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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced the 30 finalists and 10 Promise Award recipients in Phase 1 of Mission Daybreak, a $20 million grand challenge to reduce Veteran suicides. Mission Daybreak is part of VA’s 10-year strategy to end Veteran suicide through a comprehensive, public health approach.

The 30 finalists will each receive $250,000 and advance to the Phase 2 virtual accelerator program. In recognition of their solutions, an additional 10 teams will each receive a Promise Award of $100,000.

“There is nothing more important to VA than preventing Veteran suicide—it’s our top clinical priority.”
— Denis McDonough, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Suicide has no single cause, and no single strategy can end this complex problem. To ensure solutions met the diverse needs of Veterans, multidisciplinary panels of reviewers and judges assessed submissions according to the official evaluation criteria published at the Phase 1 launch on May 25, 2022.

“Suicide is one of the most serious public health issues facing our Veterans today, and VA cannot do this work alone. With the Staff Sergeant Fox Grants and Mission Daybreak, VA seeks to engage not only organizations traditionally focused on suicide prevention, but also to bring in new groups and individuals who may have fresh ideas on how we address this issue.”
— Shereef Elnahal, M.D., U.S. Under Secretary for Health

Finalists to advance to Phase 2 virtual accelerator
The Phase 2 accelerator is designed to help the 30 finalists develop ambitious but achievable roadmaps for prototyping, iteration, testing, and evaluation. Technology partners supporting the accelerator include Amazon and Microsoft. In November 2022, finalists will present their solutions to key stakeholders, investors, and partners at Demo Day, a live pitch event. Phase 2 will award $11.5 million in prizes: Two first-place winners will each receive $3 million, three second-place winners will each receive $1 million, and five third-place winners will each receive $500,000.

Mission Daybreak congratulates the finalists and Promise Award recipients, who have demonstrated high potential to advance innovation in suicide prevention efforts and deliver meaningful impact for our Veterans — and all Americans.

Meet the finalists

BioMojo, LLC.
BioMojo creates integrated extended reality (XR) software and hardware solutions to improve performance, decision-making, knowledge management, resilience, safety, and mission-critical task execution for human operators in high consequence environments. In partnership with Veteran correctional leaders, correctional staff, justice-involved Veterans, health professionals, researchers, and technical and creative experts, the solution will employ cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) within interactive role-play and immersive decompression XR-based scenarios to support Veterans living and working in prison.
Code of Support Foundation
Code of Support Foundation operates PATRIOTlink.org, which ensures members of the military, Veterans, their spouses, caregivers, and families receive the resources and support they have earned through their service and sacrifice. PATRIOTlink.org is a free cloud-based targeted resource navigation platform that ensures Veterans at risk for suicide get the support they need by connecting them with thousands of curated, vetted, and verified direct services.

Cogitativo
Cogitativo is a leading augmented intelligence company with a mission to create and implement innovative, scalable solutions to the most complex challenges facing the healthcare system. Their machine learning platform, Visión, captures large sets of unique data points, including audio and visual data, to produce digital biomarkers. These digital biomarkers provide an unprecedented capability to better identify those who are at risk of suicide and enable early-stage and personalized interventions by augmenting VA’s existing REACH VET platform.

Continued Service Network
Developed by a team of clinicians, researchers, and Veterans, the Continued Service Network (CSN) is a Veteran-led crowdsourcing technology that leverages the power of collective Veteran experience and passive unobtrusive behavioral sampling to yield personalized, just-in-time nudge interventions. The solution supports a consensus-generating platform where Veterans and Veteran family members share information on the skills, treatments, and resources that worked best for them. An AI recommendation engine leverages data derived from Veterans’ participation to provide personalized, just-in-time nudge interventions.

