As the BHT 2025 Veteran Week Partner, Luminary Labs supports programming to elevate Veteran perspectives.

There are 15.8 million Veterans in the United States, representing 6% of the adult civilian population. They have unique healthcare needs and deserve access to the best care possible. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Veterans Health Administration — the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system — carries out a critical but challenging mission, delivering exceptional care that is both efficient and high-quality to meet the needs of today’s Veterans.

Launched in 2022, Mission Daybreak was a $20 million grand challenge to address a top clinical priority for the VA: the crisis of Veteran suicide. Effectively one of the largest suicide prevention funding programs ever created, Mission Daybreak leveraged open innovation to identify promising novel solutions, deliver catalytic seed funding, and provide targeted support through piloting and scaling phases. Today, some Mission Daybreak teams have secured VA contracts to pilot their solutions throughout the VA system, using technology and community-based approaches to reach Veterans where they are. Designed and produced by Luminary Labs, Mission Daybreak continues to accelerate innovation in suicide prevention, demonstrating the support innovators need to navigate large, complex systems to realize long-term impact. Teams that participated in the grand challenge, including Unite Us and NeuroFlow, were recently recognized among the world’s best healthtech companies by TIME Magazine. 

Building on Mission Daybreak’s momentum and the lessons learned from supporting innovators in Veteran mental health, Luminary Labs is proud to be the Veteran Week Partner for the 2025 Behavioral Health Tech Conference. 

Amplifying Veterans’ experiences at BHT 2025

There are countless opportunities to improve the lives of America’s Veterans. Through focused conference programming and content on BHT’s blog and Expanding Access podcast, Luminary Labs will amplify Veterans’ perspectives and elevate insights for mental health innovation.

The Luminary Labs team will join thousands of health and innovation leaders at the 2025 Behavioral Health Tech Conference. On November 12, Ben Alsdurf, Luminary Labs Senior Director, Future of Health, will moderate a panel sharing innovation lessons from working with Veterans, featuring perspectives from former VA officials and providers including:

• Dr. Matthew Miller, PhD — As the Vice President of the Military, Veteran, and Family Center of Excellence at A-G Associates, Dr. Miller has over 20 years of experience in Veteran and military healthcare, specializing in suicide prevention and mental health services. As former Executive Director for VA Suicide Prevention at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he oversaw national evidence-based interventions and transformed the Veterans Crisis Line into the world’s largest and most efficient suicide crisis call center.

• Terri Tanielian —Terri Tanielian 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. As former director of the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research, she led landmark studies including “Invisible Wounds of War” and “Hidden Heroes: America’s Military Caregivers,” and has authored over 100 publications shaping Veteran health policy.

• Dr. Blas Villalobos — Dr. Villalobos is Chief Executive Officer of Centerstone’s Military Services, a not-for-profit health system specializing in mental health and substance use disorder treatments for veterans, active-duty military personnel, and military families. A proud combat veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps (1999-2003), he brings over 15 years of experience working with the veteran and military community, including previous roles as Director of Veterans Affairs for Chapman University and Veterans Affairs Manager for the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office.

If you’re planning to attend BHT2025, we hope you’ll join us for this session. Conference attendees can register using code VETERAN25 for a discounted rate, courtesy of Luminary Labs.

Sharing Veteran perspectives

We’ve also produced a series of articles and podcasts highlighting key topics and inspiring voices from the Veteran community.

Articles on the BHT Blog

• Understanding the Veterans you already serve. Ben Alsdurf and John Boerstler discuss how most behavioral health organizations in America are already serving Veterans — whether they know it or not — and highlight findings from a recent Ipsos survey.

• From patients to pioneers: How Veterans drive health innovation. From CT scans to VR therapy, Veterans have driven some of the biggest breakthroughs in healthcare. In this article on the BHT blog, Ben Alsdurf explores those contributions and how they’re shaping the future of behavioral health today.

Expanding Access podcast episodes

• Understanding the Veteran experience: Avoiding assumptions & providing dignity. In this episode, Wanda Wright, Director of the Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement at Arizona State University, advocates for women Veterans. She notes many women don’t recognize themselves as Veterans, and this, combined with bias, contributes to higher rates of suicide and homelessness among them.

• Bridging the Perception Gap: What Veterans Want in Behavioral Healthcare. In this episode, John Boerstler, Head of Public Sector at Ipsos Public Affairs, discusses the unique challenges Veterans face in accessing behavioral health support and the critical need to reduce the stigma surrounding care-seeking.

We will continue publishing Veteran-focused content leading up to the conference. Check back for future articles and recaps from our session and presence at BHT 2025. There’s still time to plan your trip to San Diego — register today using code VETERAN25 for a discounted rate.