Expert Leadership

Steering Committee Members

The role of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Steering Committee is to provide the network's primary investigators/administrators with expert guidance on the issues that affect the SAMHSA-funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network, its administration, the crisis center community, and its consumers.

Brian Hepburn, M.D. (bhepburn@dhmh.state.md.us)
Chair

Dr. Hepburn has been the Executive Director of the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA) since 2002. From 1996 - 2002, he was the Medical Director for the MHA. From 1987 until 1998, he served as the Director of Psychiatry Education/Training for MHA. He also maintained a private practice until 2004. Since 1987, he has been on the faculty of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, where he is currently a Clinical Associate Professor. Dr. Hepburn has been instrumental in leading the MHA in its ongoing transformation - balancing the budget, improving clinical care and examining alternative financing strategies to achieve increased quality and consumer recovery Dr. Hepburn is also currently the Secretary of the Board of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD).

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David Covington, L.P.C., M.B.A. (dwcovington@magellanhealth.com)
Vice-Chair

As Chief of Adult Services for Magellan of Arizona, Mr. Covington is responsible for partnering with Maricopa County's champions of behavioral health to develop and implement a strategic plan for the tens of thousands served by the adult system of care that results in the highest quality clinical care, measurable outcomes, community-based voice and choice and integration of a strong recovery-oriented approach. Magellan of Arizona contracts with Phoenix's Maricopa Crisis Recovery Network (MCRN) which is one of the largest crisis services providers in the country with crisis line, mobile crisis and hospital-based rapid response.

Previously, he managed the call center, mobile response and disaster outreach for Behavioral Health Link. In collaboration with the Department of Human Resources, Georgia introduced the Crisis & Access Line in 2006. In its brief existence, this groundbreaking statewide program has been recognized for innovation and excellence with awards from SAMHSA, NCCBH (The National Council), the behavioral health accrediting organization CARF, the Council of State Governments, State News magazine, Business Week, NAMI's "Grading the States" report, and Harvard's Kennedy School of Business Innovations in American Government. The BHL crisis center has received over one million incoming calls and its mobile teams have conducted over 10,000 interventions around the state.

David is a licensed professional counselor and has an EMBA from Kennesaw State University and a master of science from the University of Memphis. He resides in Arizona with his wife Jeannine and two sons Will and Sean, ages 17 months and 2 months. He is also an avid runner and completed the Boston Marathon in 2008.

Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcovington

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Charlotte Anderson (211director@tuw.org)

Ms. Anderson has worked with Hotline, a 24-hour crisis and information service in Charleston, SC, since 1981 and served as the executive director since 1986. She recently spearheaded her community's initiative to implement "211" and designed a merge of Hotline with the local United Way. Ms. Anderson served two terms as the crisis center division director on the Board of the American Association of Suicidology. She has led a suicide survivors support group for over 15 years and is part of the local crisis response team. In addition, she has worked as a Teaching Parent with emotionally disturbed youth, provided drug and alcohol education for the Navy, and designed and taught a course at Trident Technical College. Ms. Anderson passionately believes in the power of the "collective brain" and has seen incredible community changes occur when groups work together.

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John Bateson (johnb@crisis-center.org)

Mr. Bateson has been executive director of the Contra Costa Crisis Center, in Contra Costa County, California (San Francisco Bay Area), since 1996. His agency answers 18 hotlines, including separate, toll-free, 24-hour lines for child abuse, elder abuse, grief, homelessness, and youth violence prevention, as well as for crisis and suicide. The crisis center also handles 211 calls, and operates a limited-hours Chinese-language helpline. In addition, the agency has one of the oldest, largest, and most diverse grief counseling programs in California, and answers after-hours and Spanish-language calls to the California SIDS Hotline. John is on the board of directors of CAIRS (California Alliance of Information and Referral Services), represents crisis centers on the California 211 Steering Committee, and is a member of BASCIA (Bay Area Suicide and Crisis Intervention Alliance). Formerly he was associate director for 15 years of a multi-county social service agency. In 1992 he managed a temporary distribution center on the East Coast for victims of Hurricane Andrew. In 1996 he was named a "community hero" by United Way of America and chosen to carry the Olympic torch. His wife is executive director of a metro area food bank. He is especially interested in issues of cultural competency, and is committed to the concept of providing multilingual, multicultural crisis counseling.

