A familiar face steps into a defining role, and the clinical heart of Camp Aftermath’s Veteran and first responder mental health program continues, stronger than ever.
Lise Preston
Today we’re proud to share a milestone in the life of our program. Lise Preston, a licensed social worker who has walked alongside our participants since our earliest days, has been appointed Camp Aftermath’s new Chief Mental Health Professional.
For those who have been part of our community for a while, this news comes with a smile of recognition. Lise is not a new name to us. She has been here, in the room and on the ground, since Roto 2 in Costa Rica, nearly the whole of our journey.
Someone our people already know and trust
The heart of Camp Aftermath has always been the same simple thing: a Veteran or first responder should never have to do the hard work of healing alone. Lise embodies that. As our onsite clinical lead, she has spent years supporting Canadian Veterans and first responders through operational stress, and she carries a rare and quiet gift, the ability to make people feel safe enough to begin.
That trust is not built in a boardroom. It is built over years, in the shared silences of a retreat, in the honest conversations that happen when someone finally feels understood. Lise has earned it, cohort after cohort.
Continuity, not a reset
Lise steps into this role on the recommendation of Dr. John Whelan, our founding clinical advisor, as he moves into a national role with the True Patriot Love Foundation.
That detail matters. When a program’s clinical leader moves on, the natural question is whether the standard of care goes with them. For us, the answer is a firm no. The rigour, the compassion, and the clinical integrity that Dr. Whelan built into Camp Aftermath do not leave. They continue, in the hands of someone who helped build them.
This is a deliberate, seamless transition. Our participants will not feel a disruption. They will feel the same steady, trustworthy care they have always known, now led by someone who has been part of that care from the beginning.
Lise Preston on Roto 2
What this means for the road ahead
As we prepare for Roto 9, our women-only cohort, and for every cohort that follows, Lise’s leadership gives us something invaluable: consistency at the very core of our Veteran and first responder mental health program. Our Mental Health Professional Advisory Committee remains strong, our clinical standards remain high, and the person guiding them is someone who has lived our mission alongside us for years.
On behalf of our Board of Directors, our volunteers, our clinical team, and most of all our participants, please join us in welcoming Lise Preston to this role.
Welcome, Lise. We are grateful to have you leading our clinical heart.
