Veterans Summit

Villa Milano Banquet & Conference Center
1630 Schrock Road, Columbus, Ohio 43229

NOTE: You may attend this conference in person or virtually.

• County Veterans Service Officers
• County Commissioners
• Judicial Officers, Court Staff, and Probation Officers
• Law Enforcement Officers
• Local Mental Health Boards
• Behavioral Health Treatment Providers
• Healthcare Professionals
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Area Agencies on Aging
• Local Veterans Associations
• Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists
• Legal Aid Organizations

Note: you may attend this conference in person or virtually.

This training is free.

Please register at OhioCourtEDU.
If you have never taken a course offered by the Supreme Court’s Judicial College, you will need to “Create an Account”. Non-court personnel will need to select “ALL OTHERS” for your account type.

IN PERSON ATTENDEES: Register for the “Lean Forward Veterans Summit 2026 IN PERSON”

VIRTUAL ATTENDEES: Register for the “Lean Forward Veterans Summit 2026 VIRTUAL”

From Crisis to Connection: Turning Pain into Purpose

• Ronald “Jake” Clark, Save a Warrior
• Duke Hansel, Save a Warrior
• Suzette Heller, Save a Warrior
• Jason Lawrence, Save a Warrior

Veterans with lived experience of crisis share their personal journeys through challenge, recovery, and resilience.  Panelists will discuss what helped them navigate their lowest moments and how those experiences now inform the ways they support fellow veterans.  This session will highlight the power of peer connection, purpose-driven service, and hope rooted in real-life recovery. 

Strength Through Movement: Active Pathways to Healing

• Peter Cline, VETMotorsports
• William Hayes, Boots on the Trail
• Douglas Wolf, Adaptive Sports Connection 

This presentation showcases veteran-serving organizations that use fitness, recreation, and adaptive sports to support recovery and overall wellness. Presenters will share how structured physical activity can improve mental health, encourage healthy routines, and create meaningful peer connections and promote long-term healing.

Healing Notes: The Power of Music in Recovery

• Paul Lilley, Guitars4Vets
• Trevor Meyer, Warrior Beat 

Music can offer veterans a unique powerful tool to support healing and recovery.  In this session, organizations working at the intersection of music and veteran support will discuss how structured musical engagement fosters resilience, emotional regulation, and long-term wellness among veterans.

The War Came Home: A Journey of Love, Loss, Survival & Becoming Again

• Bianca Baldwin, The Major Darren Baldwin Legacy Foundation
• Fran Wesseling, Green Beret Foundation 

Personal and powerful stories of love, advocacy, caregiving, loss, and healing following a family member’s military service.  This session explores the realities of anticipatory grief, caregiving, and end of life experience. What it means to accept, endure, and continue forward after death. It offers an honest look at grief, healing and creating a legacy after loss, rebuilding life while embracing what is yet to come.

Community-Based Support for Veterans

• Ben Chandler, Pastures of Hope
• Eric Gentzel, The Overwatch Partnership
• Michele Hammers, Stark County Common Pleas Court, General Division
• Taryn Heath, Stark County Common Pleas Court, General Division
• Jim Robinson, Combat Outpost Robinson

Veteran-serving organizations play a critical role in meeting veterans where they are and connecting them to meaningful support.  This session will explore how collaborative, community-based approaches reduce isolation, address practical needs, and empower veterans through trusted relationships and shared purpose.

From Adversity to Advocacy

• Eric Sowers, M.S.W.

Drawing from his lived experience as a combat veteran and justice-involved individual, Eric Sowers shares a powerful story of accountability, recovery, and purpose.  His journey illustrates how healing is strengthened through service, connection, and advocacy for fellow veterans navigating life after service.