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Alan Berman, Ph.D., A.B.P.P. (berman@suicidology.org)

Dr. Berman is currently the executive director of the American Association of Suicidology and former director of the National Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the Washington School of Psychiatry. He taught for 22 years at American University in Washington, DC, attaining the rank of tenured full professor. At American, he initiated development of the second University-based, student-operated crisis service in 1970. Thirty-one years later, he served as principal investigator of SAMHSA's predecessor 3-year grant (2001-2004) to network and certify crisis centers. Dr. Berman is author/editor of 7 books in suicidology and more than 90 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. In 2005, he completes his sixth year on the board of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (until September, he is treasurer). He is a fellow of the international Academy of Suicide Research and is on the editorial boards of three journals in suicidology.

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Sharon Carpinello, R.N., Ph.D. (secarp@nycap.rr.com)
Honorary Chair

As Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health (2003-2007), Dr.Carpinello led the transformation of the mental health system, changing the landscape in numerous areas including strategic planning, a science to practice agenda, disaster mental health responses, and mental health promotion, making children and families a priority, and suicide prevention. She believes that an important step in preventing suicide is to "speak up". Insofar as silence and suicide go hand in hand, she publicly shares her story of having lost a loved one to suicide. Recently, she presented her personal story, "Unveiling the Secrets", and facilitated a culturally focused suicide prevention panel for the Behavioral Health Care Voluntary Mental Health Inc., agencies in New York City. Dr. Carpinello has been filmed in episodes for public news and broadcasting. The original suicide prevention episode for PBS, filmed in 2006 by Healthy Minds, Inc. is still being aired in New York. With the goal of saving lives, she initiated a suicide prevention education and awareness campaign titled SPEAK. Written in 4 languages, SPEAK uses a public mental health model to help people become familiar with the risks and warning signs of suicide. The 1-800-273-TALK number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is featured in these documents. Launched in May 2004, SPEAK has received wide attention and has been featured in regional and national publications, including Governing Magazine, Mental Health Weekly, and Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow. Dr. Carpinello was invited to present at the United Nations on World Mental Health Day 2006. On this day, global perspectives on suicide and mental health were highlighted.

In 2006, Dr. Carpinello secured the first dedicated dollars for suicide prevention in the history of the New York State public mental health system. The first year of the 1.5 million annualized appropriation was used to expand SPEAK, including improved community suicide planning efforts and the education of primary care physicians. In partnership with Sesame Workshop, Wal-Mart and the Military Child Education Coalition, she helped develop a bi-lingual, multi-media educational program to help children cope with their feelings during family military deployment.

Dr. Carpinello is committed to a recovery model that emphasizes the uniqueness of each person, a perspective drawn from her nursing career which integrates the concept of holism into practice. Her "science to practice approach" is further informed by her experience conducting research in the area of self-help and recovery, adaptation of family psychoeducation to culturally diverse communities, and suicide risk assessment. A recipient of over 50 awards, some recent examples include: the Mental Health Association of New York City's first "Hope Award", the SPAN "Fire and Ice Award" for advancing suicide prevention, the 2007 Columbia University Teen Screen Program "Public Government Award", the 2006 Citizens Committee for Children, "Eleanor Roosevelt Award" and the 2007 University at Albany, State University of New York, "Excellence in Public Service Award". Currently, Dr. Carpinello continues to be a champion for positive change, consults in the behavioral health care arena, works as an advocate in suicide prevention, and is preparing for dissemination of her most recent research results. She works to decrease mental illness stigma in children and families and uses as a reference the book she commissioned and unveiled, entitled "The Brain Reigns" (New York State, Publication, 2006; J. Wachtel, Author; B. Ward, Illustrator). This book written for young children is intended to make the idea of emotional health assessment as routine as an annual physical exam. She is currently the Honorary Chairperson of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Steering Committee and served as Chairperson for three years prior to this appointment.

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John Draper, Ph.D. (JohnD@mhaofnyc.org)

Dr. Draper is the Director of the federally-funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Network, administered by Link2Health Solutions, a subsidiary of the Mental Health Association of New York City. Since September 2004, Dr. Draper has overseen all aspects of this service that connects 1-800-273-TALK callers to the nearest crisis center within a national network of more than 140 crisis centers across the country. Under Dr. Draper's leadership, this project has established this Committee and two other consulting Subcommittees (Consumer-Survivor and Standards, Trainings and Practices Subcommittees) to advise the Lifeline in their efforts to more effectively reach and serve persons at risk of suicide throughout the country via this national network of hotlines. The Lifeline project has continuously utilized ongoing SAMHSA-funded hotline evaluation findings to establish and disseminate evidence-informed standards, trainings and practices to improve network crisis center work. To further improve services to callers, Dr. Draper has ensured that the Lifeline is dedicated to incorporating the voices of national leaders in mental health service consumer advocacy, including prominent feedback from survivors of suicide loss and suicide attempts. Dr. Draper works closely with the project's Network Development Division to recruit member centers to expand network capacity, as well as the Information Technology Division, towards utilizing state-of-the-art telephony and web-based technologies to enhance Lifeline reach and service to the American public.

