Mad in America Presents a Private Documentary Screening and Q&A:

Cover Me: The Path to Purpose

Join us on Saturday, May 10th, 2025 at 10AM PST, 1PM EST, 5PM GMT, 7PM CET

Cover Me: The Path to Purpose is the award-winning film about the Central Oregon Veterans Ranch (COVR), a small nonprofit ranch in Oregon with a big vision for the post-traumatic growth of veterans. Narrated by founder and film co-producer Alison Perry Sower, the film features the stories of combat veterans and military trauma survivors whose lives were transformed by their participation at the ranch. Perry Sower weaves in elements of her own experience and insight as a military family member and trauma therapist who worked under the medical model for six years, along with her vision for a paradigm shift in how we approach healing and growth in trauma survivors. Perry Sower, who currently works as a trauma-informed coach, consultant, educator, and writer, will also illuminate the core elements of the model of care implemented at COVR, as well as its relevance as a model of care applicable to various populations.

About the producer:

Alison Perry Sower is a Licensed Professional Counselor, military family member, and founder of the nonprofit Central Oregon Veterans Ranch. She has worked with veterans in government, private practice, and nonprofit settings for approximately 20 years, including six years in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Alison began working at the Portland VA Medical in 2005, two years after her brother deployed for the invasion of Iraq as an Apache helicopter pilot. She served in the Mental Health Clinic and on the PTSD Clinical Team prior to transferring to the Bend VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in 2008. During her six years in the VA, Alison developed a passion for working with combat trauma across the lifespan. In 2012, she left the VA to pursue her vision of a more holistic approach to healing trauma, and in 2014, established the Central Oregon Veterans Ranch (COVR), “A 19-acre working ranch that restores purpose and spirit to veterans of all ages and eras.” Alison served as the Executive Director of COVR from 2014 to 2023, and in 2022 co-produced the documentary, Cover Me: The Path to Purpose, a film about the transformative approach to healing veterans at Central Oregon Veterans Ranch. Additionally, Alison taught at Oregon’s Department of Public Safety Standards & Training for four years, co-facilitating Veterans Awareness and debriefing Mental Health scenarios with Law Enforcement and Corrections students. She is the winner of a 2009 Red Cross Community Hero Award, 2016 Deschutes County Health Advisory Board Health Hero Award, and 2017 Bend Chamber of Commerce Community Hero Award. Alison currently works as a trauma-informed clinical and nonprofit consultant, coach, presenter, and public speaker, and is writing a book about her professional journey, anticipated for release around the 25the anniversary of 9/11.

About the host:

Kermit Cole has had an interest in humor since an early age, noticing that it arose, even and perhaps especially, in the hardest of times. During his first career (in film and television), Kermit explored this interest in “Before Comedy,” about the discovery of comedy by prehistoric clowns, and in “Living Proof: HIV and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Exploring how we face fear with laughter from these two divergent perspectives, Kermit was drawn to work deeper with people in extreme crisis, obtaining undergraduate and master’s degrees from Harvard, focusing on Psychology and Philosophy, and a post-graduate certificate in Marriage & Family Therapy from the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. Working with people in extreme states of trauma and psychosis (and their families) for 20 years, Kermit has developed his theory of why laughter arises – and how to use it – at critical moments of healing… and of being human.

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Ask a Question: If you'd like to submit a question for the panel, please email it to zcunniffe@madinamerica.com at least 48 hours prior to the start of the event. We will review all questions and choose those most relevant to the audience and topic. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions during the discussion. Thank you!