You've seen him on Food Network, but he is much more than a TV chef.  His support for veterans might surprise you.  

Bonnie Carroll talks about what it means to be a military survivor for American as well as foreign serving military, and how TAPS is helping around the world and in Ukraine.

Judge Halee Weinstein, an Administrative Judge for Baltimore City's District Court, discusses her role in Veteran Treatment Courts, which decrease recidivism and provide alternatives to the standard prosecution systems, while emphasizing mentorship and the special needs of veterans.

MajGen (Ret.) Kelly McKeague, the Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency speaks to the incredible work of recovery, remains, and identification that the DoD goes through to ensure no one is left behind.

A tribute to two great veteran advocates.

Leo Shane of Military Times discusses the community of reporting on the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the potential for medical center closures, and politics surrounding veterans issues.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Alexander Vindman, the former Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council, gives us a history lesson on Ukraine and Russia, speaks to Putin's miscalculations, and talks about the power of democracy. Additionally, he talks about the dangers while giving potential outcomes regarding the current war in Ukraine.

Kerry Ward and Lisa Taylor of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project talk about the value and progress of the Veterans History Project, which is preserving the voice of veterans for the sake of ourselves, and our progeny. 

Dr. Steve Groff, Founder and Chairman of Groff North America speaks about how he became one of the first companies to sell cannabis to the Federal government, and how it will benefit veterans and others as he works to promote the study and rescheduling of the plant.

Rep. Mark Takano, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, speaks about the progress the House is making in ensuring veterans needs are taken care of. He speaks about the relation to the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act to Burn Pits, and how the 4th mission of the VA can serve to augment U.S. capabilities, even with non-veterans.

Mike Sformo, CEO and Founder of Operation Backbone shares how he advocates for the most advanced medical devices & innovations for our military and civilian medical sectors, bringing mental and physical relief to many veterans.

Senator Joni Ernst has the floor as she speaks about the potential Ukraine conflict, as well as other threats. She discusses the importance of the Global War on Terror Memorial, as well as our need to keep wartime injuries and sexual assault at the forefront.

Michael Monteferrante, CEO of Envision Corp; and Patrick Lindsey, President of LC Industries talk about how the AbilityOne program works, how veterans are playing a major roll in AbilityOne companies, and where the program goes from here.

Representative Don Bacon discusses the value of Public Private Partnerships using, as a model, the CHIP IN for Vets Act, which supported the building of a new Omaha VA Clinic, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. 

Rob Thomas, who is the former Assistant Secretary for Information Technology & Chief Information Officer (SES) for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, talks with Secretary Shulkin and Lou about his time at VA, how the Cerner implementation decision was made, and what VA needs to do in the future to compete.

Today, Secretary Shulkin and Lou Celli discuss what is coming up for Policy Vets as they work to keep policy issues on track, post-pandemic.  

Dr. Keita Franklin, the Chief Clinical Officer at Loyal Source, joins Dr. Shulkin and Lou as they discuss the impact the VA has had in reducing Veteran Suicide, and also discuss the work she is doing to help Afghan Refugees, as well as the Columbia Lighthouse Project.  She notes the Call Center to help Afghan Refugees, which is open 8am-8pm. The number is
1-855-341-5456

Heather Ansley, the Executive Director for Government Relations for the Paralyzed Veterans of America discusses the antiquated approach that airlines have taken towards paralyzed members of society. She discusses specific stories and how important it is that legislators put this on their radar.

Secretary Shulkin and Lou Celli discuss Veterans Day and reflect on the podcast's many guests, as well as the reaction they've received.

Dr. Russell Foster speaks to Lou and Sherman Gillums (guest host) to discuss the importance of sleep on helping people with PTSD and other disorders. He shares amazing and recent studies while Sherman and Lou share their shock at the newness of this information. Dr. Foster is the Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute. 