Prior to his work on the Lifeline, Dr. Draper had been the Director of Public Education and the LifeNet Multicultural Hotline Network for the Mental Health Association of New York City beginning in July of 1996. Dr. Draper previously worked with Interfaith Medical Center's Mobile Crisis Team in Brooklyn, where for 7 years he conducted and supervised hundreds of home visits to persons in psychiatric crisis of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. In addition to his Directorship of the national network, he has a private practice in New York City, specializing in family systems and cognitive-behavioral approaches to treatment. Dr. Draper received his doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1996. Dr. Draper has authored published papers on the role of hotlines in behavioral health systems and disaster response, as well as co-authored a published paper on establishing national suicide risk assessment standards for a network of crisis centers.

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Robert Gebbia, M.A. (rgebbia@afsp.org)

Robert Gebbia is the Executive Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Since joining AFSP more than ten years ago, Mr. Gebbia has advanced the Foundation's suicide prevention mission by expanding its research grants program, adding new educational and public awareness initiatives, and establishing supportive programs for individuals and families that have lost a loved one to suicide. Under his leadership, AFSP has developed a nationwide network of chapters and created the Out of the Darkness walks to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention, while recruiting tens of thousands of people to the cause. During his time as Executive Director, Mr. Gebbia grew AFSP's annual revenue from $700,000 to more than $7 million, making it possible for AFSP to dramatically increase its support of suicide prevention research and education. In 2009 he led the effort to bring AFSP and the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA) together through a merger aimed at strengthening grassroots advocacy and promoting policies that further suicide prevention.

Mr. Gebbia has an extensive background in not-for-profit management, fundraising, program development, and strategic planning. Prior to joining AFSP, he had an 18-year career with the United Way, where he worked on a variety charitable causes such as hunger relief, affordable childcare and housing for the homeless. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gebbia worked as a Senior Health Planner for the New York City Department of Health. He holds a BA in Sociology from Hofstra University, an MA in Sociology from the New School for Social Research, and completed a Human Services Management Executive Program offered by the National Academy for Voluntarism and Harvard University.

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Robert Glover, Ph.D. (bob.glover@nasmhpd.org)
Representing Lifeline's Executive Leadership Team

Dr. Glover has been the executive director of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) since September of 1993. Due to NASMHPD's partnership with the Mental Health Association of New York City in the federally funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline project, Dr. Glover is a key member of the Lifeline's Executive Leadership Team (ELT). Founded in 1959, NASMHPD was organized to reflect and advocate for the collective interests of State Mental Health Agency directors and staff at the national level, playing a vital role in the delivery, financing, and evaluation of public mental health services within a rapidly evolving health care environment. Prior to this position, Dr. Glover served as commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in Maine for 3 years. He has worked in several states' mental health departments, including Colorado (director), Idaho (administrator), Pennsylvania (deputy health commissioner), and Ohio ( assistant commissioner). Dr. Glover was president of the NASMHPD Board of Directors from 1985-86 and president of the NASMHPD Research Institute, Inc., Board of Directors from 1987-88, and he is currently a faculty member for Harvard University. He served as a member of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Advisory Panel on Seclusion and Restraint, and he served on the experts' panel for the U.S. Surgeon General's National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Glover continues to highlight suicide prevention as a NASMHPD priority, including partnering with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) to coordinate regional Youth Suicide Prevention Roundtable meetings. He is a licensed psychologist in Ohio and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Ohio State University in 1974.

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Madelyn Gould, Ph.D. (GOULDM@childpsych.columbia.edu)
Representing Lifeline's Executive Leadership Team

Dr. Gould is a Professor in Child Psychiatry and Public Health (Epidemiology) at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Her long-standing research interests include the epidemiology of youth suicide, as well as the evaluation of youth suicide prevention interventions. Dr. Gould has received numerous federally funded grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIMH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for studies examining risk factors for teenage suicide, various aspects of cluster suicides, the impact of the media on suicide, the effect of a peer's suicide on fellow students, suicide postvention programs in schools, the effect of youth suicide screening programs, the utility of telephone crisis services for teenagers, and has received grants funded from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to evaluate crisis hotline outcomes for adults.

