Veterans and Psychedelics

Michelle Priest is a research project specialist at RAND focusing on psychedelics and mental health policy. Priest is the co-lead of the RAND Psychedelics Survey and is a mixed methods researcher with specialized skills in human-centered design and survey methods. She has B.A.s in economics and linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles as well as an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in policy analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy.

Before to joining RAND, Priest ran her own design consultancy working on civic innovation. She has also worked in the technology sector at Google on the launch of Google+ and at a startup managing software development for the U.S. and Australian militaries.

Beau Kilmer (he/him) is the codirector of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center and a senior policy researcher at the nonprofit and nonpartisan RAND Corporation.

His research lies at the intersection of public health and public safety, with special emphasis on substance use, illegal markets, crime control, and public policy. Some of his current projects include assessing the consequences of cannabis legalization (with a special focus on social equity); measuring the effect of 24/7 Sobriety programs on impaired driving, domestic violence, and mortality; analyzing changes in illegal fentanyl markets; and considering the implications of legalizing psychedelics.

Kilmer's publications have appeared in leading journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Science, and his commentaries have been published by CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other outlets. Two editions of his coauthored book on cannabis legalization were published by Oxford University Press, and his coauthored book on the future of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids was published by RAND.

Kilmer served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape. From 2023–2025, he was vice president of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. He received his Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University, his M.P.P. from UC Berkeley, and his B.A. from Michigan State University.

Duane K. L. France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and licensed professional counselor. He is a senior project associate at Policy Research Associates, a national leader in behavioral health research and technical assistance, working to create positive social change. In this role, he co-leads a Technical Assistance Center jointly funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

France served 22 years in the military, including assignments in Germany, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Following his military career, he worked as a clinical counselor and nonprofit executive supporting veterans and military families. He is a graduate of the George W. Bush Institute Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, has held leadership roles with the American Counseling Association, and holds master’s degrees in clinical mental health counseling and business administration, as well as a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Dr. Boris Heifets is a neuroanesthesiologist and associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine at Stanford University. He directs both clinical and basic neuroscience research programs that bridge neuroscience, psychiatry, and anesthesiology. His research focuses on deconstructing the neural mechanisms underlying an emerging class of rapid-acting psychiatric therapies, such as ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, and propofol. 

Dr. Heifet’s work, along with that of his group, is leading to new insights into the therapeutic potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Dr. Paula Schnurr is a psychologist who is executive director of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Mental Health. She previously served as the center’s deputy executive director, beginning in 1989 as one of the center’s founders.

Dr. Schnurr is a professor of psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and is editor-in-chief of the Clinician’s Trauma Update–Online. She is currently serving as the co-lead for the research workstream of an Integrated Project Team on psychedelic medicine in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Schnurr is past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Traumatic Stress. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the International Society for traumatic stress studies. Her research focuses PTSD treatment, including psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and on risk and resilience factors associated with the long-term physical and mental health outcomes of traumatic exposure.