VetArtSpan

Your host Fred Johnson has a conversation with Sila Regester, one of the dedicated participants in the Veteran Civilian Arts Ensemble at the Straz Center. Sila served 22 years in the United States Army, retiring as an Administrative Non-Commissioned Officer. Her most exhilarating job was Drill Instructor at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in the mid-eighties. She now works at the James A Haley Veterans Hosp...

In this enlightening episode, your host Fred Johnson talks with Moira G. McGuire, retired nurse officer with the US Public Health Service and Assistant Chief, General Internal Medicine and chief of Integrative Health & Wellness at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda. She was the Program Manager of Warrior Clinic, and the founder of the first arts and health program at a military...

Fred Johnson, the host and guiding light of these podcasts, sits down for a deep conversation with Theo and Brianne Roading. Theo is an Army veteran who was medially discharged after a severe injury. His road back to civilian life led him and his wife to the Tampa Bay Area, and together were introduced to the Veteran Civilian Arts Ensemble at the Straz Theater. Theo worked with Guitars for Vets in...

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson has a wonderful conversation with Air Force veteran and painter Bernadette Dunn. A few years ago "Bernie" began attending the Straz Center's Veteran Civilian Arts Ensemble, and she is now a key member of the group. Her connection began with the James Haley VA Hospital, where she participates in the whole-health "Drive to Thrive program." In this conversation we learn a...

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson has an enlightening conversation with yoga instructor Annie Okerlin, founder of the Exalted Warrior Foundation, which facilitates adaptive yoga instruction programs for Veterans, active duty and military reserves, as well as spouses and caregivers in VA hospitals and in community studio spaces around the country. Annie explains how yoga applies to the warrior's view of...

Guest host Cathy DeWitt invites Dr. Mark Staples into the Gainesville VetArtSpan studio for a conversation about his work at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center. Dr. Staples is a cardiac surgeon and intensive care doctor, but he also serves veterans and their families though music. He and Cathy discuss the reactions he gets when patients see their doctor playing music for them in their room. You'...

Intrepid VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson meets with Army veteran Urban Light to discuss her evocative journey toward becoming a spoken word artist. She is active in the Courage and Grace Foundation, which provides resources and support to women veterans. Through arts mentorship and the sharing of stories, the work helps build confidence for these women veterans (and their families) as they reintegrat...

Fred Johnson gets together with Army veteran and poet Samantha Sampson. Her family has deep roots in the military, and she shares some of the inspirations that drive her to create her deeply personal spoken word creations. She is a member of the Vet/Civilian Dance Company at the Straz Center, and her poems were used in a multi-dimensional performance celebrating the 2021 Juneteenth event at the St...

Guest host Cathy DeWtt has an engaging conversation with Vietnam combat veteran Bill Hutchinson, who is a well-known musician, concert organizer, and raconteur. Bill tells several amazing stories, and perhaps the most compelling one is how sharing a song saved his life in a scary situation in Vietnam. Cathy and Bill even do a short reenactment of the moment! They go on to explore the way music can...

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson talks with fellow Marine veteran Chris Stowe about Chris's journey from being an Explosives Ordnance Disposal Technician deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to becoming an accomplished artist working towards his Master of Fine Arts degree. His creative path began with a mask-making art therapy experience and has blossomed into his glass-making work with Operation: Art of...

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson visits with Noah White and Anna Pasquale, the driving forces behind the Creative Forces Open Studio within the Jacksonville-Onslow Council for the Arts in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Noah and Anna share their experiences as both administrators and artists serving the veteran community with a program that encourages and nurtures creative expression. This conversation...

This episode of VetArtSpan features guest host Cathy DeWitt in an interview with Vietnam veteran and musician Reed Franklin.  Shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, Reed decided to return to Vietnam after being away from the battlefield for 40 years. This decision resulted in amazing experiences and connections: going to Hanoi for the first time, playing music for hospital patients and singing...