She also received a W.T. Grant Faculty Scholar's Award to examine psychosocial risk factors for teenage suicide and a Distinguished Investigator Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to investigate the role of the media in the initiation of suicide clusters. Her participation in numerous state and national government commissions include the 1978 President's Commission on Mental Health and the Secretary of Health and Human Services' Task Force on Youth Suicide in 1989. In addition, she authored the chapter on youth suicide prevention for the Surgeon General's 1999 National Suicide Prevention Strategy, and served as a leadership consultant for the Surgeon General's Leadership Working Group for the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. Dr. Gould was also a founding member of the New York State Suicide Prevention Council and has been actively engaged in the development of the suicide prevention plan for New York State. She contributed to the Center for Disease Control's community response plan for suicide clusters (1988) and recommendations to optimize media reporting of suicide (1994), and was a member of an international workgroup, sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, which updated these media recommendations in 2001. The recipient of the Shneidman Award for Research from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) in 1991, the New York State Office of Mental Health Research Award in 2002, and the 2006 American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Research Award, Dr. Gould has a strong commitment to applying her research to program and policy development.

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Debra Harris (dharris@crisiscenter.com)

Ms. Harris is the current Director of 2-1-1 Tampa Bay, a division of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, and a member of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. Ms. Harris has worked in the field of crisis intervention and information & referral since September 1993 in such capacities as telephone crisis counselor, resource manager, volunteer coordinator and call center manager. 2-1-1 Tampa Bay Crisis Center provides immediate problem solving and crisis counseling, along with resource identification to callers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in 150 languages. By calling our entry point into the system of care, callers may access other services offered at the Crisis Center including: treatment for clients who have endured sexual abuse, assault, violence and other high level emotional trauma; short term financial assistance and referrals for shelter and transportation; daily telephone reassurance calls and safety checks to reduce isolation and loneliness, along with service coordination, and specialized resource identification for the homebound elderly and persons with disabilities; and, community outreach through presentations, workshops, and other educational programs.

Ms. Harris has participated in several regional, statewide and national call center-related initiatives, including the AIRS national workgroup to develop recruitment/deployment procedures and training in 2007, as well as the NSPL follow up workgroup in 2008. Ms. Harris is an AAS Accreditation Examiner (2001 to present), a former AAS Certified Crisis Worker (CCW), a Board Member of FL AIRS (2001 to present), an AIRS Certified Information & Referral Specialist (CIRS), an AIRS Certified Resource Specialist (CRS), a former AIRS Trainer of the Taxonomy, and she is certified for the NOVA (National Organization for Victim Assistance) Community Response Team.

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Thomas Joiner (joiner@psy.fsu.edu)
Chair of the Standards, Training & Practices Sub-Committee

Dr. Joiner is Distinguished Research Professor & The Bright-Burton Professor and director of the University Psychology Clinic, Department of Psychology at Florida State University. Dr. Joiner's work is on the psychology, neurobiology, and treatment of suicidal behavior and related conditions. Author of more than 375 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Joiner was recently awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship. He was elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association and received the Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the Shakow Award for Early Career Achievement from the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association, the Shneidman Award for excellence in suicide research from the American Association of Suicidology, and the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions from the American Psychological Association. He also has received research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and various foundations. He is editor of APA's Clinician's Research Digest and of the Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology. He has published 14 books, including Why People Die By Suicide (2005, Harvard University Press).

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Jan Kemp, R.N., Ph.D. (Jan.Kemp@VA.Gov)

Janet Kemp, R.N., Ph.D. has 20 years experience working with veterans. She currently is the Associate Director for Education and Training at the VISN 2 Center of Excellence (COE) in Canandaigua, NY having recently transferred from a similar position at the VISN 19 Mental Illness, Research and Education Clinical Center. She also serves as the VA National Suicide Prevention Coordinator. In her COE role she is responsible for providing provider and patient education in the areas of suicide awareness and prevention, current assessment and treatment strategies and new findings in the area of suicide and assisting the Center Director in the implementation of Suicide Prevention Programs throughout the VA system. In the National Suicide Prevention Coordinator Lead position, Dr. Kemp directs and advises the Suicide Prevention Coordinators at each local VA and is the national program manager for the VA Suicide Hotline. Dr. Kemp has done extensive qualitative research in the area of war experiences and effects. Her current projects include suicide attempt and completion database development as well as studies involving veteran suicide attempt experiences and the experiences of veterans with traumatic brain injuries who have attempted suicide. Recent publications and presentations include work on women veteran experiences and suicide prevention / risk assessment.

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David Litts, O.D., F.A.A.O. (dlitts@edc.org)

David Litts, O.D. serves as Director, Science and Policy at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and holds the position of Distinguished Scholar at Education Development Center, Inc. In this capacity, he leads a team of scholars and experts that guides the infusion of the best available science into all operational aspects of the SPRC. An additional focus is the development and dissemination of evidence-based suicide prevention policies and practices among professionals, community leaders and their organizations. Prior to this position, he served for three years as Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health and the US Surgeon General, managing the completion and initial dissemination of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. He has also served as Chief of Staff for the Air Force Surgeon General and first Executive Director of the Air Force Suicide Prevention Program, where he oversaw the development of a comprehensive population-based suicide prevention program covering 600,000 Air Force personnel. The program was associated with a statistically significant, 55 percent drop in the suicide rate over four years. He is the recipient of the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Award and the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award.

