Cancer survivor at five. Mental health survivor. The leader
who turned his hardest chapters into a mission to make sure
other people get out alive — 22 veterans at a time.
Eric does not speak about mental health from a theory. He speaks
from the floor. A survivor of childhood leukemia at age five, and
later of an accidental overdose on antidepressants during a mental
health crisis following his divorce, Eric took his hardest chapters
and built a mission around them. The son of a U.S. Air Force veteran
and clinical neuropsychologist, he founded
The Veterans Connection (TVC) in 2012 as a 501(c)(3)
focused on veteran and first responder mental health and suicide
prevention — tackling the heartbreaking reality that 22
veterans die by suicide every day in the United States.
To create a sustainable funding engine for TVC, Eric co-founded 22
Salute Spirits & Coffee, a mission-driven social enterprise
offering premium South Texas Mesquite Smoked Coffee and veteran-made
spirits, including 22 Salute Vodka, filtered 22 times in honor of
the 22 lives lost each day. He is a four-time international
bestselling author, LA Tribune Best Selling Author, certified health
and wellness coach, podcast host, and digital marketing expert with
24 years in sales training and leadership. His chapter is a rare
gift — from a leader who had to rebuild trust with himself
first before trying to help anyone else.