency at the University of Pennsylvania and then completed a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry. While at Penn, I worked at the Corporal Crescenz Medical Center. I now work at the Wilmington VA and am a Clinical Instructor at Jefferson University. I enjoy working at the VA because medical decisions are based on what is best for the veteran rather than financial gain. I also love working with veterans because of the wide diversity of their backgrounds, experiences, and goals. I live in Delaware County, PA with my wife and 2 boys.

Michael Skiles is a Marine Corps Veteran who served from 2002-2006 and completed one tour in Iraq (2005) with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. After his service in the military, he spent a few years working labor-intensive jobs. In 2009, he decided to go back to school and eventually received his Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (2013) and Master of Arts in Social Work (2014) from Millersville University. Michael wanted to go back to school to help veterans as he served with 5 different Marines who had committed suicide. Moreover, he experienced his own mental health symptoms that needed to be addressed. His engagement in recovery led him to becoming effective in his career of helping others to also achieve their mental health and addiction treatment goals.

Michael began his social work career in the juvenile justice system. He spent 4 years working with Medicaid and SNAP programs with the Department of Human Services. He also worked as a part-time substance use counselor and recovery specialist in Lancaster, PA. In March of 2020, Michael fulfilled his passion for helping his fellow Veterans by joining the Wilmington VA Medical Center. He currently works as an outpatient substance use social worker at the main hospital.

Jessica Lewis, CPT, CNC is an Accredited T’ai Chi Chih Instructor and Delaware’s only authorized instructor for the Federal program Tai Chi for Veterans, underwritten and facilitated by the VA Community Care network. TC4V was a direct outgrowth of both the Mission Act and the significant body of research establishing Tai Chi as an evidence-based drug-free treatment option for all chronic conditions prevalent in the Veteran population, including PTS and suicidal ideation. All qualified Veterans are eligible to participate in this program (both in-person and virtually) at no cost. Jessica’s journey towards this work began with two pivotal direct experiences: caregiving for her first husband, a Vietnam Veteran who died of complications related to Agent Orange poisoning and PTS, and the completely unexpected suicide of beloved family member. Although Jessica also provides Personal Training and Nutritional Counseling via her private practice SCULPT YOUR LIFE®, she is particularly devoted to veteran health: she’s an active member of the Interfaith Veterans Workgroup, the Subcommittee for Military & Veteran Suicide Prevention, and Delaware Joining Forces. But above all she loves teaching veterans the MOVING MINDFULNESS practice of Tai Chi, both in groups and individually, throughout the week.

The Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Davis is an honorably retired pastor in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. During a combat tour in Vietnam in 1970 he experienced a call to ministry. This occurred while he was serving in the Mekong Delta as a military adviser to a South Vietnamese coastal base, patrolling canals and rivers in wooden junks. Following his military service Tom served for nine and a half years as a campus pastor, first at Duke University, and then at the University of Miami. During the next fourteen years in Miami he served as a small church pastor part time, taught ethics and pastoral care at the South Florida Center for Theological Studies, and led the Counseling Ministry of South Florida. In 1999 he moved back to his hometown, Wilmington, Delaware, and pastored Hanover Street Presbyterian Church. After retiring in 2007 Tom took up photography and filmmaking, and explored how to use the Internet for interfaith peacemaking. Concerned about the high rate of suicide among military veterans, in 2015 he founded the Interfaith Veterans’ Workgroup to help veterans transition to civilian life and use their warrior wisdom for peacemaking. Pastor Davis and his wife, Alice, celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary last March. They have two sons and four grandchildren, three in Los Angeles and one in London.

Fr. Donald Van Alstyne, MIC, M.Div, MSW was drafted into the United States Army November 1, 1966-68. In 1996 he went active duty as an Army Catholic Chaplain. His first duty assignment was to the 725th Main Support Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In January 2000, he was deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina for Operation Joint Forge (OJF) in the heavily disputed territories of the Balkans. Upon returning back to Schofield, Barracks he was assigned to the 65th Engineer Battalion (L). In January 2001 Chaplain Van Alstyne was assigned to the 44th Engineer Battalion (H) in South Korea near the DMZ. A year later Chaplain Van Alstyne was reassigned for a second year in Korea with the 122nd Signal Battalion at Camp Red Cloud Headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Division. Over the course of his career Chaplain Van Alstyne served in the infantry with the 110th Military Intelligence Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. During this tour of duty, he deployed to Kandahar Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Soon thereafter, in 2005, he was assigned as the Catholic pastor in Mannheim, Germany. In 2007 Chaplain Van Alstyne continued to serve as pastor for the Catholic Military Community, FT Bliss, El Paso Texas. He steadily moved in successive assignments, in substantially challenging positions of responsibility, in the Infantry as the Brigade Chaplain for the Third Brigade, First Armored Division 2009-2013. He deployed with them once again to Afghanistan, ministering to soldiers in forward operating bases in both Wardak and Logar Provinces. Chaplain Van Alstyne’s storied career culminated with his assignment as the Catholic Military Community Pastor at Joint Base Ft. Eustis, VA, January 2013-September 2015. Chaplain (MAJ)Van Alstyne’s military education included the Chaplains Officer Basic Candidate Course, the Career Course at Fort Jackson, S.C. and the Command and General Staff College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Chaplain Van Alstyne’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), the Army Commendation Medal (3 OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (1 OLC), the Combat Action Badge, Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Army Service Medal. The Chief of the Army Transportation awarded Chaplain Van Alstyne The Ancient Order of Saint Christopher Medal, the highest award the Transportation Corps can award to any member of the Regiment. After Chaplain Van Alstyne’s retirement from the United States Army, he became the full-time Catholic Chaplain for the VA Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and currently working full-time at the VA Medical Center in Wilmington, Delaware.