Stephanie Felder, PhD, LCSW, CEM, CAC-II

Dr. Stephanie Felder is a Captain (CAPT) in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and currently serves as the Traumatic Brain Injury Special Projects Lead at the Defense Health Agency's Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence. From 2019 to 2022, she held the role of Chief of Traumatic Brain Injury Outcomes, overseeing the management of traumatic brain injury outcomes for 450,000+ U.S. Armed Forces’ active-duty personnel, veterans, and their families.

CAPT Felder is detailed as a Health Advisor, a behavioral health subject matter expert, for the Uniformed Services University, National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health. Additionally, CAPT Felder is the Lead Consultant for the pioneering Disaster Relief Social Work Curriculum at the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE), a major accrediting body for social work education in the United States. She also serves as adjunct faculty for Tulane University’s social work doctoral program and the master’s degree in the Disaster Resilience Leadership Studies program.

Previously, CAPT Felder served as the Region III Officer in Charge and Chief of Behavioral Health within the Office of the Surgeon General for the Public Health Emergency Response Strike Team. Her service record includes more than ten deployments addressing various emergencies, including humanitarian border crises, stateside Afghan missions, and hurricane responses. Notably, she demonstrated exceptional leadership as the Behavioral Health Officer-in- Charge at New York City’s Javits Center during the initial COVID-19 pandemic wave. Leading a Joint Service Behavioral Health Team of over 30 members—including psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers—she coordinated comprehensive behavioral health support for more than 2,500 staff and patients, and managed mortuary affairs and hospital transfers.

With 12 years of leadership in the U.S. Public Health Service, CAPT Felder has provided program management, technical assistance, research, evaluation, and data analysis across multiple agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. Her expertise includes managing grants for HIV/AIDS services for medically underserved populations, providing technical assistance during natural disasters, and overseeing clinical standards for hospice and home health agencies.

Before her commission, she was the Healthcare for Homeless Veteran Coordinator at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center in North Carolina, advocating for female veterans experiencing homelessness. CAPT Felder, a recipient of a full academic scholarship from The Catholic University of America, completed a doctoral degree in social work focusing on homelessness among female veterans. She has dedicated over 15 years to advocacy efforts addressing homelessness, emergency management, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and the needs of economically oppressed communities.