The people behind MindImmerse.

Donald Schuman

PhD, LCSW-S, LCDC

Co-founder and Managing Member

Vietnam combat infantryman

Dr. Schuman completed 27 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Sergeant Major (E-9); his decorations include the Legion of Merit and the Combat Infantryman Badge, earned in ground combat in Vietnam. Earning his MSW during his final years of service, he built a second career leading substance use treatment programs, with clinical directorships from Landstuhl to Fort Hood and a final post as the commanding general's chief advisor on substance use and suicide prevention at Fort Rucker. He is now a university associate professor of practice in social work and has helped develop curricula in military social work and substance use treatment. A Texas-licensed clinical social work supervisor and chemical dependency counselor, Don leads business strategy and operations and keeps every product grounded in the people it serves.

Donna Schuman

PhD, LCSW, LPC, BCB, BCN

Co-founder and Chief Science Officer

Suicide prevention and clinical simulation research

Dr. Schuman is a university associate professor of social work. She holds a PhD in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington, an MSSW from the University of Texas at Austin, an MEd in counseling from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a BA in psychology from the University of Maryland University College in Heidelberg, Germany. She is a 2013 Tillman Scholar of the Pat Tillman Foundation. Before academia she spent over 15 years in clinical practice, including three years as a counseling psychologist in the Army Substance Abuse Program at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, social work with the Temple VA Health Care System, and three years as a social worker and family therapist at Lyster Army Health Clinic, Fort Rucker. A BCIA fellow in biofeedback and neurofeedback and President-Elect of the Biofeedback Society of Texas, she has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles on veteran suicide prevention, simulation training, and biofeedback. She leads clinical design and research at MindImmerse.

Dayton Ann Williams

MBA, PMP®, MSW

Military-Connected Veteran Advocate and Grief Companion

Certified Mental Health Peer Support Specialist

A former Senior Project Manager at IBM, Dayton left a distinguished corporate career after the death of her son, Sgt Tyrell Seth Williams, USMC, who served three combat tours in Iraq and was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Austin in 2008 as he prepared to study psychology at the University of Texas. She now walks alongside others in their darkest moments. A published author, she wrote Through the Grief: A Mother’s Journey and Dragonflies: New Beginnings for Healing from Grief and Loss. She holds an MSW from the University of Texas at Arlington with a published thesis on posttraumatic growth and depreciation in combat veterans, and provides pro bono telehealth peer support to veterans. In his honor, she established the Sgt Tyrell Seth Williams, USMC Endowed Scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin. At the heart of everything she does is a simple belief: no one should have to suffer alone.

Andrew Picart

MSW, LMSW, PMP®

U.S. Army Veteran and Program Director

Certified Mental Health Peer Support Specialist

A medically retired U.S. Army Veteran, Andrew leads a case management program supporting Veterans throughout the VA disability examination process, with a particular focus on those who have experienced military sexual trauma. He previously served as a suicide prevention counselor with the Veterans Crisis Line. He holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington, is a certified Project Management Professional, and has co-authored research on posttraumatic growth, transformation, and transition among U.S. Veterans. Drawing on his own service and his training in social work and project management, his work rests on a simple standard: that Veterans be understood in the full context of their experiences and served by systems rigorous enough to be reliable and humane enough to be trusted.

Dr. Alex Conroy

Clinical Psychologist and Addictions Counselor

Veteran spouse · Trauma treatment and veteran program evaluation

A clinical psychologist and addictions counselor with specialized expertise in trauma treatment among high-risk populations, Dr. Conroy brings more than 25 years in the state college system, where she consulted on the design, development, and evaluation of instructional programs across a broad range of career fields. She has developed faculty workshops on integrating multimedia instructional technologies and has formally evaluated educational and support programs serving military veterans. Through her husband, a former U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, she also brings a personal understanding of military culture. Her combined expertise in trauma, instructional design, and veteran-focused program evaluation shapes evidence-informed training for future providers serving veteran populations.

Rigo Sanchez

LMSW

U.S. Marine Combat Veteran and Mental Health Therapist

Juvenile justice crisis intervention and suicide prevention

A U.S. Marine Corps infantry veteran, Rigo provides crisis intervention and therapeutic services to youth in a juvenile detention setting, specializing in suicide prevention, behavioral health, and the treatment of adolescents in acute mental health crisis. He earned his Master of Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he worked on the VET-SAVR research project, funded by UTA's Center for Rural Health and Nursing and Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (CRTLE). His work centers on helping vulnerable young people build resilience and find stability during the hardest moments of their lives. He volunteers in support of fellow Veterans and advocates for accessible, compassionate mental health care. He believes healing begins when people are genuinely heard, understood, and supported in rediscovering purpose and hope.