TIME October 23, 2017
U.S.RICHARD CASPER
Helping veterans through art
Richard Casper was patrolling an Iraqi road at dawn in
February 2007 when a blast lifted his humvee off the ground in
a flash of light. The U.S. Marine had been hit with an improvised
explosive device for the fourth time in four months, and for the
third time he suffered a concussion.
The blasts left Casper with traumatic brain injury, and when
he returned home to Bloomington, Ill., he struggled with
posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depression. To cope with
difficult memories, like watching as a fellow Marine was shot
and killed next to him, Casper turned to art. Through paintings
and sculptures, he could finally relay what he was feeling.
“Art ended up changing my life,” says Casper, 32, who now
lives in Nashville.
In 2013, he co-founded CreatiVets, a nonprofit that helps
veterans heal through free music and art programs. The group
flies veterans to Nashville to collaborate with accomplished
songwriters for three days, or to Chicago to study at the School
of the Art Institute for three weeks. Casper and CreatiVets
co-founder Linda Tarrson have helped more than 80 people so
far, including Tommy Houston, who credits the program with
repairing his relationship with his 18-year-old daughter Emily.
When Houston retired from the U.S. military in 2015, after serv-
ing nearly 30 years, he realized how much he’d missed. “I was
gone so much. She grew up without me,” says Houston, 50.
Through CreatiVets, Houston channeled his regret into the
song “Yellow Balloon.” Emily cried when she heard it. She’s since
switched colleges to be closer to her dad in Oregon. “It definitely
got her back into my life,” Houston says. —Melissa ChanNEXT GENERATION LEADERS ▼
PAST LEADERS:
WHERE ARE
THEY NOW?POLLY STENHAM (2016)
The British playwright, 31,
has written an adaptation of
Strindberg’sMiss Julie,to run
in London’s National Theatre
in 2018.Julie starsThe
Crown’s Vanessa Kirby.IJAD MADISCH (2014)
The 36-year-old’s professional
social network, ResearchGate,
revealed a $52.6 million
round of funding last February
from investors like Goldman
Sachs and Bill Gates.TIME has been running its biannual Next Generation
Leaders feature since September 2014, show-
casing young people from around the globe who are
hard at work changing the world. Here’s what some
of our previous leaders are up to now:FENG ZHANG (2016)
Gene-editing pioneer Zhang,
34, won the $500,000
Lemelson-MIT Prize on
Sept. 19, the largest cash
prize for invention in the U.S.BONIFACE MWANGI (2015)
The Kenyan activist and
photojournalist, 34, created a
new political party, Ukweli, in
March and ran for office in his
country’s Aug. 8 elections but
fell short of victory.SEBASTIAN KURZ (2017)
Austrian Foreign Minister
Kurz, 31, took charge of
the country’s center-right
People’s Party in May and
is the favorite to be elected
President on Oct. 15.SAOIRSE RONAN (2016)
Irish-American actor Ronan
may win her third Oscar
nomination, forOn Chesil
Beach. The 23-year-old also
received rave reviews for her
role in the comedyLady Bird.CASPER: LUKAS AUGUSTIN FOR TIME; KURZ: REINER RIEDLER–ANZENBERGER/REDUX; RONAN: PETER HAPAK FOR TIME;STENHAM: JIM NAUGHTEN FOR TIME; ZHANG: GUIDO VITTI FOR TIME; MWANGI: PETE MULLER—PRIME FOR TIME; MADISCH: MUSTAFAH ABDULAZIZ FOR TIME