2020 NLSVCC National Boot Camp for Clinics Serving Veterans

AUGUST 21, 2020 | ALL TIMES CENTRAL

Each presentation will be recorded and made available on the NLSVCC website. Program moderated by Hillary Wandler (University of Montana).

10:00–10:15 Opening Remarks Chief Judge Margaret Bartley (U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims)

10:15–11:10 Cultural Competency in Representing Veterans Brent Filbert (Missouri); Matt Bulriss (Syracuse); Chris Mullin; Jim Richardson

11:10–11:55 Service Connection Basics Blair Thompson (Hofstra); Samantha Farish (The Veterans Pro Bono Consortium)

11:55–12:00 Technology Break

12:00–1:00 Nuts & Bolts of Advocating for Veterans Seeking Service-Connected Disability Compensation Judy Clausen (University of Florida)

1:00–1:05 Lunch

1:05–2:00 Clinic Student Panel Panel of former students in clinics serving veterans will join Jennifer Morrell (Widener) to offer inspiration and insights

2:00–3:00 Moral Injury & PTSD Nexus Panel Jillian Berner (UIC John Marshall); Margaret Costello (Detroit Mercy); Jonathan Mangold, PhD, HSPP; John Mundt. PhD

3:00–4:30 Strategies & Process for Character of Discharge Determinations & Military Discharge Upgrades Darren Pruslow (Quinnipiac); Margaret Kuzma (Connecticut Veterans Legal Center)

4:30–4:40 Closing Remarks Angela Drake (Missouri)

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

In addition to the program, video resources will be available on the NLSVCC Member Resources webpage; some will be posted before August 21, and more will be made available as the year progresses. Video Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Time Slips & How to Keep Your Clinic Director Happy (Angela Drake)

• Evidence Gathering (Chantal Wentworth-Mullin & Matt Bulriss, Syracuse)

• Claims File Review: How to Review and Organize a Claims File (Cinthia Johnson, CVLC)

• VASRD, Diagnostic Codes, & Rating a Disability (Stacey-Rae Simcox, Stetson, & Mark Matthews, Esq.)

• The C&P Examination (Stacey-Rae Simcox, Stetson, & Mark Matthews, Esq.)

• Advocating for Survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (Mary Edokpayi, NVLSP, & Adelaide Kahn, Protect Our Defenders)

• CAVC Practice (Michele Vollmer, Penn State)

• Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (Jennifer Morrell, Widener)

• Reading & Interpreting Police Investigations (Brian Clauss & Lori Lewis, James E. Rogers)

• How to Work with an Expert (Brent Filbert, Missouri)

• Best Practices for Client Interviewing & Intake for Veterans (Hillary Wandler, Univ. of Montana)

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS 2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

CHIEF JUDGE MARGARET BARTLEY Opening Remarks Chief Judge Margaret Bartley was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by President Barack Obama on June 22, 2011, confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2012, appointed by the President on June 25, 2012, and took the judicial oath on June 28, 2012, for a term of fifteen years. She became Chief Judge of the Veterans Court on December 4, 2019.

For over 17 years prior to her appointment, Chief Judge Bartley served as a veterans advocate, working as staff attorney and then senior staff attorney for National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), a veterans service organization. In that capacity, she advised and trained staff and service officers for The American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of America, and other veterans service organizations and State departments of veterans affairs, on issues related to veterans benefits and veterans preference in Federal employment. She also represented veterans and survivors of veterans in their pursuit of VA benefits before the USCAVC and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From 2004 to 2012, Chief Judge Bartley served as editor of the NVLSP veterans’ law quarterly, The Veterans Advocate. She also testified before Congress concerning federal agency failure to apply veterans preference laws and appeared on behalf of amici curiae in several significant veterans preference cases.

From 2005 until her appointment to the bench, Chief Judge Bartley also served as Director of Outreach and Education for the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program. In that capacity, she organized nationwide training classes for lawyers interested in providing pro bono representation to veterans and their survivors before the USCAVC. Prior to her career as a veterans advocate, Chief Judge Bartley served as a judicial law clerk to the late Judge Jonathan R. Steinberg of the USCAVC. Chief Judge Bartley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 and a juris doctor degree, cum laude, from the American University Washington College of Law in 1993.

