SoldierStrong, a national nonprofit committed to helping America’s military veterans take their next steps forward in life, has named Mike Premi as the organization’s chief technology officer, co-founder and chairman Chris Meek said today.

“Mike Premi brings a unique skill set and perspective to SoldierStrong. We’re very fortunate that he’s chosen to join us after more than 26 extraordinarily successful years at Intel and his service in the U.S. Navy,” Meek said. “We’re looking forward to seeing him put his passion for developing new technology solutions that improve peoples’ lives to work at SoldierStrong as we continue our mission to connect veterans with revolutionary medical technology to help them move forward.”

Premi led software innovation programs spanning internet security, education, medicine, user experiences, and artificial Intelligence at Intel, which is one of the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturers by revenue. His most rewarding projects were leading a portfolio of virtual reality projects, including building simulators for medical training and surgery, driver training, disaster preparedness, clinical trials for pain management, and working with University of Southern California Professor Dr. Albert “Skip” Rizzo on Project Bravemind, which is a virtual reality system that aids clinicians who treat veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress.

Prior to Intel, Premi was a U.S. naval officer, deploying to the Persian Gulf and Central America aboard the guided missile frigate USS Crommelin. While on shore duty, Premi served at the Tactical Advanced Computer Office and was awarded the General Services Administration “Hammer” Award by the Vice President of the United States for saving taxpayers more than $6 million by innovating Department of Defense information technology procurements.

As a Veteran of Foreign Wars Legacy Life Member, Mike has led volunteer projects to help US Veterans and their families, earning the Intel Involved Global Hero award. Upon his retirement in April 2023 he is transitioning to Non-Profit leadership as an Intel Encore Fellow.

Premi has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California, and an MBA from Babson College. He holds two U.S. patents in security software. He lives in Portland, Ore., where he and wife Malia raised Ryan, a software engineer at Google and Sarina, a choreographer and fitness instructor.

The $20 million grand challenge aims to reduce Veteran suicides

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VA today announced the 10 winners of Mission Daybreak, a $20 million grand challenge to reduce Veteran suicide. Mission Daybreak is part of VA’s 10-year strategy to end Veteran suicide through a comprehensive, public health approach.

VA launched the multiphase challenge in May 2022, receiving more than 1,300 concept submissions in Phase 1 from Veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, community-based organizations, health tech companies, startups and universities.

“Our Veterans need and deserve suicide prevention solutions that meet them where they are, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s exactly what Mission Daybreak has delivered,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, M.D. “By drawing on a range of focus areas and life experiences, the Mission Daybreak winners have developed innovations that will save Veterans lives—and there’s nothing more important than that.”

Winners awarded for their innovative suicide prevention solutions

The multidisciplinary judging panel—representing a diversity of perspectives, from Veterans and clinicians to social workers and technical experts—evaluated submissions from the 30 finalists in Phase 2. The panel recommended the 10 winners based on the official evaluation criteria.

The two first-place winners will each receive $3 million:

• Stop Soldier Suicide’s “Black Box Project” is a technology solution that identifies and analyzes data from digital devices of Veterans who died by suicide to develop machine learning models that can identify never-before-known risk patterns. Paired with evidence-based, suicide-specific intervention services, the Black Box Project will accelerate precision methodologies in suicide prevention for the Veteran community.
• Televeda’s “Project Hózhó” is the first mental health app and comprehensive operational plan for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations. Televeda designed the tool in partnership with AIAN and Veteran communities for Navajo Veterans with plans to adapt and expand for use with other tribes. The solution incorporates traditional healing practices like storytelling and talking-circle interventions to reduce Veteran suicide and improve access to VA resources.

The three second-place winners will each receive $1 million:

• ReflexAI is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool that can help the Veterans Crisis Line train and maintain a team of responders that can meet the needs of every Veteran who reaches out. The tool utilizes a three-pronged approach of simulation, feedback, and quality assurance, which is nationally recognized as an innovative and responsible use of AI in crisis services.
• Sentinel is a mobile app designed to reduce Veteran suicide by encouraging safe storage of firearms. The application integrates smart firearm and medication locking devices with a Veteran-specific learning and community support network that facilitates strong connections with other Veterans, family and friends.
• Battle Buddy is a virtual human-led mental health and wellness application that promotes resiliency among Veterans at risk for suicide. The application’s interactive, conversational AI utilizes content from VA’s Suicide Safety Planning program during brief daily check-ins with Veterans. The mobile application will also connect with wearable sensors to leverage sleep, exercise, and other health signals. Battle Buddy is a partnership between the USC Institute for Creative Technologies and the SoldierStrong Foundation.

