From Rural Appalachiato DARPA innovation.
Three decades at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, emerging technology, and innovation—translating research into programs that advance learning, health, accessibility, and human performance.
Navy Captain (ret.) · Former DARPA PM
My story in 30 seconds
- Navy Captain (ret.) and former DARPA Program Officer — 22 years in uniform as an Aerospace Experimental Psychologist, followed by leadership of interdisciplinary R&D at DARPA.
- Launched the first DoD-funded VR therapy program for PTSD — now in 70+ Veterans Affairs clinics. Funded early work on virtual humans and conversational agents for mental health that has since become a field of its own.
- 17 years of R&D on conversational agents and chatbots for mental health and education — from the earliest DoD-funded virtual human work at ONR and DARPA through later work on ethical AI deployment.
- Built a long-running Sesame Workshop connection — from military family resources that reached millions to advising the partnership behind the Roblox experience Sesame Street: Magical Beastie Quest.
Why it's personal: Autism and neurodiversity are central to my work. As the father of two autistic adult sons, a Navy veteran, and someone who grew up in rural Appalachia, I know what it means to design with people who are too often left out of the process.
The Foundation
Navy Service, Research & The Birth of VR Therapy (1981–2014)
University Education and Research
After earning a B.A. in Psychology from Wake Forest, I worked in a neuroscience lab at Bowman Gray School of Medicine and then earned my Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at UNC Greensboro, where I built videogames to study auditory processing. In 1992, I chose an unexpected path beyond the lab and joined the Navy.
U.S. Navy Aerospace Experimental Psychologist
I commissioned as a Navy Aerospace Experimental Psychologist and trained alongside Navy Flight Surgeons in aviation physiology, survival, and flight operations. Across 22 years, I advanced from Lieutenant to Captain while leading research in simulation, spatial audio, virtual reality, human factors, medical technology, psychological health, and human performance. The Navy taught me how to move promising research from the laboratory into deployed capability.
Teaching & Serious Games: USAFA, NPS & America's Army
I taught psychology, human factors, leadership, and neuropsychology at the U.S. Air Force Academy, then joined the Naval Postgraduate School's MOVES Institute as Associate Professor and Technical Director. There I translated simulation research into training tools and served as Sound Designer for America's Army, an early federal serious game that reached more than 13 million registered users and earned a GameSpot nomination for Best Sound.
Office of Naval Research: VR Therapy Breakthrough
As an ONR Program Officer, I led R&D across psychological health, traumatic brain injury, medical training, and human performance. I launched the Department of Defense's first Virtual Reality Therapy program for PTSD and its first funded work on VR for pain control—an innovative and timely use of game technology when service members urgently needed new options.
Impact: The VR PTSD program was adopted by numerous Veterans Affairs clinics, and both VR exposure therapy and VR pain management became established clinical tools.
Military Health & Sesame Street Family Programs
At the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, I shaped science and technology investments, helped bring virtual reality into clinical care, and seeded early work on conversational agents for mental health.
From 2007 to 2013, I managed major collaborations with Sesame Workshop to support military children and families facing deployment, separation, grief, and injury. Working closely with the Sesame team, we created videos, storybooks, and apps that parents could share with children during difficult transitions. Outreach kits were distributed throughout the military; the program remains in use and has continued to grow. The work earned an Emmy nomination, two CINE Golden Eagle Awards, and an Interactive Media Award.
Scaling Impact
DARPA, The White House & National Policy (2010–2020)
DARPA: Interdisciplinary Innovation Portfolio
As a Program Officer in DARPA's Information Innovation Office, I led interdisciplinary R&D in psychological health and STEM education. The portfolio advanced intelligent agents and virtual humans for mental health, personalized educational games, learning analytics, adaptive systems, and novel approaches to art therapy for PTSD.
Transition: I also ran SBIR programs, worked across federal agencies and foundations, and helped early-stage companies move dual-use research toward practical use.
U.S. Dept of Education: Executive Director of STEM
As a Presidential appointee, I established the Department's first Office of STEM, coordinated strategy across more than 60 programs, built over 200 public-private partnerships, and led a national Early Childhood STEM initiative. I also formed media alliances with Google, Sesame Street, PBS, and Macmillan, published the "STEM 2026" framework, and advocated for ARPA-ED, an education R&D model I later helped philanthropies adapt.
Digital Promise: Education R&D Fund
As Senior Innovation Fellow, I co-created the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund, aligning several philanthropies around a DARPA-inspired model for education technology serving students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
American Psychological Association: Chief Science Officer (CSO)
I led APA's Science Directorate, created the Office of Applied Psychology, engaged policymakers on psychological health and addiction, and helped establish the Technology, Mind, and Society Conference as a recurring venue for research on human behavior and emerging technology.
The Personal Mission
Neurodiversity, Accessibility & Human-Centered Innovation
My Sons, My Mission
When both my sons were diagnosed with autism, I was no longer studying these problems from the outside. I was a father navigating systems that too often fail families like mine. That lived experience became the foundation for my work in accessibility, inclusive design, neurodiversity, and independent living.
Emerging Technology & Responsible Innovation
Sesame Street: Magical Beastie Quest: As a MindTrust Senior Innovation Advisor, I advised the Sesame Workshop and Roblox partnership that produced Sesame Street: Magical Beastie Quest, an educational experience where children explore 123 Sesame Street, care for Abby's magical creatures, build words, and play learning-focused mini-games.
I also advised the EdSafe AI Alliance on responsible AI in education and served on the founding advisory board of MVMT Ventures, an accessibility-focused venture studio.
Independent Innovation Work
In 2022, I founded Shilling Forge Consulting to consolidate a period of independent innovation work. I helped nonprofits, philanthropies, startups, and public-sector initiatives apply emerging technology responsibly, drawing on DARPA-style program management and experience in conversational agents, education, behavioral health, immersive learning, and accessibility.
Autism Advocacy & Global Policy
I served on the Medical and Science Advisory Committee at Autism Speaks, advising on how emerging technology could support accessibility, health, and independent living. As the father of two autistic adult sons, I kept the work grounded in what families needed.
In 2025, I helped shape the Autism Technology Conference in Doha and later joined a United Nations panel on inclusive technology and global policy. The work contributed to the launch of the Global Autism Advocacy Coalition by Qatar Foundation, WHO, UNICEF, and Autism Speaks.
Sidekick Platform: AI-Powered Wellness
I served as Senior Innovation Advisor at Sidekick Platform, applying a 17-year research arc in conversational agents for education and mental health. The work translated ethical AI, human oversight, accessibility, and evidence-based behavioral principles into product design. That arc began with ONR and DARPA virtual-human research and included the published chapter Autonomous virtual human agents for healthcare information support and clinical interviewing. The platform later released a version through the Veterans Affairs App Store to help veterans navigate benefits and obtain care.
What Has Driven the Work
Across three decades, my work has been guided by a simple principle: emerging technologies should be shaped with—not merely for—the people most affected by them. That perspective connects my work in military research, DARPA, education, behavioral health, accessibility, and autism advocacy.
