Who We Are

Michael Orban

Dr. H. Medical College of Wisconsin

Board Member, President

Orban co-founded The Warrior Partnership, a Medical College of Wisconsin program that offers veterans the chance to talk about their traumatic war experiences with medical students and offers students the chance to learn how to integrate the unique needs of this population into their care. He also co-founded the Incarcerated Veterans Project and serves on the community-academic advisory board for Milwaukee PROMPT (Prevention of Opioid Misuse through Peer Training project), a collaboration between MCW and local veterans that is developing innovative ways to address opioid deaths, misuse and disorder among veterans.

Vietnam Veteran Michael S. Orban has dedicated his life to helping fellow veterans transition from the experiences of war. This includes, over the past decade, working with the Medical College of Wisconsin on projects that directly impact the health care and opportunities    available to veterans.

Orban, a 45-year sufferer of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), spent years in U.S. Peace Corps Africa, USAID Cameroon and LBI engineering East Africa. Mike completed a three month inpatient PTSD treatment program at the Tomah , Wisconsin VA. Through keynote presentations on PTSD and suicide Orban provides educational resolutions and insights. . Having lost a brother and friend to suicide Mike considers the veteran and family as the primary health care unit and focuses much of his attention on here. He was presented with the Red Cross Real Heroes Award in 2013. Mike received his Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the Medical College of Wisconsin in part for his work concerning Veterans health


Diane Montgomery

Board Member and Vice President

Diane is experienced in working with the public and assessing their needs. Trained in counseling and experienced in sales and marketing, she is dedicated to helping and supporting veterans who suffer with PTSD.

 

 

 

Board Member and Secretary

New Board Member to be Selected


Board Member Treasurer

New Board Member to be Selected

 


David Carlson

Board Member

David joined the Wisconsin Army National Guard and served two tours of duty in Iraq was deployed to Iraq for a year in 2004 earning the rank of Sergeant/E5. David is completing his undergraduate degree and hopes to attend law school with a goal to help veterans in trouble with the criminal justice system.

David is an experienced and knowledgeable speaker focusing on education concerning the criminal justice system, PTSD and the Veterans Court System.


Alan Polachowski

Board Member

I was born and raised on the south side of Milwaukee and attended Don Bosco High School graduating in 1963.  In the fall of 63 I attended UW Eau Claire and graduated in Jan 1968 with a major in Economics and a minor in Political Science.  Upon graduated I was drafted into the US Army, and attended infantry basic and advanced training then on to OFFICER’S CANDIDATE SCHOOL at the Infantry School at Fort Banning,  GA.  My duty assignment includes Fort Jackson as a training officer and Fort Banning as a trainee in the Heavy Motor Platoon leader school.  Upon graduation I was assign to the Republic of Vietnam where I severed as a rifle platoon leader; commanding general’s briefing officer and an operations officer at the G5 Psyop.  I returned to the USAR and left after serving 8 additional years leaving at the rank of Major.

My professional career started with Xerox Corp as an Account Executive primarily responsible for selling copiers to a vertical market called GEM (Government, Educational and Medical).  After 6 yrs with Xerox, I was hired by a competitor called Creative Business Systems of Brookfield.  It was there that I went from Major Account sales to sales management.  In 1983, I moved on to an incentive company called Business Incentives of Minneapolis.  At BI, I was an account executive with a territory in Wisconsin.  In 1986, I decided to do something I always wanted to do – start my own company.  Starting in my basement, Diversified Services Management grew to a 2 million dollar IT service provider.  On December 29, 2011, I sold Diversified Services Management to Alexssa of West Bend.

As for my personal life, I married my college sweetheart Lynda Rasmussen.  Lynda my wife of 52 years is a retire Speech Clinician who worked in the West Bend School District for 26 years.  We were blessed with a beautiful daughter, Stacy.  Stacy is married and has 2 children (Sydney 17, Luke 14) and lives in Chicago.  Stacy is a major account executive with Heartland Computers of Chicago.  Her husband Lee is an account executive with Honeywell.

I have enjoyed serving on several board of directors in the past.  The organizations were Kettle Moraine YMCA for 18 years, the Moraine Park Technical College Foundation for 16 years.


Advisors

Dr. Michael McBride  

Dr. Michael McBride Lt. Colonel U.S. Army, Associate Professor of Psychiatry Medical College of Wisconsin, Psychiatry Staff VA Hospital Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doctor McBride has served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan

 

 


Dr. Greg Burek   

Dr. Gregory Burek is a Psychiatrist with Aurora Behavioral Health, an Assistant Professor at Medical College of Wisconsin, and a former U.S. Marine. Prior to his medical training, Dr.       

Burek was an infantry sergeant with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and he served in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is currently developing a veteran-specific Trauma Recovery and Re-training program with Aurora Health Care.

 


Jon Christensen

Jon is a Vietnam Veteran who served in-country in 1967-68. Jon remarks that boots-on-the-ground-in Vietnam created the opportunity to serve combat Veterans from Vietnam through the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as a trauma counselor. His own experience with anger, depression, alcohol and drug use and other symptoms of Post Vietnam Syndrome (now known as PTSD) has motivated him to engage in the fight to increase awareness that the war doesn’t stop when the Veteran comes home.

Jon has been focused on helping Veterans receive treatment in the Alcohol/Drug field, as a leader in Employee Assistance Programs, as Director of Operations and Clinical Director with the Center for Veteran Issues homeless program in Milwaukee, and as a counselor with the VA Vet Center. Through the years he has also maintained a private practice and initiated a Vietnam Veteran Chapter in Racine, WI. Most recently, Jon is the co-facilitator for Healing Warrior Hearts intensive weekend retreat for combat Veterans, those surviving Military Sexual Trauma and LBGT Veterans. He is an Elder with the Medical College Warrior Partnership and serves on community committees that focus on his interests.

Jon is married and lives in Franklin, WI. He is a graduate of UWM and holds a Masters Degree in Education and a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology. He is a licensed Professional Counselor, a certified alcohol/drug counselor, certified Employee Assistance Professional, a Nationally Certified Counselor and a Nationally Certified Mental Health Counselor.


Vera Roddy

Vera Roddy is a two tour Persian Gulf war veteran who is passionate about women veterans issues, MST and readjustment education.