The five third-place winners will each receive $500,000:

• Even Health’s “Cabana®” is a virtual reality-based group support platform for Veterans who have survived a suicide attempt. The solution adapts an established support group model shown to reduce suicide and associated factors as well as increase resilience and a sense of belonging.
• NeuroFlow is a two-sided technology platform that 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. Providing virtual and in-person support for Veterans who would typically fall through the cracks, NeuroFlow assesses and triages Veterans and caregivers to get them to the right level of behavioral health care and community services based on their available benefits, geography and clinical presentation.
• Overwatch Project is a peer-based intervention program that empowers Veterans to intervene with at-risk buddies, offering to temporarily hold onto their guns or take protective storage measures before it is too late. This comprehensive program includes training, community engagement and communications initiatives crafted in a direct, authentic Veteran voice. The Overwatch Project, an initiative of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit FORGE, aims to transform the conversation about firearms and suicide prevention through an approach modeled after the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” campaign.
• OxfordVR’s “gameChange,” a digital therapeutic with the Food and Drug Administration’s Breakthrough Device designation, treats severe social isolation, which is a precursor to suicidal thoughts and behavior, and is common to PTSD, psychosis and severe depression. Through virtual reality, gameChange offers an immersive and scalable opportunity to treat Veterans where they are before a crisis moment.
• Team Guidehouse’s data platform integrates social determinants of health and social media data into the health record and an external dashboard to identify Veterans at risk in real time; it also provides actionable insights for suicide prevention. Team Guidehouse is a partnership between Red Hat and Philip Held, Ph.D., Rush University Medical Center.

Following Mission Daybreak, VA may engage with select solutions through contracts, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), or other partnership vehicles.

Using open innovation to foster solutions capable of preventing suicide on a large scale

Open innovation challenges like Mission Daybreak can accelerate the development of solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. By providing no-strings-attached financial and non-financial incentives, facilitating partnerships and mentorship, and even helping to secure commercial commitments, open innovation can shepherd and speed novel ideas to become viable prototypes. The finalists participated in a virtual accelerator program designed to help them develop ambitious but achievable roadmaps for prototyping, iteration, testing and evaluation.

To learn more, visit missiondaybreak.net.

SoldierStrong has been named a winner in Mission Daybreak, a $20 million U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs grand challenge to reduce Veteran suicides. In Mission Daybreak, SoldierStrong partnered with the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies as part of team Battle Buddy. As a second place winner, Battle Buddy will receive $1 million.

SoldierStrong and USC-ICT were recognized for their efforts to advance the use of technology to prevent suicide through Battle Buddy, a virtual human-led mobile mental health and wellness application. This interactive, embodied conversational agent leverages content related to the VA’s Safety Planning program embedded within brief daily check-ins with veterans. The Virtual Human will also allow veterans to opt-in to connect their wearable sensors to the app, leveraging sleep, exercise, vocal analytics and other sensed signals to their overall well-being.

Following Phase 1, 30 challenge finalists each received $250,000 and advanced to the Phase 2 virtual accelerator program, which helped them develop ambitious but achievable roadmaps for prototyping, iteration, testing, and evaluation. Technology partners supporting the accelerator included Amazon and Microsoft. In November 2022, finalists had the opportunity to speak about their solutions with challenge judges and representatives from VA, VSOs, Capitol Hill, and policy institutes at Demo Day, held at the Samsung Executive Briefing Center in Washington, D.C.

The multidisciplinary judging panel — representing a diversity of perspectives, from Veterans and clinicians to social workers and technical experts — evaluated submissions from the 30 finalists in Phase 2. The panel recommended the 10 winners based on the official evaluation criteria.

Following Mission Daybreak, VA may engage with select solutions through contracts, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), or other partnership vehicles.

Visit MissionDaybreak.net for more information on the challenge.