Aside from her many articles on veterans law published in The Veterans Advocate, Chief Judge Bartley is co-author, co-editor, or contributing author of several other articles and publications, including the Veterans Benefits Manual (LexisNexis) (co-author 1999-2010, co-editor 2011- 2012); American Veterans’ and Servicemembers’ Survival Guide (Veterans for America, 2008) (contributing author); VA Benefits for Low-Income Veterans (Clearinghouse Review, Sept-Oct 2006) (co-author); VA’s Obligations Toward Claimants: Analysis of the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (Clearinghouse Review, July-August 2001) (co-author); The Elderlaw Portfolio Series: Veterans Benefits for the Elderly (Little, Brown and Company, 1996) (coauthor); and Consideration of Pain and Other Factors in Rating Disabilities (Clearinghouse Review, July-August 1996) (co-author).

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS BRENT G. FILBERT Cultural Competency in Representing Veterans

Professor Brent G. Filbert is the Clinical Director of the University of Missouri Law School Veterans Clinic. Before joining the Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic in 2018, Prof Filbert spent 30 years serving as an attorney in the military and in private practice. From 2015 to 2018, he served as Deputy Chief Defense Counsel for Military Commissions at the Pentagon. His prior military assignments included: appellate defense counsel and judge for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals; prosecutor and defense counsel in military criminal trials and as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. He also taught military law at the United States Naval Academy. In private practice, he was as a partner at Shook Hardy & Bacon and counsel at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, working as a litigation attorney on product liability and toxic tort cases.

Prof Filbert obtained his Bachelor’s in History from Mizzou in 1984 before receiving his Juris Doctor with distinction from UMKC in 1987. In 1995, Filbert graduated from the Naval War College with the highest distinction. In 1998, Filbert obtained his LL.M. in Trial Advocacy with honors from the Temple University School of Law. Prof Filbert has published numerous annotations and articles on military, criminal and civil law, including his book, Naval Law (3rd Ed. U.S. Naval Institute Press 1998).

MATT BULRISS Cultural Competency in Representing Veterans

Matt Bulriss is the Staff Attorney for the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic. Before attending the Syracuse College of Law, he served in United States Army for ten years as an Infantryman with the 82nd Airborne and the New York Army National Guard. He held leadership positions throughout his military service, including senior sniper, team leader, squad leader, and platoon sergeant, and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom multiple times. He served as a student in the Wohl Family Veterans Legal Clinic for two years before joining the clinic full time as its staff attorney.

CHRIS MULLIN Cultural Competency in Representing Veterans

A native of Franklin, Massachusetts, Colonel Mullin graduated from Providence College with a Bachelors’ Degree in English and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in June of 1984. His first assignment after completion of The Basic School and the Aircraft Maintenance Officers’ Course was with Marine Attack Squadron-223 the “Bulldogs”, Marine Aircraft Group-32 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer from June 1985 to August 1988. (cont’d)

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS Ordered to Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL for training, Colonel Mullin received his wings as a Naval Flight Officer on 2 February 1990 and was assigned to Marine Observation Squadron-2 at MCAS Camp Pendleton, CA flying the OV-10A/D Bronco aircraft as a Supporting Arms Coordinator (Airborne). Colonel Mullin deployed to Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron-169 the “Vipers”, assigned to the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, aboard the USS TARAWA. With the cessation of hostilities, he re-deployed to MCAS Futenma, Okinawa, Japan as the Logistics Officer for Marine Observation Squadron-2, Detachment “B”, returning to Camp Pendleton in January of 1992.

With the dis-establishment of Marine Observation Squadron-2 in May of 1993, he was ordered to the 1st Marine Division for duty as a Forward Air Controller with 3rd Battalion/9th Marines. In November 1994, he reported to Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron-101 the “Sharpshooters” at MCAS El Toro, CA for transition training as a Weapons Systems Officer in the F/A-18D Hornet Strike/ Fighter. Completing training in August 1995, he reported to Marine Aircraft Group-11 at MCAS Miramar, CA serving as the Assistant Operations Officer until he was assigned to Marine All-Weather Fighter/Attack Squadron-242, the “Bats”, in September 1996. While there, he served as the Assistant Aircraft Maintenance Officer, Operations Officer and Director of Safety and Standardization, making two deployments to the Western Pacific, leaving the squadron in September 1999.

