— A NATIONAL VIRTUAL CONVENING
Moving Beyond
“Thank You for Your Service”
Delivering on the Promise: Building Communities That Know How to Support
Veterans and Military Families.
Two hours. Three substantive conversations. One question for every organization in America: When a Veteran or military family member comes through our door, will we recognize them, know how to help, and know where to connect them?
Free registration includes the live National Virtual Convening + a Veteran-ready participant toolkit with practical resources you can begin using immediately.
Convened by the Veterans Health and Wellness Foundation in strategic collaboration with CHC: Creating Healthier Communities.
DATE
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
TIME
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
FORMAT
National Virtual Convening
COST
Free · Open to all sectors
— WHY THE NATIONAL VIRTUAL CONVENING
Military service is often invisible
Across the United States, Veterans, service members, military families, caregivers and survivors live, work and receive care inside civilian communities. They interact every day with healthcare systems, employers, nonprofits, faith communities, schools and social-service agencies.
Yet a Veteran may receive civilian healthcare without ever being asked whether they served. A woman who served may not be recognized — or may not identify herself — as a Veteran. Someone facing depression, job loss, chronic pain or caregiving strain may pass through a dozen doors without anyone recognizing that military service is relevant to what they are carrying.
The issue is not whether resources exist. Significant federal, VA, nonprofit, employer and community resources already support Veterans and military families. The gap is in finding, reaching
and coordinating them.
THE CHALLENGE
What stands between Veterans and the help that already exists
Recognition • Connection • Coordination • Navigation
An organization does not have to become a Veteran-Service Organization to become more Veteran-ready.
Healthcare providers, employers, nonprofits, faith communities, educators, businesses, professional associations, policymakers and community leaders all have a role to play.
October falls during National Disability Employment Awareness Month and leads directly into Veterans and Military Families Month in November.
Saying “Thank you for your service” matters. Knowing how to support those who served is how communities deliver on that gratitude.
— THE PARTICIPANT JOURNEY —
Awareness → Understanding → Connection → Action
How the National Virtual Convening moves each participant. Every segment is built to carry you one step further along this path.
ADVOCACY IN PRACTICE
The National Virtual Convening presents real case studies in how a community problem becomes policy change — legislation in Maryland and Virginia supporting identification of military service, and a Veteran-focused resolution adopted by the American Medical Association House of Delegates.
![FireShot Capture 653 - VHWF National Virtual Convening — October 20, 2026 - [].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c36e94_20cc4c1fbd2346e9a5f78eac68fdbb70~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_616,h_61,al_c,q_85,enc_avif,quality_auto/FireShot%20Capture%20653%20-%20VHWF%20National%20Virtual%20Convening%20%E2%80%94%20October%2020%2C%202026%20-%20%5B%5D.png)
— THE VHWF FRAMEWORK
Educate • Navigate • Connect • Advocate
How VHWF works year-round: four interconnected pathways. Becoming a
Veteran-ready community requires all four.
Educate
Build the knowledge and capacity to recognize and understand military-connected individuals and their experiences.
Navigate
Help Veterans and families understand and access the benefits they have earned.
Connect
Link individuals and families to healthcare, behavioral health, employment, family and community resources.
Advocate
Address systemic barriers and change how Veterans and military families are recognized and supported.
— 120-MINUTE PROGRAM
Three substantive conversations
Not a series of short presentations. Each conversation gives two principal voices room to develop ideas — with audience questions woven in throughout.
Three conversations. Practical resources. A clear path to action.
— NATIONAL VOICES
Confirmed speakers
A deliberately national roster spanning federal health leadership, cross-sector business, lived military experience and trauma science.
CONVERSATION I
Jean C. Accius, PhD, NACD.DC
President & Chief Executive Officer
CHC: Creating Healthier Communities
A cross-sector executive and strategist working at the intersection of health, business and social impact, leading partnerships with more than 650 businesses and 5,000 nonprofit organizations.
CONVERSATION I
Carolyn Clancy, MD, MACP
Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks
Veterans Health Administration
A nationally recognized physician executive and health-services researcher, elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, with prior senior leadership at VA and AHRQ.
CONVERSATION II
Dr. Leslie Dillard
Retired U.S. Army Veteran
Author • Speaker • Trainer • Financial Professional
Retired from the U.S. Army in 2018 after 35 years of service. A number-one bestselling author, motivational speaker and spoken-word artist based in San Antonio, she teaches financial literacy and helps families build generational wealth.
CONVERSATION II
Tara Galovski, PhD
Director, Women’s Health Sciences Division
National Center for PTSD
VA Boston Healthcare System
An Associate Professor of Psychiatry whose research advances trauma recovery and Cognitive Processing Therapy for survivors of interpersonal assault, combat and community violence.
— RESOURCES IN ACTION YOUR TAKEAWAY
Come for the conversation.
You will leave knowing where to send someone tomorrow.
Rather than closing with a list of websites, the National Virtual Convening demonstrates resources participating organizations can begin using and sharing the same week.
— WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Built for people who have never attended a Veteran-focused event
The National Virtual Convening is intentionally designed for organizations and leaders who may not normally attend a Veteran-focused event.
Employers matter here in particular: Veterans and military family members often seek workplace support long before they ever approach a Veteran organization.
Not on this list? If Veterans or military families come through your door — as patients, employees, students, members or neighbors — the National Virtual Convening is for you.
Every registrant receives the participant toolkit
Tangible resources that remain useful long after the live program ends.
Veteran & Military Family Community Resource Guide
“Have You Served?” Community Conversation & Screening Tool
Mental Health and Crisis Resource Guide
Healing Her Journey Resource Guide
Benefits and Claims Navigation Resource Sheet
Employment and Employer Resource Sheet
Veteran-Ready Organization Action Checklist
VetConnect360™ Overview and Access Information
From Recognition to Systems Change: Community Advocacy & Policy Action Brief
Your toolkit arrives with your registration.
CONVENED BY
VHWF educates healthcare professionals, connects Veterans to community resources, and helps navigate VA benefits — so Veterans and their families can live healthy, well lives undiminished by their service. VHWF serves as lead convener and program-development organization for the National Virtual Convening.
IN STRATEGIC COLLABORATION WITH
CHC: Creating Healthier Communities
National outreach, corporate and employer audience engagement, and nonprofit network activation.
When they come through your door, will you be ready?
Join a national conversation about what it actually takes to support the people who served — and the families who served alongside them.
Free • Virtual • Open to All Sectors
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET · Includes the Veteran-ready participant toolkit