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Karen Marshall (KMarshall@suicidology.org)
Co-Chair of the Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee

Ms. Marshall is the Program Development Director for the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), headquartered in Washington, DC. Prior to her full-time work with AAS, she was a career journalist with extensive experience in print, broadcast, and Web-based reporting. After losing her father and an uncle to suicide, she became involved in prevention efforts, first as a volunteer and later in full-time professional capacities. She has helped to advance the work of nonprofit suicide prevention organizations since 1990. She began her work at The Link Counseling Center in Atlanta as assistant to its executive director, Iris Bolton, and has received training from noted experts in the field of suicide prevention, intervention, and healing. She has taught basic suicide prevention skills to community groups, schools, first responders, medical professionals, and civic and professional associations. She is a member of the National Advisory Board for the University of Michigan's Depression Center.

Ms. Marshall has assisted several communities and States with forming suicide prevention coalitions and task forces, and she was involved in developing Virginia's Youth Suicide Prevention Plan (expanded in 2005 to a comprehensive, across-the-lifespan suicide prevention plan) as well as Michigan's Suicide Prevention Plan. She served as the first president of the Kristin Brooks Hope Center (KBHC), which developed the National Hopeline Network, 1-800-SUICIDE. At AAS, she manages national research projects under contracts with the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Transit Administration to develop causal analyses of suicide on rail property and to design and pilot test effective countermeasures. She also manages AAS's Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk: Essential Skills for Clinicians training program, and the A Million Voices Campaign.

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Richard McKeon, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Richard.McKeon@samhsa.hhs.gov)
Representing Lifeline's Executive Leadership Team

Dr. McKeon received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona and a master's of public health in health administration from Columbia University. He has spent most of his career working in community mental health, including 11 years as director of a psychiatric emergency service and 4 years as associate administrator/clinical director of a hospital-based community mental health center in Newton, NJ. He established the first evidenced-based treatment program for chronically suicidal borderline patients in New Jersey, using Marsha Linehan's dialectical behavior therapy. In 2001, he was awarded an American Psychological Association Congressional Fellowship and worked for U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, covering health and mental health policy issues. He spent 5 years on the board of the American Association of Suicidology as clinical division director, and he also has served on the board of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He is currently a special advisor on suicide prevention for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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Patricia Morris, M.Ed, M.A.C. (pmorris@voaww.org)

Ms. Morris has been Program Director of Care Crisis Response Services at Volunteers of America Western Washington since 2006. She is responsible for administration of an AAS accredited 24 hour Regional Crisis and Triage line, a Regional Utilization Management program and a centralized intake and referral call center for mental health services. She is a member of a Regional Integrated Crisis Response System and sits on numerous regional committees and task forces. She provides regional and statewide trainings on Suicide Prevention/Intervention; Substance Abuse, Co occurring Disorders and related Mental Health topics.

Prior to her work at Volunteers of America Western Washington, Ms. Morris was the Program Director for a Hospital-based Chemical Dependency Program in Coeur d'Alene. Idaho, with special emphasis on Co-occurring Disorders and Addictive Family systems.

Ms. Morris is a licensed professional counselor, a nationally certified mental health and Master Addiction counselor with a Masters of Education Degree from the University of Idaho. During her thirty year career in the Mental Health and Chemical Dependency field, she has experience providing mental health case management, involuntary treatment evaluations, psychosocial and Clubhouse rehabilitation and outpatient therapy. She has worked in Mental Health emergency services and crisis lines in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. She has developed and administered inpatient and outpatient t chemical dependency programs, specializing in co occurring disorders. She has also served as an Adjunct professor in Northwest Universities teaching graduate level coursework.

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Kenneth Norton, L.I.C.S.W. (knorton@naminh.org)

Mr. Norton serves as the Director of the Center For Community Based Suicide Prevention and the Frameworks Suicide Prevention Project at NAMI NH, the National Alliance On Mental Illness. He played a lead role in the development of the Frameworks Project which is designated as a national best practice program in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. Ken participated on the committee which wrote NH's state Suicide Prevention Plan and was instrumental in passage of legislation which establishes a state Suicide Prevention Council and currently sits as a member of that council.