He next served on the staff of the Commanding General, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, CA, as the Pacific Command Target Information Officer in the Operations Department’s Force Fires Section. In November of 2001 he returned to Marine Aircraft Group-11 serving as the Administration Officer and deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH and ENDURING FREEDOM. Upon his return, he assumed the duties as the Executive Officer for Marine All-Weather Fighter/Attack Squadron-225, the “Vikings”, in January 2003, re-deploying to Kuwait in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH and IRAQI FREEDOM. He left the squadron in May 2004 proceeding to MCB Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Bases Hawaii, for duty as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations. He served in that capacity until June 2005 when he detached and proceeded to Marine Aircraft Group -31, MCAS Beaufort, SC for duty as the Commanding Officer of Marine All Weather Fighter/Attack Squadron-533, the “Hawks”, assuming command on 28 October 2005.

In January 2006, he led the squadron to Al Asad AB, Iraq in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 05-07.1. Over the next six months the “Hawks” amassed 7025 flight hours during 2121 sorties in direct support of U.S. and Coalition Forces. The squadron returned home to MCAS Beaufort, SC on 24 August 2006. After relinquishing command of the “Hawks” on 27 April 2007, he proceeded to MCAS Cherry Point, NC where he was assigned to 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Headquarters, first serving as the Operations Officer and then as the Chief of Staff for 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, (Forward). In January 2009, he again deployed to Al Asad AB, Iraq, ultimately returning to Cherry Point in October 2009. He detached in June 2010 and reported to the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI for duty as a Military Instructor and the Senior Marine Representative, serving in this capacity until his retirement from active duty on 1 October 2013 after 29 years of service.

Colonel Mullin has amassed more than 2500 flight hours in the O/A-4M Skyhawk, UH-1N Huey, OV- 10 A/D Bronco, and the F/A-18D Hornet. His personal awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Legion of Merit Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star denoting the second award, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Strike/Flight Air Medal with the numeral “9”, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat “V” and four gold stars denoting the fifth award, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS JAMES S. RICHARDSON, SR. Cultural Competency in Representing Veterans

James S. (Jim) Richardson Sr. is a private practitioner and mediator. He currently divides time his between assisting veterans with VA claims and discharge upgrades, mediating civil matters, teaching continuing legal education classes on veteran’s affairs, working as a volunteer attorney for Homeless Persons Representation Project in Baltimore and Mid Shore Pro Bono on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and investigating the feeding habits of the striped bass (rockfish), blue crabs and other fauna on the Chesapeake Bay. Prior to his retirement from federal service, Mr. Richardson served for 26 years as a senior attorney- advisor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Before his service at the Court he was the head of the Discharge Review Section of the Board for Correction of Naval Records, a constituent organization within the office of the Secretary of the Navy. In that capacity he helped revise the Board’s procedures and focused its attention on reducing an outstanding backlog of 5,000 discharge review cases with a five-year processing time to 300 cases and a decisional time frame of approximately 90 days. Upon retirement with 41 years of Federal Service he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal

From October 2007 until September 2008, Mr. Richardson was the National President of the Federal Bar Association. He previously served as President-Elect (2006-2007), Vice President (2005- 2006); Treasurer (2004-2005), Secretary (2003-2004); Deputy Secretary (2002-2003); and Section Coordinator (1997-2000). In addition, he served as Circuit Vice President for the Fourth Circuit, vice chair of the Administration of Justice Section, chair of the Military Justice Committee, co-chair of the Constitutional Law Committee, and President of the FBA’s Pentagon Chapter. While serving as section coordinator Mr. Richardson was twice honored with the FNA President’s Award for outstanding service to the FBA, and is the only member of the Association to receive that award from two different presidents. He is a Past Chair of the Veterans and Military Law Section and remains active in the Pentagon and Capitol Hill chapters.

