Chris Merkle
After dedicating 14 years of his life to the U.S. Marines, Christopher R. Merkle has become an advocate for veterans and dedicates countless hours to volunteering for veteran organizations, particularly veteran surf camps with Team RWB. Merkle has made it a point to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health by openly sharing his own struggle with post-traumatic stress (PTS) and how the BraveMind virtual reality exposure therapy technology used to treat PTS positively impacted his life. Merkle is an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the Readjustment Counseling Services and is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Aging American Project. He is currently working to earn his doctoral degree in clinical psychology to personally provide mental health care to other veterans.