The impact mental illness and suicide have had on Ken's family deepened his personal and professional efforts to reduce stigma and promote help seeking and early recognition and treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders. A licensed clinical social worker, Ken spent many years career working in community mental health in various capacities including directing a 24/7 emergency response team and coordinating local admissions and discharges to the state hospital. He also has extensive experience as a volunteer in his community including being a founding mother of the domestic violence and sexual assault program in his county, being a licensed foster parent and working on local environmental issues. Ken enjoys spending time with his family and dog and being in the great out of doors.

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Dan Reidenberg, Psy.D., F.A.P.A. (dreidenberg@save.org)

Dr. Reidenberg is the Executive Director of SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) and the Managing Director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention. He is also a Diplomate, Certified Master Therapist, Fellow and chair of the advisory board of the American Psychotherapy Association and chair of the Certified Relationship Specialists program. He began his career working on crisis lines at Crisis Connection in Minneapolis, MN where he handled calls and spoke publicly for the agency on crisis management. Dr. Reidenberg went on to work at the Bill Kelly House (one of the first dual programs for adults in the country), maintained a private practice and worked on in-patient psychiatry adolescent and adult units in St. Paul, MN. At Family & Children's Service he oversaw 10 mental health and community programs that included crisis lines and intervention programs for youth and adults. He has extensive experience in forensic work, consulting and training of both attorneys and healthcare professionals. Dr. Reidenberg speaks nationally on suicide prevention issues, assisted with groundbreaking research on billboards and media related to suicide prevention and serves on various state suicide prevention task forces and committees. Under his direction SAVE operates a national multi-media campaign, professional and community education and training programs, as well as develops resources and support for those in crisis and survivors. He was responsible for the development of LEADS (Linking Education and Awareness of Depression and Suicide) a best practices suicide prevention curriculum for use in high schools. Dr. Reidenberg conducts crisis management training, is certified as both an aviation disaster responder and critical incident stress debriefer. He has more than 10 articles published on psychotherapy, authored a chapter in a resource book for professionals entitled Sports Talk, wrote the forward for The Power of Acceptance and been interviewed numerous times by national media including People, FOX News, ABC radio, NPR, Rolling Stone, LA Times, NY Post. He also serves on the Am. Psychotherapy Assoc's. editorial board and the editorial board of the new International Journal of Theoretical Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (est. publ. date 2/09).

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James Reinhard, M.D. (james.reinhard@co.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov)

James Reinhard, M.D. is a board certified psychiatrist who has completed a fellowship at Harvard Medical School's Program in Psychiatry and the Law and has additional board certification in Forensic Psychiatry. His psychiatry residency training was at Dartmouth Medical School where he was on the faculty and received an Attending of the Year Award from the residents. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and on the Executive Board of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. Dr. Reinhard came to Virginia in 1994 as medical director and then the facility director/CEO of Catawba Hospital. In 2001 he became Assistant Commissioner for Facility Management for the DMHMRSAS. In 2002 he was appointed Commissioner by then Governor Mark Warner and re-appointed by Governor Tim Kaine in 2006. Commissioner Reinhard has led transformation efforts in the mental health and intellectual disability system in Virginia for the past seven years.

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Scott Ridgway, M.A. (sridgway@tspn.org)

Mr. Ridgway is executive director of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN), an independent, voluntary group of individuals, organizations, and agencies (public and private) that promote community awareness of the warning signs of suicide and strategies for suicide prevention. TSPN is a member of the Association of Tennessee CONTACT/Crisis Centers and works closely with all 11 centers in the State to ensure their participation in the mission of suicide prevention. TSPN itself is housed in Nashville's Crisis Intervention Center, an AAS-certified agency that has operated a suicide hotline for more than 37 years and takes more than 30,000 calls a year. In the past 15 years, Mr. Ridgway has served CIC in many diverse and important capacities, including that of telephone counselor, crisis specialist, postvention coordinator, board member, and past president of the board of directors.

Working closely with the TSPN Advisory Council and the Governor's Office, Mr. Ridgway coordinates the implementation of the Tennessee Strategy for Suicide Prevention activities on all local and statewide levels. The Tennessean has included him in the "Top 40 under 40," an annual listing of young leaders in middle Tennessee, and recently he received the I.C. Hope Award from the Mental Health Association of Tennessee, in recognition of his outstanding work to provide hope for the mentally ill.

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Linda Rosenberg, M.S.W., C.S.W. (lindar@thenationalcouncil.org)

Linda Rosenberg, MSW is the President and CEO of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. The National Council is an association of 1300 community organizations, organizations that treat and help people in trouble - adults and children with mental illnesses or addictions.

Each year, the member organizations of the National Council and the 250,000 staff employed by member organizations give almost 6 million children, adults and families in communities across the country the chance to recover and lead productive lives. And the National Council's job is to help members do their jobs.

