Blake Fuhriman is the Founder and Executive Director of Veterans Navigation Network (VNN), a Montana-based nonprofit dedicated to ensuring service members, veterans, and military families do not have to navigate life’s challenges alone. A former U.S. Army Ranger with three combat deployments to Afghanistan, Blake brings lived military experience, leadership in high-stress environments, and a deep commitment to strengthening the systems that support veterans after service. Before founding VNN, Blake served in healthcare leadership roles at a Federally Qualified Health Center, including Director of Quality and Innovation and Senior Director of Clinical Operations Support. In those roles, he helped lead system-wide efforts to improve access to care, strengthen clinical outcomes, support integrated behavioral health and primary care, and implement evidence-based quality improvement strategies. This experience shaped his belief that many veterans do not fall through one gap, but through the space between disconnected systems.

Under Blake’s leadership, VNN has grown into a trusted resource navigation and peer support organization serving veterans and families across Montana, with a strong focus on rural and frontier communities. VNN’s work includes one-on-one resource navigation, peer mentorship, suicide prevention training, justice-involved veteran reentry support, culturally relevant outreach for Native veterans, benefits and healthcare connection, housing stabilization, transportation problem-solving, and cross-sector care coordination.

At the 6th Annual Partnership for Veteran & Military Health Conference: Finding a Signal Amidst the Noise, Blake will present “Rural Veteran Peer Navigation: Building Access and Trust.” His presentation will share lessons from VNN’s rural resource peer navigation model and highlight how trusted relationships, warm handoffs, peer-based engagement, and local partnerships
can improve access, coordination, and continuity of care for veterans facing geographic isolation, behavioral health concerns, justice involvement, housing instability, and complex benefit needs.