Mr. Richardson received his BA in History from Frostburg State University in 1966. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in December 1966, and served a combat tour as a field artillery officer in Vietnam from September 1967 until September 1968. During that tour he was meritoriously augmented into the regular component of the Marine Corps based upon his performance at The Basic School, a course required of all Marine officers. In 1970 the Marine Corps selected him to attend law school at the University of Maryland School of Law under the Excess Leave Program where he received his J.D. in 1973. Following law school, he served five years as a judge-advocate of Marines, culminating with a tour as a military judge. His personal decorations include the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation with one star, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with device, the Vietnamese Campaign Medal with four stars, and the Vietnamese Service Medal with device.

Following his retirement from federal service Mr. Richardson became active in Pro Bono law practice. He was instrumental in reorganizing Mid Shore Pro Bono, a corporation organized to provide no cost and low-cost legal services on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. From 2012 until 2014, he served as President of that organization. During this came period he also became involved in a second pro bono organization, the Homeless Persons Representation Project in Baltimore Maryland, whose work with indigent veterans in the Maryland area is essential in assisting them in obtaining the post service benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2017 Mr. Richardson’s service (cont’d)

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS as a pro bono attorney, particularly his work with veterans, was recognized by the Maryland State Bar Association as its Senior Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Mr. Richardson is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, as well as the bars of Maryland, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Court of Veterans Claims.

Mr. Richardson has published numerous articles including, “Curing ‘Bad Paper’: A Primer on Review of Discharges from the Military,” published in The Federal Lawyer in July 2012. Additional publications have included, “The U.S. Court of Military Appeals and the Specified Issue” published in the Federal Bar News and Journal, May 1989, and He lectures frequently on the subject of discharge review, and other topics related to veteran’s affairs.

BLAIR THOMPSON Service Connection Basics

Blair Thompson is an Assistant Clinic Professor and Director of the Robert W. Entenmann Veterans Law Clinic at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. The Entenmann Veterans Law Clinic provides pro bono representation to low-income veterans in appeals of disability compensation claims before the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, as well as in applications for discharge upgrades. Previously, Professor Thompson was a clinical teaching fellow in the Veterans Advocacy Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law, as well as an attorney at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Professor Thompson has also served as an attorney in the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review at the Social Security Administration, as a public defender in Baltimore, and a judicial law clerk in the Juvenile Court of Baltimore City.

SAMANTHA FARISH Service Connection Basics

Samantha Farish is an attorney at The Veterans Consortium (TVC). Hailing from Tennessee originally, she moved to Washington D.C. to go law school and that is where she discovered veterans law. As the daughter of two Navy veterans and a granddaughter of a Vietnam veteran, she has always had a deep respect for women and men who serve. This led her to an externship with TVC where she screened cases that were pending before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for placement. She then spent a semester volunteering at Paralyzed Veterans for America, this time assisting in the direct representation of veterans before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. In 2018, she returned to TVC as an Equal Justice Works fellow. Her current project, sponsored by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, involves assisting veterans after they have received a remand from the federal court. Samantha is able to do this by training and mentoring the volunteer attorneys who secured the remand so that they are able to continue assisting at the agency level. She also provides direct representation to veterans when the volunteer attorney is unable to continue. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University (B.S. 2014) and The George Washington University Law School (J.D. 2018). In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games and cuddling with her 6-month-old Newfoundland. 2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS JUDY CLAUSEN Nuts & Bolts of Advocating for Veterans Seeking Service- Connected Disability Compensation

Professor Clausen serves as Legal Skills Professor and Supervising Attorney for the Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic. In the clinic, she teaches and supervises students who assist in representing veterans in appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, as well as in discharge upgrades and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) character of discharge determinations. Students also deliver Know Your Rights presentations to veterans and ROTC cadets, prepare legal memoranda for judge advocates, draft wills and advance directives for veterans, and assist veterans with claims for disability compensation with the VA. Prior to teaching at UF Law, Professor Clausen was a professor at Florida Coastal School of Law where she taught Regulation of the Healthcare Industry (Advanced Legal Writing), Lawyering Process for Litigation Practice (Persuasive Writing, Oral Advocacy, and Mediation and Negotiation Skills), Pre-trial Drafting, Contract I & II, Sales, Securities Regulation (Distance Education), Domestic Violence (Advanced Legal Writing), Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. Prior to becoming a law professor, she served as Of Counsel for Murphy & Anderson, P.A. where she litigated in state and federal court, representing corporate and individual plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial cases. Prior to becoming a commercial litigator, she served as Associate General Counsel for the University of North Florida where she drafted and promulgated Florida Administrative Code rules, negotiated and drafted business and educational contracts, and advised on First Amendment and privacy law issues. Before she worked as a university lawyer, she served as Senior Attorney for the Government Accountability Office, Office of the General Counsel. She began her legal career active-duty Army in the Pentagon where she served in the Honors Program as an Assistant to the General Counsel of the Department of the Army. In this position, she prepared Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant applications and Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act appeal opinions, and advised the General Counsel and Office of the Secretary of the Army concerning intelligence operations, counterintelligence and sensitive criminal investigations, special operations, special access program oversight, classification of information, personnel security, information operations, and Title 10 organizational issues. In law school, she served as a judicial intern for Judge Susan Crawford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