As a not for profit 501 (c ) (3) the National Council advocates for policies that make sure quality mental health and addictions services are there for people who are ill. The National Council is committed to strengthening the voice and political strength of community providers, and assertively advocates for federal and state legislation, policies and regulations that expand access to effective, adequately funded mental health and addictions services. To support member organizations in the delivery of quality services, the National Council offers state-of-the-science education and technical assistance in financing, management and business practices as well as in clinical interventions, workforce development, continuous quality improvement processes and the application of information technology.

Prior to joining the National Council in August of 2004, Mrs. Rosenberg served for seven years as Senior Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Office of Mental Health. She led the implementation of evidence - based practices for adults and children, tripling New York's assertive community treatment capacity, initiating a major expansion of children's systems of care services and developing an extensive array of housing options for people with serious mental illness. Mrs. Rosenberg implemented a network of jail diversion treatment programs and was instrumental in the opening of New York's first mental health court. Working with Schools of Social Work throughout New York State, she promoted and supported curriculum reform introducing evidence based practice courses and recipient and family education programs. A certified social worker, as well as a trained family therapist and psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner, she has extensive experience in the design, implementation and management of hospital and community psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation programs. Mrs. Rosenberg has held faculty appointments at a number of Schools of Social Work and serves on numerous agency and editorial boards.

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Giselle Stolper, Ed.M. (GiselleS@mhaofnyc.org)
Representing Lifeline's Executive Leadership Team

Giselle Stolper is the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association (MHA) of New York City. Since her appointment in 1990, Ms. Stolper has led the way in providing mental health services, advocacy and education, working to minimize the stigma of mental illness and help people lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.

Under her leadership, the MHA has pioneered the development and implementation of innovative and non-traditional direct service models in the community. The Association's community programs include housing, rehabilitation and employment training for adults plus an array of supportive services for children and their families. Its premier programs include the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and LifeNet, a 24/7 multi-lingual mental health crisis, information and referral hotline recognized nationally and internationally as a model programs.

Since joining the Association in 1990, Ms. Stolper has taken the Agency from an operating budget of $250,000 to over $15,000,000. She has written numerous reports and policy briefs, delivered lectures and presentations on child advocacy, family support, children's and adult mental health and rehabilitation needs, and program design and administration.

Before coming to the MHA of NYC, Ms. Stolper worked for the New York State Office of Mental Health for 15 years at Manhattan's Children's Psychiatric Center, where she held several management positions.

Ms. Stolper received her undergraduate degree from New York University. She attended graduate school at Columbia University, Teachers College, where she received her MA and Ed.M. degrees in Special Education and Program Administration.

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Eduardo Vega, M.A. (evega@lacdmh.org)

As Chief of the Division of Empowerment and Advocacy for Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Mr. Vega directs a spectrum of projects interfacing with consumers, providers, family members and mental health administrators throughout Los Angeles county to advance transformation of mental health programs into culturally relevant services and supports in which consumers and family members play a central role. Mr. Vega is a recovering consumer and suicide-attempt survivor with extensive experience as a provider whose mental health leadership activities range from the local to national level in advocacy, rights protection, suicide prevention, residential care, self-help, consumer employment in mental health systems and peer support programming. In June 2007 he was named by Governor Schwarzenegger's Office to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. He sits on the Advisory Council to the national Alternatives conference and was previously on the Board of Directors of California Protection and Advocacy. As Chair of the Consumer-Survivor Subcommittee to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Mr. Vega has been at the forefront of activities to bring the voice of suicide attempters and consumers in to suicide prevention policy at national and state levels.

A contributor to national projects including the Mental Health Disparities Initiative, Olmstead implementation and the National Strategy on Adult Care Homes, Mr. Vega has over fifteen years experience in five states as a mental health advocate, social services worker and counselor. As an advocate and consultant on consumer issues on major mental health initiatives Mr. Vega has been active at local, regional and national levels with SAMHSA, the Center for Mental Health Services, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, California Institute of Mental Health, CA State Department of Mental Health, the Mental Health Disparities Institute, the Elimination of Barriers Initiative, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, National Strategy on Board and Care, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the UPenn Collaborative on Community Integration, the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse and the Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research.

Formerly as Associate Director and Director of Education at Project Return: The Next Step in Los Angeles, one of the nation's largest consumer-run peer support programs, Mr. Vega oversaw and developed major peer-support programs connecting to hundreds of Los Angeles clients in community and institutional settings. He provided training on recovery practice, peer support, community integration, self-advocacy, advanced directives and personal care planning among others.

