Military Exposures and Mental, Behavioral, and Neurologic Health Outcomes Among Post-9/11 Veterans

Carl Castro is professor and director of the Military and Veteran Programs at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Research and Education Foundation and is director of the USC–RAND Epstein Family Foundation Center for Veterans Policy Research.

Castro served for over 30 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a colonel. He has led international research initiatives and served on National Academies committees. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, his work focuses on military culture, trauma, suicide prevention, and service member transitions. He recently co-authored Boys in the Barracks, the first of a planned three-volume series focused on understanding life in the U.S. Army.

Terri Tanielian is a nationally recognized leader in veteran and military health policy, behavioral health, and suicide prevention. She served as special assistant to the President for Veterans Affairs and Behavioral Health in the Biden–Harris Administration (2021–2025), where she led key White House initiatives on mental health, substance use, and veteran services.

A RAND behavioral health scientist and former congressional fellow, Tanielian has testified before Congress, authored more than 100 publications, and shaped landmark policies impacting millions of Americans.

Jack Tsai is the regional dean and professor of public health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He also serves as research director for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans and is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness and npj Mental Health Research.

Dr. Tsai served for a decade on the faculty of Yale University School of Medicine, where he directed the Division of Mental Health Services Research. His federally funded work spans over 15 years, with 500 peer-reviewed publications on homelessness, serious mental illness, trauma, and veterans’ health. He has also held elected leadership roles in the American Psychological Association and the American Public Health Association.

Peter Dickinson is senior executive advisor for the nearly one-million-member Disabled American Veterans (DAV), based at the organization’s National Service and Legislative Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Appointed in 2013, Dickinson supports legislative, government relations, communications, and service programs.

Before joining DAV, Dickinson spent nine years consulting for national veterans organizations and charities, helping advance major initiatives such as the award-winning “Stand Up for Veterans” campaign and the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009. His earlier public service experience includes senior roles with the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and leadership positions in political advocacy and campaign management. A New Jersey native, Dickinson earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Rutgers College and lives in Lorton, Virginia, with his wife.