A National Movement Built on Urgency, Experience, and Science
A National Movement Built on Urgency, Experience, and Science
is a decorated combat veteran and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Policies, and Operations at Marine Corps Headquarters. Rising from enlisted Marine to three-star general, he is a nationally recognized strategic leader in defense, veteran affairs, and mental health reform. After retiring in 1999, he led the transformation of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum and held senior roles at the University of South Florida and Steele Partners. He served on the VA Commission on Care and is CEO and Co-Founder of Reason for Hope. Gen. Steele also co-founded the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition and serves on multiple national boards dedicated to veterans and their families.
is the co-founder and Executive Director of Reason for Hope, a co-founding board member and counsel of the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition (“VMHLC”), and a member of the Advocacy Committee for the American Brain Coalition. Brett is a multi-generation survivor of suicide loss, having lost both his mother and his grandfather, the latter a fighter pilot in World War 2. Brett’s work focuses on law, policy, and advocacy at the federal and state level to increase research funding, reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers, and safely expand access to psychedelic and other breakthrough treatments for mental health and suicide prevention.
is a U.S. Army combat Veteran and former Apache helicopter pilot who now serves as Director of Operations for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition (VMHLC). A national advocate for psychedelic-assisted therapies, Adam brings lived experience, strategic insight, and policy leadership to advance Veteran-centered mental health care. He co-founded the first nonprofit focused on root-cause healing for TBI and PTSD and previously advised Fortune 500 companies as a transformation consultant at Accenture. His own recovery through ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT reshaped his life and deepened his faith. Adam also co-hosts Tango Alpha Lima, The American Legion’s national podcast, and lives in rural Alabama with his wife and three children.
serves as State Policy and Advocacy Director at Reason for Hope, a national suicide prevention nonprofit advancing access to psychedelic-assisted therapy. He has led efforts across several states to launch pilot programs and secure funding for innovative treatments. A former Connecticut State Representative (2014–2021), Jesse also founded a sustainability consultancy and serves on the board of the Connecticut Project. He lives in the lower Connecticut River Valley with his partner Ellie and their dog Koda.
is a clinical research psychologist, trauma scientist, and the daughter of a U.S. Marine who died by suicide—a loss that drives her life’s work. She is an expert in the neurobiology of PTSD, suicidality, and psychedelic-assisted therapies, with research spanning ketamine, ibogaine, and 5-MeO-DMT. Dr. Averill is an Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Clinical Psychologist at the Houston VA, and maintains faculty appointments at Yale and her private practice, NPSYT. She is Chief Science Officer at Reason for Hope and Co-Founder of the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition, helping shape state and federal policy to ensure safe, ethical, and accessible psychedelic care for Veterans.
is a decorated Marine Corps Infantry Officer turned national leader in the fight to end Veteran suicide. After surviving combat, moral injury, and years of ineffective treatment, Gary found healing through psychedelic-assisted therapy—an experience that changed his life and ignited a movement. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA) and a founding member of the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition (VMHLC). Today, as the Director of Advocacy and Peer Support for the VMHLC, Gary leads bold policy reform efforts across the U.S., ensuring Veterans have safe, affordable access to breakthrough therapies that address trauma at its root. His voice—grounded in lived experience—is reshaping the future of mental health care.
Whether you’re a Veteran, clinician, policymaker, or ally—there’s a role for you here.
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Veteran die by suicide and drug
overdoses every day.
Veteran are 1.5x more likely to die
by overdose than civilians.
Over 200,000 Veteran have died from suicide and overdose
since 9/11.
leave the country they served for overseas psychedelic therapy because the system won’t support them.
“This isn’t just a crisis. It’s a moral failing. And we’re done waiting.”
VMHLC is powered by a national coalition of Veteran-led organizations, clinicians, researchers, advocates, and families—united in one mission: to end the suicide crisis and revolutionize mental health care.
“We are Veteran still in service—fighting for the right to heal.”
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