JENNIFER MORRELL Clinic Student Panel

Jennifer Morrell is director of the Veterans Law Clinic at Widener University Delaware Law School. The Veterans Law Clinic primarily represents low-income, disabled veterans with appeals of compensation claims at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Since its inception in 1997, the Clinic has recovered over $13 million in retroactive benefits for clients. The clinic also represents veterans seeking discharge upgrades and prepares wills, advanced healthcare directives, and financial power of attorney (cont’d)

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS documents for local veterans.Ms. Morrell’s practice includes appeals before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Regional Offices, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Prior to joining the clinic in 2010, Ms. Morrell worked in private practice in Delaware. A first-generation college and law graduate, Ms. Morrell received her J.D. from Temple University School of Law and her B.A. in English from Salisbury University. Prior to law school, Ms. Morrell worked as a business writer and newspaper copy editor. She is barred in Delaware and Maryland.

JILLIAN BERNER Moral Injury & PTSD Nexus Panel

Jillian Berner is the Senior Staff Attorney at UIC John Marshall Law School’s Veterans Legal Clinic. She is a graduate of UIC JMLS and Tulane University (BA, Sociology). She works with students on VA benefits claims and discharge upgrades through her work in the clinic. Jillian is an accredited VA attorney, admitted to practice in Virginia and Illinois, and admitted to practice at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

MARGARET COSTELLO Moral Injury & PTSD Nexus Panel

Margaret (“Peggy”) Costello is an Associate Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where she was instrumental in establishing the Veterans Law Clinic and Project Salute. Under her direction, students in the Veterans Law Clinic assist low income veterans with claims and appeals of VA pension and disability matters and character of discharge issues. Before joining the faculty of UD Mercy Law, she was a member of Dykema Gossett’s litigation department for more than 20 years and chaired the firm’s Pro Bono and Diversity Committees. Ms. Costello is a graduate of Penn State University and the Detroit College of Law; she also has graduate degrees in psychology from the University of Michigan and rehabilitation from Southern Illinois University. She is an accredited VA attorney, and admitted to practice at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS JONATHAN MANGOLD, PHD, HSPP Moral Injury & PTSD Nexus Panel

Jonathan Mangold a Licensed Psychologist in private practice in Indianapolis. His clinical experience includes the chronically mentally ill and children. For the last twenty years his primary focus is working as an advocate for veterans as an expert witness for members of the National Organization of Veteran’s Advocates (NOVA).

In his various professional roles, Dr. Mangold has supervised and trained psychiatry residents, medical students and psychology interns in psychotherapy, diagnostic interviewing, and active case management. He has a PhD from Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

Dr. Mangold also served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972, earning several medals including Vietnam Service (with one star) and Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, among others.

JOHN MUNDT, PHD Moral Injury & PTSD Nexus Panel

Dr. John Mundt is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a professional speaker and trainer whose clinical experience includes work with clients of all ages and from across the diagnostic spectrum. His primary professional focus is on veterans’ mental health issues, particularly the range of problems impacting the returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Mundt has been a Staff Psychologist at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (Chicago, Illinois) since 1992, providing both long- term and time-limited psychotherapy, as well as psychological assessment and case management for veterans. Since 1996, Dr. Mundt has been the psychologist in the Medical Center’s acute-care partial hospitalization program, with a focus on the stabilization and brief treatment of traumatic reactions stemming from combat, sexual assault and inner-city violence as well as other types of trauma. His approach to treatment in this setting emphasizes intensive psychoeducation as well as aggressive case management and community advocacy for veterans in the program. In his private practice, Dr. Mundt has engaged individuals, couples and families around a range of issues, including post- traumatic reactions.

