Stephan Wolfert, LCSW, MSW, MFA, is a licensed clinical social worker, U.S. Army veteran, and acclaimed theater artist whose career bridges the worlds of trauma recovery and classical performance. With a Master of Social Work and a Certificate in Trauma Practice from Simmons University, Stephan brings over two decades of experience supporting adult trauma survivors—including military veterans, incarcerated individuals, and returning citizens—through a unique synthesis of neuroscience, psychotherapy, and the performing arts. He is the founder of DE-CRUIT®, an evidence-based program that uses Shakespeare and somatic practices to help individuals heal from PTSD and complex trauma. His mental health work has been recognized by leading organizations, including the National Alliance for Mental Illness (Max Gabriel Memorial Award) and the American Group Psychotherapy Association (Aaron Stein Award). Stephan’s research contributions include over 20 peer-reviewed articles and multiple book chapters on arts-based trauma interventions. As a keynote speaker, clinician, and educator, Stephan has presented at NYU, UCLA, the International Trauma Conference, the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, and the Trauma Research Foundation. His internationally toured solo show Cry Havoc! has been performed over 500 times and is acclaimed for its integration of lived experience, clinical insight, and classical text to illuminate the invisible wounds of war.
Alisha Ali, Ph.D. – Dr. Ali is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University with extensive expertise in developing and evaluating community-based interventions for the effects of violence, poverty, and trauma. Her role on the DE-CRUIT team is to oversee and direct all aspects of evaluation, as well as the manualization and integration of the cognitive processing and narrative therapy components into the program.
Bruce Homer, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Homer is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the Learning, Development and Instruction subprogram. He is the director of the Child Interactive Learning and Development (CHILD) Lab at the Graduate Center. His research examines how children acquire and use “cultural tools” to store and transmit knowledge (e.g., language, literacy, and information technologies), and how these tools transform developmental and learning processes. Of particular interest is how development and learning affect the ways in which mental representations are formed. Dr. Homer has a number of currently active lines of research. In his role on the DE-CRUIT program, he orchestrates inclusion of recording technology in evaluation, and also coordinates performance of research and data analysis.
Dawn Stern is the Chief Operating Officer of DE-CRUIT, a Project Specialist for Collectively Rooted—a company empowering leaders and organizations to shape the future of mental health—and a 2022 Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) Fellow. Born on a military base outside Tokyo, Japan, to a Korean and Vietnam War veteran, she holds a B.S. in Theatre Performance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIU-E) and earned her AFTRA, AEA, and SAG union memberships early in her career in St. Louis and Chicago. After relocating to Los Angeles, Dawn built a television career appearing in multiple pilots, series regular roles, and over two dozen guest star performances. A lifelong lover of Shakespeare, she has played Kate, Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra, Olivia, Paulina, Goneril, Elizabeth, and Margaret in theaters from New York to Prague. From 2020 to 2022, she served as co-chair of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Accountability (IDEAA) Committee for the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA).
Craig Manbauman, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, is a Family Nurse Practitioner who earned his degree at the Yale School of Nursing and currently serves as a faculty member at YSN. His deep, personal commitment to veteran health is rooted in his prior service as a U.S. Air Force Aerospace Medic. Craig has extensive experience as a trauma-informed facilitator, including his role as the Regional Class Coordinator for DE-CRUIT, where he leverages the
arts and theater to create supportive and therapeutic spaces for veterans. Craig’s approach integrates clinical expertise with lived experience, and he passionately advocates for policy change and structural solutions to improve health outcomes for veterans, marginalized communities, and the dedicated healthcare workers who serve them. His work emphasizes holistic well-being across the continuum of care.
Robin Ludwig – U.S. Air Force (ANG) First Sergeant, retired, Author, poet and closet Shakespearean, Robin has been writing for over twenty years. Upon earning a BA in English from the University of Texas at Arlington, she taught literature and writing in Texas and in England. Since 2002 she has served in the U.S. Air Force (ANG) and has volunteered for multiple humanitarian and hurricane response missions. She is passionate about DE-CRUIT and has been leading the Fort Worth classes since May 2018. In her spare time she’s writes sonnets about her life in the military, homeschools her two sons and travels the world with her race-car-driving husband. To learn more about Robin visit www.robinludwigwrites.com
Mary Jo McConnell – MJ is a proud veteran, having served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. With a BSN in Nursing from NYU, certification as a health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and training as a guided meditation leader she is honored to combine and offer these skills as a “decruiter”. On the artistic side, she is currently an actor with thirty-five years of professional experience and an MFA from American Conservatory Theatre. You might have seen her perform in the National Tours of The Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Sister Act and All Shook Up. Starting in February 2020, she can be seen in The Hunt on Amazon Prime. Connect with her on Instagram @maryjomcconnell.
Alex Mallory – Alex has worked with military veterans since 2012 as a facilitator, director, and producer with DE–CRUIT, The Telling Project, LaGuardia Community College, and the Veteran Artist Program, with whom she produced The Home Show at Lincoln Center. She is currently living in Chicago, completing her thesis for an MFA in Directing at Northwestern University where she is investigating human agency, violence, and identity. Directing highlights include Mary Stuart with an all-womxn cast and an original adaptation of Spring Awakening at Northwestern and four projects developed with Poetic Theater Productions in NYC: Goliath and Dijla Wal Furat (written by USMC veteran Maurice Decaul) at Wild Project, Faith at Culture Project’s Women Center Stage Festival, and The Refuge Project for Bedlam MadLAB. She holds a BA from Stanford University where she received the Louis Sudler Prize in Creative Arts and the Sherifa Omade Edoga Prize for work involving social issues. Associate Member, SDC. See www.alexmallory.com.
Mitchell Stephens – BFA in Acting from Texas Christian University is an actor and educator located in DFW. He specifically works with incarcerated veterans at the Green Bay Jail Facility in Fort Worth teaching and leading DE-CRUIT Workshops. As an actor, he has worked all over the country and is a proud member of the DE-CRUIT team.
Jason Cleveland – CEO of biotech startup, Lab79 Technologies, and research fellow at SomaLogic in Boulder. In 1990, he obtained a B.A. in Math and Physics from the University of Minnesota where he was a Goldwater scholar. At Minnesota, he worked in the lab of Dan Dahlberg in low temperature physics and magnetism. He received his Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from UCSB in 1995 where he worked on atomic force microscopes (AFM) in the lab of Paul Hansma. From 1996 through 1999 he was a research scientist at Digital Instruments, an AFM manufacturer. He co-founded an AFM company, Asylum Research, in 1999 and served as Chairman and then CEO until its sale to Oxford Instruments in 2012. He is an author on more than 40 scientific publications and an inventor on nearly 50 patents. On the DE-CRUIT team, Jason serves as Chairman of the Board.
ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH THE DE-CRUIT TEAM
New York City was selected for a DE-CRUIT home for several reasons: New York state is one of only three states in the nation that has over one million veterans; The researchers in psychology that are guiding, evaluating and publishing Stephan’s work are based at New York University; The psychiatrist Dr. James Gilligan, who is helping to structure DE-CRUIT after his successful model in prison systems, lives in New York City.
Other partnerships with DE-CRUIT include:
