Joseph Geraci is a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor at the Hudson Valley Center for Development (St. Luke’s Hospital in Cornwall, NY), a clinical psychology doctoral student at Columbia University (Teachers College) in the Loss, Trauma, and Emotion lab, and a Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) in the United States Army. As an Infantry officer, Geraci has deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 10th Mountain Division. As a mental health counselor at the Hudson Valley Center for Development, he provides psychotherapy and counseling services for Veterans, Emergency Service Personnel and their families. Being a combat leader, scholar and a mental health provider has provided him with a unique viewpoint that he hopes to use to assist Veterans and their families to successfully transition into the civilian sector as the next leaders of communities and businesses. Joe and his wife like mentoring their three boys with their academics and athletics. He also likes triathlons and Crossfit. Joe is inspired by the Warriors he has served with in the past and will serve with in the future.

George A. Bonanno, Ph.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychology. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1991. His research and scholarly interestes have centered on the question of how human beings cope with loss, trauma and other forms of extreme adversity, with an emphasis on resilience and the salutary role of flexible coping and emotion regulatory processes. Professor Bonanno’s recent empirical and theoretical work has focused on defining and documenting adult resilience in the face of loss or potential traumatic events, and on identifying the range of psychological and contextual variables that predict both psychopathological and resilient outcomes. He was co-editor of Emotion: Current Issues and Future Directions (Guilford) and recently authored The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells us about Life After Loss (Basic Books).

Yvette Branson has been with the VA since 2007, first as a post doctoral student in behavioral health research and then as the coordinator in Mental Health services of the suicide prevention program. As Suicide Prevention Coordinator, she trained over 1,000 staff members in the Gatekeeper training known as Operation SAVE, a training that uses the public health model to prevent suicide. Dr Branson now works with veterans on college campuses in a pilot project known as the VITAL Initiative (Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership). In addition she has a personal interest in the issue of stigma and barriers within our community to seeking help in mental health services.

She earned her PHD in Clinical Health Psychology in 2006 from Yeshiva University. Dr Branson was formerly an orchestral musician and teacher, holding a masters in education as well as in music performance. She has a private practice on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

William Anderson is currently finishing his first year as a Masters student in the Clinical Psychology program at Columbia University, Teachers College. He received his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he studied Psychology and Classics. His research interests revolve around post-disaster outreach, community resilience, and veteran support. In June 2014 William will be heading to Japan as one of three Americans picked for a unique fellowship at Fukushima Medical University where he will be learning about post-nuclear disaster treatments and protocols.

Erika Bach is a first-year student in the clinical psychology masters program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her B.A. from George Washington University. Before coming to New York, Erika conducted research at Harvard Medical School in their Sleep and Cognition Lab. Having always had an interest in trauma and in veterans, Erika joined the Battle Buds Initiative.

Ariana Dichiara is a first-year masters student in the clinical psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her B.A. in psychology from Stony Brook University in 2013. Her research interests include anxiety disorders and resilience. In addition to her work in this program, she is currently a research assistant on several studies investigating assessments and treatments for OCD and OCPD at Columbia University Medical Center’s Anxiety Disorders Clinic. She is excited to be a part of a program that provides an intervention strategy that aims to achieve and maintain resilience among a veteran population.

Sarah Duncan is a second year master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University and will be pursing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in the fall at Fordham University. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Providence College. Before joining the program, she worked in both health care and education settings. Her research interests include the coping strategies of individuals who have endured traumatic experiences and the development of interventions to prevent or mitigate distress in this population.

Sandy Huang is a graduating master student in the clinical psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her B.A. (Honors) in Psychology and Japanese from University of Melbourne, Australia. Sandy’s research interests are focused on factors that underlie individuals’ flexible utilization of emotion-regulation strategies under stress, and how that predicts long-term psychological and physical outcomes. She is currently working on a coping flexibility study with bereaved individuals at Columbia University, and a study on predictive factors of maladjustment following extreme distress in Bellevue Hospital’s emergency department. Sandy is grateful to be able to partake in the development of the Battle Buds program and is excited to help make it a success, as she feels this is a program much needed and deserved by the Veterans.

In addition to his role with Battle Buds, Joe Quinn is the Team RWB Northeast Regional Director and New York City Chapter Captain. Previously, he was an Associate at the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) and an Instructor in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Joe also worked in Afghanistan as a Counterinsurgency Advisor for General David Petraeus’ Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT). He spent six years in the United States Army, where he served two deployments to Iraq. Joe received a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Joe graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2002, where he played on the varsity basketball team. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, although he currently lives in Manhattan with his wife Melanie.