Today, Vincent Chao, the former Director of the Political Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, speaks to Lou Celli and Charlie Malone on behalf of Taiwan.  What are the ramifications of Washington's and Beijing's policies regarding this very important island? 

Professor Renata Gomes joins Secretary Shulkin and Lou to discuss Bravo Victor, a UK-based group dedicated towards focusing the world’s best research scientists to improve the lives of the visually impaired and veterans.  Professor Gomes is the Chief Scientific Officer at BRAVO VICTOR, Blind Veterans UK Group (https://www.bravovictor.org/)

John Wordin, who helped create the Warrior Games, gives hope to many Veterans. He combined fitness, rehabilitation, and suicide prevention programs to create an app for overall well being.

Chris Madaio and Will Hubbard join Secretary Shulkin and Lou to discuss the successes of the GI bill. They also discuss those educational institutions, who for profit motive, have acted as predators towards service members and veterans.  Chris and Will both hold Vice President positions at Veterans Education Success (https://vetsedsuccess.org), a non-profit of bipartisan policy experts, academic researchers, lawyers and advocates dedicated to bridging the military-civilian divide to ensure career and education success for military families.

Dr. Phillip Roe, the former Chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, speaks with Secretary Shulkin and Lou about what he's doing now, what should be a priority for congress with regards to veterans, and what he wishes he could have done while in office.

Brian Jenkins, Executive Director of the Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP), discusses how the arts and comedy makes the lives of veterans (and audiences) better.  You'll also get a chance to hear two great comedians, Clyde Thompson and Adam Keys, two veterans who will bust your gut.

Today, Randy Reeves, the former Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs for the VA, and the former Executive Director for Mississippi's Veteran Affairs Board, shares his understanding and experience being responsible for a State Veteran Home network. He explains the problems that occurred with the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts, and still proclaims that he would prefer living in a Veteran home over a privatized home.

Dr. Ben Suitt joins Secretary Shulkin and Lou to talk about his recent study regarding the shockingly high numbers of veteran suicides. He explains that the recent drop in suicides reported by the VA, might just be a numbers game that doesn't reflect reality.

Today, Cherissa Jackson, Chief Medical Executive at AMVETS (American Veterans), a registered nurse, a veteran and PTSD survivor, discusses her perspective on Cannabis and the impact it is having on the veteran community.  Also, Lou puts the Secretary on the spot regarding his policies while he was VA Secretary.

Today, Secretary Shulkin and Lou speak with AnnMarie Halterman, who is the Executive Director of Uniting Us (https://unitingus.org/), which uses art therapy to support the veteran community as they deal with trauma, physical disability, or life in general. 

In today's special episode, Secretary Shulkin and Lou are joined by General David Petraeus. General Petraeus served Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and before retiring from a 37 year Army career, served as the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander, U.S. Forces – Afghanistan. He speaks to the tragedy that is occurring in Afghanistan, and provides words of encouragement to veterans who are struggling with the U.S. Withdrawal.

Lou Celli and guest host Charlie Malone, stepping in for Secretary Shulkin this week, are joined by Dr. Linda J. Bilmes, Harvard Kennedy School Professor and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Finance.  This week they talk about the true financial costs of war, which according to her research are woefully understated, and neglect to account for taking care of veterans future needs.

Dr. David Shulkin and Executive Director Lou Celli sit down with Cerner Senior Vice President & General Manager Brian Sandager to talk about the electronic health record modernization project.  What's going well, what didn't go well, and how they plan to fix it going forward.

Seaspray is an active operative  with Save our Allies, (https://saveourallies.org/), and speaks to us about the rescue operation to save the Fox News journalist, Benjamin Hall, as well as other operations.  Because he works under cover, his voice was modified to protect his identity.

Recent Afghanistan Ambassador to The United States Roya Rahmani sits down with former Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Dr. David Shulkin Executive Director Louis Celli to describe the final days of democratic Afghan rule as the Taliban move into the Presidential Palace. 