Early Alert
Founded by a retired Israeli Defense Force officer who later obtained a PhD in Psychology from Stanford University, Early Alert is currently deployed at educational and medical institutions serving tens of thousands of individuals, including Veterans. Early Alert is revolutionizing suicide prevention by focusing on upstream prevention of suicidality through proactive weekly SMS check-ins, identification of Veterans in early distress, and instant activation of VA and community support resources, including the Veteran Crisis Line. Using population-level analytics, Early Alert empowers data-guided wellness policies and transfer of innovation across institutions.

Even Health
Even Health is a mental health company solving access, trust, and stigma challenges unique to healthcare professionals and military communities. Using an innovative virtual reality (VR)-based group support platform called Cabana®, Even Health will deliver virtual group support for Veterans who have survived a suicide attempt. The solution uses an established support group model shown to reduce suicide and associated factors as well as increase resilience and belongingness.

EverMind
EverMind’s digital health solutions use technology funded by NASA to expand access to effective mental healthcare with an AI-powered Digital Human Therapist™ that recreates the warmth and support of an expert therapist in a scalable format. The Veteran Edition of EverMind’s ePST® solution will integrate Veteran-centered design and additional suicide prevention strategies with problem-solving therapy, an approach that resonates with the military mindset. Accessible anywhere, anytime, it will help fill gaps in access to this evidence-based suicide prevention intervention across the care continuum.

GUIDE
GUIDE is a revolutionary concept in addressing suicide risk factors by empowering Warriors to master their lives, unleash their highest potential, and thrive in any environment. The solution uses a daily practice method based on personal development, positive psychology, and transformational learning in an anonymous mobile app leveraging peer support, Warrior to Warrior.

HERMTAC MAIL
HERMTAC MAIL, located on the campus of University of Texas at Dallas, is a Lab 2 Market Frontier Tech Systems Integrator for public good that has won several national innovation awards. HERMTAC’s Marketing, AI & Learning program tackles suicide across all time domains in the two Alaskan counties with over double the next highest suicide rate, building culturally modifiable tools and frameworks expandable beyond Alaskan natives. The solution utilizes a three-pronged approach, with culturally-tailored marketing campaigns to reduce social stigmas, a free micro-credentialing platform for professional learning, and a real-time audio emotional AI visual mood ring to help gauge a Veteran’s basic emotional state during a VCL triage call.

Metastage
Metastage is a leader in metaverse-facing holographic capture. The interoperable suicide prevention, awareness, and education app utilizes a synthesis of cutting-edge technologies, including volumetric capture digital avatars and branching-narrative technology to create an immersive extended reality (XR) training experience.

Mindstrong
Mindstrong is a virtual mental health platform that combines care, data, and technology and specializes in persons with any mental health condition, including suicidality. The solution will expand the digital virtual mental health platform with Data-Empowered Care Plans (DECP) and care optimization technology developed uniquely for Veterans suffering from mental illness to ensure the right level of care is anticipated and available.

NeuroFlow
NeuroFlow assesses and triages Veterans and caregivers to get them to the right level of behavioral healthcare and community services based on their available benefits, geography, clinical presentation, and more. Designed for suicide prevention and ongoing remote monitoring, NeuroFlow provides high-tech and high-touch support for Veterans that would typically fall through the cracks. The two-sided technology platform offers Veterans tailored resources and digital care 24/7, while measuring their evolving behavioral health needs to inform care teams of potential crises before they happen.

One Meaningful Act
One Meaningful Act (OMA) is a novel, easy-to-access, Veteran-centered solution that provides crisis transportation and increases engagement with VA services.

Overwatch Project
The Overwatch Project, an initiative of the 501c3 nonprofit FORGE, saves lives by transforming the conversation about firearms and suicide prevention through a comprehensive peer-intervention program that includes training, community engagement, and communications initiatives crafted in a direct, authentic Veteran voice. The Overwatch Project empowers veterans to intervene with at-risk buddies, asking to temporarily hold onto their guns or take protective storage measures — before it’s too late. This evidence-based approach is modeled after the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” campaign.

