Meet The Team

COL Jeff McNeil is the Chief Operational Psychologist for the US Army Talent Management Task Force. He is the longest serving Operational Psychologist in the US Army. COL McNeil served in Army and Joint Special Operations from 2001-2022, including the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He also served 5 years in a US Army Special Mission Unit and three years the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Previous to special operations assignments, COL McNeil served as the 82D Airborne Division Psychologist at Fort Bragg, and completed his internship at Dwight Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

COL McNeil has conducted, validated, and assisted with the development of numerous assessment and selection courses over the last two decades. He is the former Army Operational Psychology Consultant to Surgeon General. COL McNeil helped design the Operational Psychology in Personnel Selection Course for USASOC. As the Director of Psychological Applications at USASOC, he served on the Health, Performance and Wellness council for the Commanding General. COL McNeil is a certified SERE Psychologist by the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency and has conducted several real world and training reintegration missions. He is Aeromedical Psychologist qualified and has served as a non-rated crewmember with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. COL McNeil has deployed in support of combat operations across CENTCOM.

COL McNeil earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University, his M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Navy War College, and his B.A. in Political Science from Michigan State University. He currently serves as a faculty member for the US Army Consulting Psychology Fellowship and an instructor for the USASOC Operational Psychology in Personnel Selection course and the USASOC Introduction to Operational Psychology Course.

Who else do you know who has top-level experience in comedy, film, and TV production (SNL, Ghostbusters, 30+ comedy awards,) plus in Academia, app production, science and business, with three successful startups so far.  (Seriously, tell us, we are tired of Frank’s hype.)

Prior to this, Frank was an Adjunct Professor in Web Video at USC, UCLA, Chapman, Pepperdine University, and Emerson College.  He began his media career in writing and production at SNL. Frank has won 30+ awards for producing comedy videos for HBO, Showtime, CBS, and more. He launched the world’s first mobile comedy channel, and was featured on the front pages of Forbes Magazine, the LA Times, the Wall Street Journal and the NY Times. He is vetted by Professionals in humor therapy, and is now proud to be named a Certified Humor Professional of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. 

Brenda Joy Lauer has been a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) since 2005. She earned her bachelors degree in Psychology from Drury University and her Masters of Arts in Counseling degree from Webster University. In 2020 she certified in hypnosis and has been the Executive Director of The Truman Foundation since 2018. Her passion is to work with veterans and advocate for service dogs as well as working as a licensed therapist. 

Brenda has over 18 years of experience in providing counseling services to children, adults, and families in a private practice setting as the clinical director near Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. She specializes in working with military and family members and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

Currently she provides mental health therapy online and works with diverse populations children, adults, individuals, couples, LGBQTIA, veteran, military, and other populations. 

Brenda enjoys helping others through her foundation to educate the public about service dogs and to support veterans who want a service dog or have a service dog. She is very passionate about giving shelter dogs a second chance through service dog work.