Sherman Gillums joins Secretary Shulkin and Lou Celli to talk about Veteran Service Organizations (VSO's) and what they need to do in order to ensure veterans continue to have a voice.  Sherman has served as a veteran, VSO Executive, and now as an advocate.

Barbara Ashe is the Executive Director for a program that teaches veteran businesses how to tap into the multibillion dollar federal sales market.  The Department of Veterans Affairs 2022 budget request is 270 billion dollars.  Find out how much of that will get spent on goods and services, and what type of priority veteran businesses have when selling to VA.

Zia Ghafoori is a former Afghan interpreter who served with the US Army Special Forces for 14 years.  The Taliban abused his family and the war ended high school when he decided to fight for his country by supporting the United States as an interpreter.  Ghafoori earned a Purple Heart and is now a US citizen advocating for other Afghan workers who stood shoulder to shoulder in Afghanistan.

Sarah Verardo is a national advocate for wounded Veterans and their Caregivers, and CEO of The Independence Fund (https://independencefund.org/). Her husband Michael was catastrophically wounded in Afghanistan in 2010, in two separate IED attacks that took his left leg, much of his left arm, and left him with polytraumatic conditions that required more than one hundred surgeries and years of speech, visual, physical and occupational therapies.

Sarah's compelling story delves into the impact of the war on Afghanistan, getting personal about the impact on her husband, her children, and of course, herself. 

Join Dr. Shulkin and Lou Celli as they speak with Phillis Wilson and Lucy Del Gaudio.  Phyllis is a retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 and Policy Vets BOD member, and Lucy is a Military Sexual Assault victim who works to advocate for other  Military Sexual Trauma victims. Different eras, different experiences, same problem - is it getting any better?

Join Dr. Shulkin and Lou Celli as they speak to Reuben Keith Green and Gloria Dent.  Keith is the author of "Black Officer, White Navy", and Gloria is a small business owner. Both had long careers in the military and have a perspective on race in the military that is especially important considering recent events.  

Dr. David Shulkin and Lou Celli speak with Ms. Danica Thomas, who shares her story about her husband Army Staff Sergeant Allen Thomas; how they met, what happened to SSG Thomas in Afghanistan; and the tragic afternoon he left the VA and murdered two people he had never met thinking they were enemy combatants before taking his own life.

Dr. Gordon Sumner, President and CEO of Veterans Moving Forward (https://vetsfwd.org/staff/) and Cole Lyle, President of the Working Warrior Foundation (https://workingwarriorfoundation.org/) join Dr. Shulkin and Lou in talking about how to increase our paw print in support of veterans without wasting taxpayer dollars on scientific studies.

In part 1 of this two part series Donald Overton and Danique Masingill join with Dr. Shulkin and Lou to talk about the power of animal regulation for the future of Veteran support.  Donald is the Executive Director of the Blinded Veterans Association (https://bva.org/), and Danique is the Co-Founder and President of Leashes of Valor (https://leashesofvalor.org/).  

Justin Brown, CEO of the Nimitz Group, and founder of HillVets, talks about how his organization works to enhance the voice of veterans on Capitol Hill, through internships and job placement.

Combat Veteran and Author Tom Voss Speaks About His Journey following his return home from Iraq, the combat-related trauma he suffered, and how family, a very long walk, and his family helped to bring him to a peaceful place.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Senator Jon Tester talks about teh Department of Veterans Affairs, burn pits, and future legislation.

In this episode of the Policy Vets Podcast, Joe Chenelly, the Executive Director of American Veterans Inc (AMVETS) talks about Memorial Day, the Rolling to Remember Memorial Day motorcycle run, and the state of Veteran Service Organizations in Washington, and their relationship with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Chris Nowinski, CEO and Co-founder of the concussion legacy foundation talks about the Brain Bank, and the importance of the VA to his efforts at understanding brain trauma.