Mission-ready Team
Former Navy SEAL Kevin Gatley has joined the center as the program’s operations officer, leading the vision for improving cognitive capacity in the military and leveraging his own experience to ensure the integrated application of BrainHealth tools. He has advocated for cognitive performance protocols for the military since 2014 and previously championed the center’s SMART™ seminars to SEAL & SWCC teams within Naval Special Warfare. “I believe that wars are won by the healthiest, most nimble minds. This is why it is critical to maximize the potential of what will always be our most powerful tool and weapon, the human brain,” said Gatley. “Just as importantly, strengthening brain health might help prevent or mitigate many of the health issues that afflict service members during and after their careers – and the good news is that we have the power to affect this based on how we use our brains day in and day out.”Prior to BrainHealth, Gatley served as VP of Operations at a construction technology start-up developing robotics and artificial intelligence to address the nation’s housing crisis. Previously, he served for 13 years as a Navy SEAL, including six combat deployments. Gatley was awarded the Bronze Star, Navy Commendation Medal (Combat) x 3, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, and other service honors. He concluded his military career in 2022 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander while serving as a dedicated mentor to SEAL Officers on the West Coast.Colleen Ryan-Hensley serves as the team’s SMART FiT (Facilitator in Training) lead, training coaches embedded within the military. She joined the center in 2014 as a clinician working with active duty and veteran service members, and as a coach with The BrainHealth Project, the center’s large-scale, longitudinal study identifying actionable strategies for optimizing brain health throughout life. She is also a postgraduate student in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.Ryan-Hensley served in the U.S. Navy as an Aegis Fire Controlman and fitness leader for 10 years, completing three combat deployments. After service, she earned a master’s degree in performance psychology and advocated for veteran wellness through a fellowship with The Mission Continues and by lobbying with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, contributing to the passing of the Clay Hunt SAV Act. As the center’s director of programs, Jennifer Zientz, MS, CCC-SLP, oversees the development, testing and administration of performance-based assessments. She facilitates the center’s proprietary Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART™) brain training workshop, which empowers individuals to take charge of strengthening their focus, mental efficiency, reasoning and possibility thinking. Over the past 15+ years, she has worked with hundreds of groups including military leadership, active-duty special operators, veterans and their spouses, law enforcement officers, corporate executives and leadership teams, community leaders, athletes and graduate students.A Powerful Program Grounded in Science
Optimal BrainHealth for Warfighters provides active-duty military, families and veterans with essential brain health tools, building resilience ahead of deployment and helping those affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress (PTS) and similar issues. Through on-site and mobile brain health metrics, training and coaching – the program incorporates military-specific applications and transition tools into the BrainHealth App –participants are empowered to take charge of their brain health and performance, measuring and tracking change over time. Research shows military service members face consistent interrelated health challenges and functional impairments, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, sleep disturbance, depression, addiction and suicide — yet most current interventions fail to capitalize on neuroplasticity, even though evidence shows the brain retains a remarkable capacity to be continually strengthened and rewired.Throughout its 25-year history, Center for BrainHealth has worked with service members from every branch of the military. The BrainHealth team has trained more than 5,000 active-duty service members, veterans and spouses in SMART™ brain training. In multiple peer-reviewed studies, the efficacy of our SMART protocol has been demonstrated through neurocognitive assessments of executive functions, and in measures of psychological wellbeing and daily life – producing significant gains in neural health, cognition, well-being, connectedness and real-life function. Cognitive strategy training taps into the brain’s remarkable capacity for continual:- Strengthening across domains (i.e., clarity of thinking, ability to quickly turn input to insightful action, emotional balance in adversity, and empathetic connection to team members, loved ones, and sense of purpose).
- Rewiring to enhance brain performance – even years after suffering a brain-related event.