In this VetArtSpan podcast, host Fred Johnson has a conversation with Maxine Reyes, who talks about her life in the military with a husband who was also deployed, all the while while raising a child. Her transition to civilian life includes a re-blossoming of her artistic career as an in-demand musician. She is an active supporter of the veteran community and is a two-time recipient of the Humanit...

The VetArtSpan team visits two VA hospitals to talk with art and music therapists, musicians in residence, volunteers, veterans, and administrators about the impact of music and art on the veteran community. We start with Merrilee Jorn and Natalie Quintana at the James Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, continue with Diane Garrison, Jeff Hesch, and Cathy DeWitt at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Cen...

In Part Two of our story we continue to explore the journey home for our veterans who transition back into civilian life. VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson interviews a group of women veterans who have embraced creative expression as a way to smooth their unique reintegration process. Many of these women are involved in the Diavolo Dance project, in conjunction with Straz Salutes. This two-part story w...

The journey home can take a long time for our veterans who transition back into civilian life. VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson interviews a group of women veterans who have embraced creative expression as a way to smooth their unique reintegration process. Many of these women are involved in the Diavolo Dance project, in conjunction with Straz Salutes. This two-part story was recorded at the Straz Ce...

Our VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson talks with esteemed teacher, choreographer, producer, and director John Parks. Fresh from his collaboration with Diavolo dance and a group of inspired veterans, John talks about how movement is a universal means of expression, and how "muscle memory" can give us a way to become fluent in the language of movement. Usually used to "feeding" his students, he and the v...

Fred Johnson and the VetArtSpan team spent a dynamic morning with a group of veterans who were creating a team-based glass sculpture – from concept to finished product. Moving together as one and handling the 2000 degree glass helps them stay in the “now” moment. They tell the story of art as a healing force in their own words. The program's mission is to serve the military and veteran population...

Our host Fred Johnson engages in a conversation with vocalist and inspirational speaker Jennifer Samuel-Chance. Her life journey moved through a career in business and morphed into the life of an artist. Blessed with a powerful voice, she sings opera and coaches people on becoming authentic storytellers. Her artistic journey lead her to showing veterans that all stories matter. By helping them acc...

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson guides us on a conversation with dancer and choreographer Dwayne Scheuneman. Dwayne's life as a dancer is manifested from his heart, and from his wheel-chair. He evolved from the world of athletics to perhaps the unlikely world of dance, where he found the artistic expression of movement helped to tell his story, and helps many veterans live their stories through the e...

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson interviews Victor Carlos Alcantara, a veteran of 20 years with the Air Force as an aeromedical technician. His love of painting started early in life, and after serving in Viet Nam and the Gulf War, he returned to his art to become a highly accomplished painter as well as building a successful career in public health management. Fred and Carlos talk about how being ale...

VetArtSpan podcast host Fred Johnson talks with Belicia Adams and Alexis STIX Brown, who are the heart and soul of Paint22.com, an organization that provides welcoming art-making experiences to veterans and their families. Alexis and Belicia talk about their artistic process and how they help create those uplifting and creative experiences for the veteran families they work with.

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson has an enlightening conversation with Erica Guevara, wife of veteran Manny. She shares her thoughts on the Vet Civilian Dialog and how the experience brought connection and peace for her and Manny. She finds a new role for art as she and her family help to transition Manny back into the civilian life, and she rediscovers herself as a prolific painter.

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson has an intimate conversation with veteran Ryan Bodge, along with his wife Tiffany, son Garrett, and service dog Bradley. The family speaks of their shared experience during and after Ryan's deployments, and of how they all pulled together to support each other. Ryan tells us how tapping into the experience of making art and training service dogs helped him on the journ...

VetArtSpan host Fred Johnson leads a group discussion with veterans, their families, and civilians. This conversation is all about understanding the issues facing veterans, and the idea is to create a safe space for all to express their feelings about a variety of issues facing veterans as they reintegrate from active duty. The goal is to encourage everyone to participate in this sort of dialog, w...