OxfordVR
OxfordVR is the leader in building automated treatments for severe mental illness using immersive virtual reality (VR). The solution will integrate evidence-based VR treatment tools to identify and treat critical precursors to crises that lead to suicidal thoughts and behaviors, offering an immersive and scalable opportunity to treat Veterans where they are before a crisis moment.

Polaris Genomics
Polaris Genomics, a Veteran-owned company, is propelling modern mental healthcare toward a long-overdue dawn of precision medicine by combining its next-generation genomic sequencing tool with its bioinformatics and machine learning platform. The solution will empower providers to identify mental health conditions earlier and with higher accuracy to match Veterans with the most effective treatment to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

ReflexAI
ReflexAI brings the best in machine learning and natural language processing to mission-driven, people-centric organizations via innovative tools that transform how they train, develop, and empower their frontline teams. The solution will utilize multiple AI-powered simulations and best-in-class feedback tools to help the VCL train and maintain a team of responders that can meet the needs of every Veteran who reaches out. Its simulation approach is nationally recognized as an innovative and responsible use of AI in crisis services.

SameGrain, Inc.
SameGrain’s award-winning AI-enabled Community Engagement Platform uses machine learning matching algorithms to privately connect Veterans, family members, and caregivers on millions of shared attributes for meaningful peer connections as well as support. In addition to connecting individuals to relevant peers, mentors, chat groups, and resources to reduce isolation and meet their mental health needs, this solution also gathers anonymized data onto a dashboard for actionable insights.

Sentinel
Sentinel is a highly-scalable mobile application designed to reduce Veteran suicide by encouraging safe storage of firearms, while facilitating strong connections with other Veterans, family, and friends via a Veteran-specific learning and community support network. The software application will integrate Bluetooth-enabled firearms locking devices with a Veteran-specific learning and community support network, utilizing the “Three-Step Theory” (3ST) of suicide to give Veterans a practical safety support system.

Stop Soldier Suicide
Stop Soldier Suicide is the first national, Veteran-founded-and-led nonprofit on a mission to reduce service member and Veteran suicide by 40% by 2030 using enhanced data insights, focused client acquisition, and trauma-informed suicide intervention services. The solution will activate robust clinical and technological teams to pair evidence-based, lifesaving suicide intervention services with unique data forensics, analytics, and artificial intelligence to identify patterns of risk in suicidal Veterans.

Team BraveMind
Team BraveMind’s solution, Battle Buddy, is a virtual human wellness app that provides on-demand virtual peer support through remote monitoring and virtual human interactions to help Veterans build resilience against suicide.

Team DSS, Inc.
Team DSS, composed of innovators and Veterans in medicine, psychology, and technology, is committed to caring for and supporting Veterans by leveraging Trustworthy AI to assist operators in triaging callers to the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), improving services to each Veteran caller. The solution’s multidimensional approach detects suicidal risk level in real-time using machine learning techniques, improving distress prediction accuracy.

Team Guidehouse
Guidehouse empowers confident decision-making using advanced and actionable analytics. In partnership with Red Hat and Philip Held, Ph.D., Rush University Medical Center, the team is helping VA and community providers identify Veterans at risk for suicide by combining REACH-VET, social media, and social determinants of health data and connecting it in real-time with VA’s new electronic health record system — before a crisis occurs. This data also supports building community-based and human-centered programs so Veterans can thrive where they are.

Team IntelliDyne
IntelliDyne is a leading government information technology firm enabling better mission performance through innovative technology solutions. The “CALLS” solution implements a data-driven behavioral model for anonymously assessing wellness risk to generate a risk-ranked call-list of Veterans who would benefit from directed outreach efforts, thereby improving behavioral health outcomes and vitally reducing the Veteran suicide rate.

Team LMI
LMI is a consultancy dedicated to powering a future-ready, high-performing government, drawing from expertise in digital and analytic solutions, logistics, and management advisory services. The solution focuses on enhancing services for suicidal Veterans presenting to a community Emergency Department (ED), facilitating Veteran-centric assessment and their first tele-mental health appointment in the ED with a provider knowledgeable of Veteran issues and a peer support representative, and provisioning resources to address immediate crisis care needs, follow-on treatment, and sustained support.