Dr. Mundt is an experienced teacher, lecturer and trainer whose seminars have been well received and highly rated by participants. He is passionate about veterans’ mental health issues and has dedicated his career to working with this population. He enjoys speaking to smaller groups as well as to larger audiences, and he will engage you with his expertise and practicality. Dr. Mundt has presented nationally (in more than 50 cities) on the topic of mental health issues in the returning combat veterans. Recent training events include presentations to the National Security Administration, the Alaska Bar Association, the Texas A&M University Student Counseling Service, Central DuPage Hospital, the Cook County (Illinois) Adult Probation Department, the (cont’d)

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Dr. Mundt has been an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 1994. In his various professional roles, he has supervised and trained psychiatry residents, medical students and psychology interns in psychotherapy, diagnostic interviewing, and active case management. Dr. Mundt holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

DARREN PRUSLOW Strategies & Process for Character of Discharge Determinations and Military Discharge Upgrades

As a Supervising Attorney at the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC), Darren’s practice covers a wide range of areas from civil legal issues (housing, child support) to various VA Benefit claims. In addition to representing clients, he is a lead on working with our VA partners and strengthening CVLC’s Medical Legal Partnership (MLP). Prior to CVLC, Darren created a small ‘low bono’ practice focused on bridging the gap between legal services and traditional representation. He continues a near 20-year career as an educator as the co-founder of the Quinnipiac University School of Law Veteran’s Clinic and as an adjunct in the University of New Haven’s Legal Studies and Political Science Department. He also is on the board of the Connecticut Mediation Association.

Darren has his J.D. form Quinnipiac University School of Law and MS in Education from Hofstra University. His undergraduate degree is from the College of the Holy Cross where he majored in Sociology with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies.

MARGARET KUSMA

Strategies & Process for Character of Discharge Determinations and Military Discharge Upgrades Margaret Kuzma is the Director of the Veterans Inclusion Project at Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and an attorney in the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. She has taught as a visiting clinical lecturer with the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School and co-founded the Veterans Law Project at Quinnipiac University School of Law. Most recently, Margaret co- authored the Discharge Upgrade Legal Practice Manual with the Veterans Legal Clinic at Harvard Law School. Margaret started her legal career as a Skadden Fellow attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation in Chicago, Illinois where she served low-income veterans and military families. Before becoming a public interest attorney, Margaret worked as the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator for Fort Benning and USAG Baumholder. Margaret received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and her B. A. from Brown University. She is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and Illinois.

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS ANGELA DRAKE Closing Remarks

Professor Angela Drake is the Clinical Director of the University of Missouri Veterans’ Clinic. Professor Drake practiced law for more than 25 years in in the areas of complex and class action litigation and insurance coverage and defense. She was a shareholder in the firm of Niewald, Waldeck and Brown in Kansas City, where she practiced for 18 years. She then became a member of Lowther Johnson, LLC, located in Springfield, Mo. In the course of her practice, Professor Drake represented individual and corporate clients in jury trials, bench trials and appellate proceedings in both federal and state court. Professor Drake received her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., in 1982 and her JD from the University of Minnesota in 1985. Professor Drake teaches Insurance Law, Pretrial Litigation and Trial Practice.

HILLARY WANDLER Moderator

Professor Hillary Wandler teaches at Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. She has researched and written about the role of culture in advocating for accurate diagnosis of psychological disabilities, as well as access to justice in remote, rural communities. Professor Wandler currently serves as Director of the Clinical Law Program, teaches courses in legal analysis and writing and veterans disability law, and directs the School of Law’s Veterans Advocacy Clinic. She continues to represent veterans in disability claims and appeals, collaborating with students in the Veterans Advocacy Clinic, and she serves as Secretary on the Board for the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium.

2020 NLSVCC NATIONAL BOOT CAMP FOR CLINICS SERVING VETERANS