B.S., CTRS

A Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) for over 10 years. Skilled in Recreation Therapy Management, Recreation Therapy Program Planning, Program Development, Interventions, and Evaluations. Presented in Recreation Therapy Conferences for 12 years on implementation of technology in Recreation Therapy programs. Currently, Jon Tang is the VR Champion of the Phoenix VA Health Care System initiating Virtual Reality programs in Recreation Therapy for Veterans in the Community Living Center, Adaptive Sports program, and assisting with the Whole Health department. Jon is part of the XR Network/VA Immersive Team for the Rehab Community of Practice and representing Recreation Therapy nationally using Extended Reality (XR) approaches.

CTRS

Evan is a United States Marine Veteran and graduated from Indiana University – Bloomington. Evan is co-founder of the first Adaptive Sports program at IU. He began working at the VA in November 2019 and worked with inpatient Veterans while expanding programming for all Veterans. Evan has created and supported numerous community partnerships and programs for Indianapolis including Equine Assisted Learning, E-sports, Veteran Camping Weekend, Adaptive Sports, Woodworking workshops, Virtual Reality and more. Evan led the implementation of Virtual Reality through Recreational Therapy at the Indianapolis VA and has been implementing the use of VR since July of 2020. In 2022 Evan began working with the Office of Health Innovation and Learning at VA’s Central Office helping the expansion and the adoption of XR within VA. Evan currently serves as the Training and Engagement Lead in the Strategic Initiatives Lab, helping to oversee pilot and discovery in Immersive Technology use within VA. He additionally serves a role to engage with external VSO’s and community partners and internal VA stakeholders to assist and collaborate on the integration of gaming into care. Because of his work with XR in VA, Training and Engagement, and VSO/Veteran Engagement, Evan is the recipient of the 2024 Service to the Citizen Award for building a customer-focused culture.