Team SoKat
SoKat is a woman-owned small business that has deep roots in academic rigor and research, unparalleled industry experience in designing human-centric artificial intelligence solutions, and has won awards for the innovative tools developed to empower Veterans on their healthcare journey. The solution pairs clinical and non-clinical data sources with SoKat’s multimodal AI technology for Veteran suicide prediction and prevention while applying the most stringent standards of AI ethics.

Televeda
Televeda is an award-winning social venture with a mission to combat social isolation and loneliness for vulnerable populations. As part of its solution, Televeda will increase broadband access and tech literacy on tribal land and build the first Indigenous community-based mental health app developing racially equitable Computer Vision and NLP AI designed to facilitate a trusted therapy resource network — including live group support and culturally sensitive interventions — to prevent suicide for Native Veterans.

Unite Us
Unite Us is a Veteran founded technology company and a national leader in building coordinated care networks of health and social service providers. Unite Us is committed to reducing Veteran suicide by identifying and predicting social care needs of Veterans and providing accountable social care coordination to ensure they receive services at the point of need and before crisis.

Vara Safety
Vara Safety is a New York-based startup advancing reliable biometric access and smart software for firearm safety, focusing on reducing suicide by firearm and unauthorized access through the secure storage of firearms. The Vara Smart App’s integrated technology enables a user to reduce access to their firearm in a moment of crisis. The app connects with a gun safe to provide gun owners a unique set of features to prevent suicide.

VETSTORE Partnership
VETSTORE connects Veterans to free firearm storage solutions through community-based firearm retailers and shooting ranges. The solution prioritizes the privacy, preferences, and autonomy of Veterans and mitigates cost, stigma, and practical barriers to secure firearm storage solutions.

Meet the Promise Award recipients

Arkansas Nurse-Led Academic Community Partnership Innovation (ANACP)
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Centers on Aging, College of Nursing and Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence developed the Arkansas Nurse-Led Academic Community Partnership. The team evolved the rural outreach program for technology implementation and access to resources into an innovative food insecurity and suicide prevention program for at-risk Veterans. The program seeks to address all needs wherever one feels safe and has access to necessary resources through innovative delivery solutions.

Crisis Text Line
Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, text-based mental health support and crisis intervention. The solution will supplement the work of the VCL by providing fully-acculturated crisis support and culturally competent resources for Spanish-speaking Veterans.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions/Public Consulting Group
ReachFurther advances the REACH VET program by integrating social risk insights into predictive analytics and prevention interventions. The solution will supplement VA’s predictive analytics with alternative, real-world, near-real time data sets that provide deep insight into individual-level social risks to perform effective intervention, especially for underserved individuals.

OBT Development Group
The OBT Development Group’s “One Button Tracker” provides a simple, reliable, and privacy-protected method to express and register personal experience in precise detail. Co-created by Veterans handling complex mental health challenges, the OBT “precision psychotherapy” method for supporting clinical treatment and self-management of PTSD allows Veterans and their therapists to observe symptoms at an unprecedented level of detail.

Oui Therapeutics
Together with leading suicidologists and digital health developers, including the American Legion, Oui Therapeutics will develop and implement Collaborative Assessment & Planning for Suicide Prevention with Peer Lead User Support (“CAPS+”), a digital collaborative assessment and planning software for reducing suicide risk when paired with peer-led user support. The solution will help care settings screen, assess, and intervene with Veterans and patients at risk for suicide, offering integration with medical systems to save clinician time.

Project Overwatch
Project Overwatch combines policy changes and program implementation with an ensemble of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning-based predictive models optimized to specific segments of the Veteran population distinguished by such factors as age, length of service, or era of service. The solution’s deep learning models will assess Veterans’ suicide risk, generating a tiered risk score, individual risk factors, and a re-evaluation date based on the Veteran’s risk tier to assist care teams with crafting a personalized treamtent strategy.

