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Leadership

Patrick Nelligan

Patrick Nelligan is a co-founder of Mission URSA and a distinguished military and healthcare leader whose career has been dedicated to improving the systems that support those who serve. With more than four decades of experience spanning military leadership, healthcare technology, veteran services, and organizational development, he brings a deep understanding of the challenges facing veterans and the infrastructure required to create meaningful, lasting impact. A retired Chief Warrant Officer Five, Patrick served in some of the most senior warrant officer leadership positions within the United States Army Reserve, including 8th Command Chief Warrant Officer of the U.S. Army Reserve Command and Command Chief Warrant Officer of Army Reserve Medical Command. Throughout his career, he led complex initiatives involving healthcare systems, readiness operations, technology modernization, workforce development, and mission-critical support programs serving military personnel around the world. Patrick continues his service today through the Veterans Health Administration, where he supports healthcare technology and medical systems that directly affect veteran care and outcomes. His unique perspective across military, healthcare, and government environments enables Mission URSA to build strong partnerships, navigate complex stakeholder ecosystems, and align innovative solutions with real-world needs. At Mission URSA, Patrick helps guide strategic growth, veteran engagement, and partnerships with veteran-serving organizations, healthcare providers, philanthropic foundations, and public-sector stakeholders. He is committed to ensuring that veterans have access to proactive, evidence-informed resources that strengthen resilience, improve well-being, and help prevent challenges from escalating into crises. Patrick believes that lasting change happens when innovation, accountability, and service come together in support of a common mission: ensuring that every veteran has the opportunity to thrive long after their military service ends.

Rovi J. Saleh

Rovaida J. Saleh is a co-founder of Mission URSA and founder and CEO of Cynosure Connect, a health technology company focused on transforming how behavioral health risks are identified, understood, and addressed through proactive, technology-enabled support. Throughout her career, she has built organizations, led complex transformation initiatives, and developed innovative solutions across government, commercial, and nonprofit sectors. Her experience spans healthcare innovation, enterprise technology, procurement modernization, and digital infrastructure projects across the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. She has worked with government agencies, financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private-sector enterprises to modernize operations, improve transparency, and deliver meaningful outcomes at scale. The vision for Mission URSA emerged from a belief that support should begin long before a crisis. Working alongside veterans, healthcare professionals, and veteran-serving organizations, Rovi recognized that the effects of trauma, disrupted sleep, hypervigilance, isolation, and other behavioral health challenges often reveal themselves through patterns and signals long before intervention occurs. Determined to help close that gap, she helped establish Mission URSA to advance research, expand access to innovative resources, and support veterans through programs designed to strengthen resilience, foster connection, and improve long-term outcomes. As co-founder, Rovi leads Mission URSA's strategic vision, partnerships, fundraising, and organizational growth. She works closely with veteran-serving organizations, healthcare leaders, researchers, philanthropic partners, and public-sector stakeholders to help build a future where veterans can access support earlier, strengthen resilience, and thrive long after their military service ends.

Jim Steddum

Jim Steddum is a co-founder of Mission URSA and a 38-year Army veteran. He spent 30 years in uniform and eight more as a Department of the Army civilian, leading enterprise knowledge systems and career management for a large, distributed workforce. He understands veteran culture from the inside, including the pride and self-reliance that often stand between a veteran and the support they have earned. Mission URSA was built on a simple conviction: the right intervention, delivered through trusted relationships, can reach people before crisis arrives. Jim helped co-found URSA for Veterans to connect veterans, students, and their families with nonprofit therapy partners and established service organizations, removing barriers to accessing qualified care. As an elected leader in the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the post, district, and Department of Alabama levels, Jim works directly with the veterans that Mission URSA is designed to serve. He brings operational credibility, institutional knowledge of military and veterans' systems, and active partnerships with organizations such as Racing for Veterans, the VFW, and the DAV. Above all, he brings the one qualification no outsider can offer: he is a member of the population this organization was built to serve.
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