Dan Cnossen is a U.S. Paralympian and a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander. He is currently a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on religion, ethics and politics. In 2014 he competed in the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia as a cross-country skier for Team USA. In 2009, while serving as a platoon commander for a SEAL element in Afghanistan, he was injured in an IED explosion that resulted in the loss of both of his legs above the knee. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart. From 2002 to 2015, Dan served in the United States Navy, with deployments to the Philippines, Iraq, and Afghanistan as a special operations officer. He received a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy and an M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School.