RAS Innovation
RAS Innovation’s Veteran Health Observation Platform (V-HOP) is a two-way, 4k-interactive holographic communications solution that connects VA health providers to Veterans anywhere and anytime. V-HOP is the next step beyond immersive telepresence with life-size holographic replicas.

Sound Off
Knowing that fear of professional and personal stigma keeps Veterans from accessing help, Sound Off seeks to reduce Veteran suicide by providing access to mental health support with complete anonymity. The IT platform is delivered via mobile app, giving Veterans access to mental health care through a licensed clinician, a screened and trained “Battle Buddy” peer, or through partner X2.Ai’s clinically-validated chatbot “Clara”. Sound Off allows consistent contact with the same clinician or peer and complete anonymity, inherently addressing concerns of stigma.

Voi, Inc.
Voi’s state-of-the-art technology is the only validated suicide risk assessment designed to detect near-term (within the next 72 hours) suicide risk. Voi Detect’s Systematic Expert Risk Assessment for Suicide (SERAS) is a published, peer-reviewed, AI-informed assessment that is as accurate as a psychiatrist, can be quickly administered without specialized training, and is currently used in hospitals, prisons, and by the U.S. military. After delivering SERAS, Voi Detect generates real-time risk scores (low, medium, or high) and monitors and tracks operational and compliance metrics.

Wavy Warrior
Wavy Health connects everyday wearable devices and smart home speakers to watch over vulnerable people and intervene if necessary. The Wavy Warrior solution provides personalized real-time monitoring, stress interventions, and suicide prevention by reducing the level of perceived stress, including risky and harmful behaviors, through a deep tech medical device platform for digital therapeutics (DTx).

SoldierStrong is honored to announce it has received a grant from the Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) for $25,000, which will provide operational support for two of the organization’s programs to provide revolutionary medical technology and therapy to Veterans Affairs hospitals and other medical centers across the country. These programs include the groundbreaking virtual reality system, BraveMind, that aids in the treatment of veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress (PTS), and the SoldierSuit, state-of-the-art rehabilitation and powered prosthetic technologies that help injured and paralyzed veterans stand and walk again.

The Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) provides support to disabled and at-risk veterans who return home with physical and psychological wounds. The organization carries out its mission by providing grants to veteran organizations, curated veteran-specific, post-traumatic stress (PTS) and suicide prevention resources and providing supplemental assistance to homeless and low-income veterans.

Chris Meek, co-founder and chairman of SoldierStrong said, “Generous support from organizations like DVNF play an integral role in SoldierStrong’s ability to provide veterans with life-changing technology and therapy freeing them from the visible and invisible wounds of war. Our organizations’ shared commitment to change the lives of veterans is reflected in this generous grant. Thank you to DVNF for supporting urgently needed innovation and in particular, our work to reach veterans where they are and to provide alternative treatment options. We are incredibly grateful.”

Joseph VanFonda (USMC Sgt. Maj. Ret.), CEO of Disabled Veterans National Foundation said, “I believe in the BraveMind virtual reality system. SoldierStrong continues to strive for alternate treatments that provide a lasting effective way in treating our military veterans who still face and hold on to the traumatic effects of combat”.

The BraveMind system, developed by the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, delivers prolonged exposure therapy, the practice of recalling a troubling memory while talking through its nuances with a licensed therapist. This evidence-based method for treating PTS allows therapists to recreate the scene of the veteran’s troubling memory in a virtual reality headset. It safely enables the veteran to relive and deconstruct that memory to better cope with the trauma that it created. BraveMind’s technology allows therapists to select a scenario based on a veteran’s traumatic experience and customize it to their unique needs in real time.

SoldierSuit exoskeletons are used in the rehabilitation of paralyzed individuals who experience mobility setbacks from strokes, spinal cord, and traumatic brain injuries to help them regain the ability to stand and walk again.

SoldierStrong has donated more than $5.2 million of medical devices to help injured veterans, including 24 BraveMind systems and 29 SoldierSuits to VA hospitals, other medical facilities and individual veterans since late 2019.

Sylvie Légère, social entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and co-founder of The Policy Circle, has joined the advisory board of SoldierStrong, chairman and co-founder Chris Meek said today.

“Sylvie Légère is about developing innovative solutions that unite people for the common good and advance the next generation of changemakers,” Meek said. “Sylvie is also a member of the Board of the Chicago Cubs Charities who mobilizes the power of sport to champion youth, families, and communities. We’re thrilled that Sylvie is bringing her energy, spirit of serving the greater good, and unique perspective to SoldierStrong and our mission.”

Légère and her husband, Todd Ricketts, whose family is the majority owner of the Chicago Cubs, recently demonstrated their commitment and compassion for America’s veterans by donating an Indego ® exoskeleton to SoldierStrong, the national nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of the nation’s military veterans by providing them with revolutionary medical technologies to help them take their next steps forward in their post-service lives.

SoldierStrong presented the device to Tyler Densford, a paralyzed veteran who had been chosen to participate in a four-month program to test a bionic walking system through the St. Louis Veteran’s Administration in 2020, but the study was cut short due to the COVID pandemic. Thanks to the donation to SoldierStrong, Densford is able to walk again and enjoy a higher quality of life.

Beyond her philanthropic efforts, Légère co-founded The Policy Circle in 2015 and serves as the board chair. The nonprofit, non-partisan organization is designed “to educate, engage and empower women to be a force for positive change in their communities.” The organization emphasizes “fact-based civil discourse” as a preferred approach to productive civic involvement and change, and encourages members to “go beyond the headlines and take ownership of the issues.”

Légère is a Québécoise by birth, but American by naturalization. She earned a bachelor’s in management information systems from the University of Ottawa and a master’s degree in computer science with a specialization in the learning sciences from Northwestern University. She recently published her first book, Trust Your Voice: A Roadmap to Focus and Influence and is a frequently sought-after speaker focused on leadership and civic engagement. A healthy living advocate, Légère enjoys running, cycling, camping, and traveling with her husband and their three children.

“I am pleased and excited to join the SoldierStrong advisory board and put my experience to work helping our nation’s veterans,” Légère said. “Our country owes so much to our veterans, and I hope my efforts will substantially and positively impact as many veterans as I possibly can.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Graham Rahal has joined the advisory board of SoldierStrong, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the nation’s military veterans by providing them with revolutionary medical technologies to help them take their next steps forward in their lives after service.

“Graham Rahal has played a unique role for SoldierStrong for years – both as a generous fundraiser on and off the track and as an ambassador who graciously shares his platform to share our organization’s story with more and more people each year,” said Chris Meek, SoldierStrong co-founder and chairman. “Graham is more than a fearless racecar driver. He’s a proven entrepreneur and an extraordinary philanthropist. His decision to join our advisory board further demonstrates his deep, personal commitment to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much in defense of our liberties and security.”

Rahal and his wife, Courtney, support SoldierStrong through their charity, the Graham and Courtney Rahal Foundation. Since 2018, the foundation’s Drivers Tournament and Vino For Vets initiatives have raised $630,683. As part of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team he also raises funds for SoldierStrong through the Turns for Troops program. Through its generosity as the team’s major sponsor, United Rental donates $50 to SoldierStrong for every lap that Rahal completes during the racing season. In 2021, Rahal completed 1,587 laps, raising $79,350 for SoldierStrong. Since its inception in 2016, Turns For Troops has raised $1,465,027.

“I am blessed to have a career that I’m not only passionate about but that also allows me to benefit veterans – America’s true heroes – in a life-changing way. I’m grateful to be in the company of organizations like SoldierStrong and United Rentals in our commitment to give back to our country’s veterans who provide us with the power of hope and show us what it means to persevere,” said Rahal, who has six wins and 28 podium finishes during his INDYCAR SERIES career.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is co-owned by Graham’s father, Bobby Rahal, winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500. In 2007, in just his third Champ Car race, Graham Rahal became the youngest-ever podium finisher in Champ Car history after finishing second in the Grand Prix of Houston. He made his 2008 series debut in the season’s second race, which he won to become the youngest driver at the time to win a major American open-wheel race at age 19 years, 93 days. He began the 2009 season by taking pole position at St. Petersburg, becoming the series’ youngest-ever polesitter aged 20 years, 90 days.

He drove in his first Indianapolis 500 in 2008 as the merger of competing racing series resulted in the creation of the INDYCAR SERIES. He has finished in third place at Indianapolis in 2011 and 2020 and has finished in the top 10 in four of his 14 starts at the fabled speedway. Rahal also was a co-driver of the winning Rolex 24 at Daytona car in 2011.

Delivering on its commitment to help military veterans take a significant academic step forward, the national nonprofit SoldierStrong today announced the 2021 recipients of its annual scholarship initiative, SoldierScholar.

“The Post-9/11 GI Bill has helped thousands and thousands of veterans with their post-secondary education, but there are still funding gaps that can become insurmountable obstacles toward the completion of a degree,” said SoldierStrong co-founder and chairman Chris Meek. “We’re committed to helping to fill those gaps because higher education is one of the most powerful tools to help veterans have a smooth transition to civilian life and ensure that veterans can continue to provide for themselves and their families.”

Meek continued, “Veterans also serve as major assets to the schools they attend by bringing with them unparalleled experiences, leadership characteristics, and integrity cultivated during their time in service. When Americans ask themselves who they want to be the leaders of tomorrow, they will surely think of individuals like our SoldierScholar recipients – whose contributions to our society within the civilian sector will no doubt parallel their contributions to our nation during their service.”

The GI Bill has not historically relieved all costs, such as textbooks, classroom fees, transportation, technology, tutoring and a number of other expenses, associated with higher education. SoldierScholar was created to alleviate those additional costs.

SoldierScholar scholarships are available to veterans who fought in the recent War on Terror, which includes Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. SoldierStrong, which primarily provides revolutionary medical technologies to Veterans Affairs medical centers across the country to help injured veterans lead full lives, has also awarded more than $500,000 through SoldierScholar since 2012. This year’s recipients include:

Michaela Rubinfeld, Georgetown University – Master of Science in Foreign Service

Michaela Rubinfeld has served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves for the past three years, where she is currently an all-source analyst. She earned a bachelor of arts in international studies and Chinese from the University at Buffalo before deciding to pursue a master’s degree in foreign service with a concentration in science, technology, and international affairs at Georgetown University. Throughout her time at Georgetown, Rubinfeld will concentrate on emerging technology, focusing on ethical applications of blockchain technology in an increasingly digitized society. She aspires to serve with the U.S. State Department to forge strong relations with other countries and ensure a safe future for generations to come. Michaela’s supportive husband, Conner, is a Navy veteran. “SoldierStrong provided me with more than just a scholarship, they provided a true gift that I am incredibly thankful for. This scholarship will enable me to focus on my studies on my journey to a career where I will be able to continue to serve my country in new and different ways,” Rubinfeld said.

Jessica Evans, Old Dominion University – Civil Engineer Technology

Jessica Evans served in the U.S. Navy as a sonar technician while stationed in Hawaii and around the world. In part due to financial considerations, Evans did not go to college directly after high school, and instead was inspired to join the military branch in which both of her grandfathers served. She sees her service as a way to honor their legacy. After finishing her bachelor’s degree in engineering, Evans plans to pursue her master’s degree. “Growing up I never dreamed about going to college let alone going as far as pursuing my master’s degree. So, to have this opportunity to reach for my dreams is really special,” Evans said.

CSM Andraus L. Williams, University of Southern California – Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership

Command Sergeant Major Andraus L. Williams enlisted in the U.S. Army as a field artilleryman. He served five years on active duty prior to joining the California Army National Guard and joining the Military Police Corps. His combat and stateside tours of duty include Operation Uphold Democracy, Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). In October 2020, Williams was appointed Senior Enlisted Leader for the Camp Roberts Garrison Training Center. He is pursuing his doctorate degree in organizational change and leadership at University of Southern California. “Words cannot express what receiving a SoldierScholar scholarship means to me. I appreciate SoldierStrong, co-chairman Meek and what they do to support our nation’s heroes,” Williams said.

Ryan Lamson, Syracuse University – Master of Public Administration/Master of International Relations

Ryan Lamson joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2007 as an infantry rifleman where he served with 2/1 F during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He went on to serve as an embassy guard, infantry squad leader, and family readiness administrative assistant for the USMC, as well as a cleared American guard for Coastal International Security. A 2021 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship finalist, Lamson is the recipient of multiple awards from the U.S. Department of State, United States Marine Corps, and St. Edward’s University. “I am thankful to be a recipient of a SoldierScholar scholarship and the opportunity to continue my passion for public service and international affairs. This scholarship adds to the opportunities I have at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs to hone the leadership and management skills I first learned in the service,” Lamson said.

Andrés Trejo, Syracuse University – Master of Public Administration/Master of International Relations

Andrés Trejo graduated from the Levantine Arabic Basic Course at the Defense Language Institute where he led a team of 18 service members through the 64-week Arabic course. He served as a U.S. Navy cargo team member aboard the USS George H.W. Bush where he was responsible for more than $2.1 million of food and supplies for over 6,000 sailors. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Syracuse University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and is currently a dual MPA/MAIR candidate. “I want to thank SoldierStrong for its support through the SoldierScholar Initiative. This scholarship will not only aid in my academic endeavors but it will also provide me the opportunity to continue to use my leadership and service experiences while at Syracuse University as well as in my professional career,” Trejo said.

To learn more about the SoldierScholar initiative or to donate, please visit https://www.soldierstrong.org/scholarship.

The Bobby Rahal Automotive Group today announced a $35,000 donation to SoldierStrong, a national nonprofit organization that connects military veterans with revolutionary medical technology to help them take their next steps forward.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the 17-dealership group in central and western Pennsylvania has donated a share of every new and used vehicle sold at its central Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh region dealerships during November. Contributions to date total $145,000.

“Our team members and clients are committed to SoldierStrong’s ongoing efforts because they are helping to improve the lives of the men and women of America’s armed forces who have made so many personal sacrifices in defense of our country and our freedom,” said Ron Ferris, Chief Executive Officer, Bobby Rahal Automotive Group. “Once again, we extend our sincere gratitude to the people of western and central Pennsylvania who joined in this very worthy cause.”

Chris Meek, chairman and co-founder of the Stamford, Conn., organization, noted the Rahal family’s commitment to America’s veterans extends beyond its most recent generous gift. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing shows its support for SoldierStrong through its NTT IndyCar Series race team’s program, Turns For Troops. For every lap that Bobby’s son, Graham Rahal, completed in the 2021 season, sponsor United Rentals donated $50 to SoldierStrong.

“Since 2016, Turns for Troops has raised more than $1.1 million to help support veteran recovery through such devices as robotic exoskeletons that help paralyzed veterans walk again and virtual reality technology that provides effective treatment for post-traumatic stress,” Meek said. “The Rahal family, Rahal Automotive Group, Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing and Graham and Courtney Rahal Foundation have been there when America’s veterans needed them most and this donation is a testament to their selfless generosity.”

About Bobby Rahal Automotive Group

Bobby Rahal Automotive Group was founded in 1989 and proudly represents the Acura, BMW, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volvo brands throughout Western and Central Pennsylvania. The Bobby Rahal Automotive Group team is passionately committed to customer excellence and aims to provide a culture of caring that redefines the automotive experience. For more information, visit the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group website.