Previously, as Program Manager for the SAMHSA-funded National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse, Mr. Vega planned and implemented technical assistance projects for consumer-run organizations throughout the country. He served as general editor for major Clearinghouse products and developer of the Consumer-Driven Services Directory, the first national internet service of its kind. As Spanish-language translator and liaison to mental health advocacy and consumer organizations representing Hispanics and other cultural minority groups, he has done extensive outreach and cultural competence advocacy. Mr. Vega has presented at major conferences including USPRA, NASMHPD, ACMHA, Alternatives, and NMHA. He has authored articles, fact sheets, curricula and research review for the SAMHSA Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma Associated with Mental Illness (the ADS Center), the UPenn Collaborative on Community Integration, Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow, Mental Health Weekly, and the USPRA journal, among others.

Mr. Vega holds an M.A. in Psychology from New School for Social Research.

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Rose Weahkee, Ph.D., Licensed Psych (rose.weahkee@ihs.gov)

Dr. Rose L. Weahkee is a member of the Navajo Nation. Dr. Weahkee received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Alcohol and Drug Studies from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology with an emphasis in multicultural community clinical issues from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles in June 1998. She is currently a Public Health Advisor for the Indian Health Service Headquarters Division of Behavioral Health in the Office of Clinical and Preventive Services. Prior to her current position, she served as the Behavioral Health Consultant for the California Area Indian Health Service and spent eight years as the Administrative Clinical Director for United American Indian Involvement, Inc. Dr. Weahkee has served on numerous boards at the local, state, and federal level advocating on behalf of American Indian issues including the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission, The CA Department of Mental Health Cultural Competency Advisory Board, the California Health Interview Survey Advisory Board, the Indian Health Service National Suicide Prevention Committee, the Indian Health Service Youth Regional Treatment Center Task Force (YRTC), the Steering Committee for the American Indian/Alaska Native National Resource Center for Substance Abuse Services, and the Steering Committee for the California Rural Indian Health Board Access to Recovery program. She has been involved in administration, program development, research, teaching, and direct services for the American Indian community. She was the recipient of the American Psychological Association Early Career Award in the Public Interest in 2006.

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Stephanie Weber, M.S., L.C.P.C. (stephanie@spsfv.org)

Stephanie Weber is the Executive Director of Suicide Prevention Services, Inc., Batavia IL. In 1982, Ms. Weber began a Survivors of Suicide Support Group (SOS) which has served over 1500 families who have lost a family member or friend to suicide, providing support groups (which she still facilitates), a monthly newsletter, and survivor outreach.

In 1984, she created the Crisis Line of the Fox Valley in Aurora, IL, a 24/7 hotline staffed by volunteers with 88 hours of training. In 1998, Ms. Weber became the founding director of Suicide Prevention Services, Inc., an agency that provides prevention in the form of education and outreach, intervention in the form of 24/7 hotlines, and postvention that includes survivor groups for adults as well as for children and teens. SPS also does crisis intervention, counseling, and depression screenings.

Ms. Weber has traveled extensively to conduct suicide prevention training and to help agencies set up hotlines. She is a member of the American Association of Suicidology, having been their survivor division director as well as their Survivor of the Year for 2000. In 2008, she received the Roger Tierney Service Award from AAS.

Stephanie has been an adjunct professor at several area universities and is currently an adjunct professor at Aurora University where she teaches semester long classes in suicide education in the School of Social Work.

She is a survivor of her mother's death in 1979.

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Thomas Wedekind, A.C.S.W., C.B.H.E. (twedekind@pemhs.org)

Mr. Wedekind has been the Executive Director of Personal Enrichment through Mental Health Services, Inc. (PEMHS) for 25 years. As director of the psychiatric clinic, serving over 10,599 persons a year, he committed the organization to one of the earliest certifications by the American Association of Suicidology for emergency services. He is committed to expanding linkages between mental health agencies and crisis centers, especially at the interface of hospital emergency rooms in providing innovative overlay services. Of equal importance would be the systemic response of the community in developing coordinated responses by all gate keepers including law enforcement.

Mr. Wedekind is a member of the Board of the Florida Council for Community Behavioral Health, as well as the Central Florida Behavioral Health Network. He serves as the county appointed delegate on Health & Behavioral Health Committee of Pinellas County. Research interests are on the interplay of depression and suicide that provide evidence based interventions.

Past positions include Offices for the Association of Mental Health, Administrator for Florida Administration for Florida, founding member Florida Juvenile Justice Association, Mental Health Coalition, among others.

Mr. Wedekind has been the recipient for numerous awards: has been recognized by the National Alliance for Mental Health for his "many contributions to improve the Mental Health System in Florida."

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Terry Wise, J.D. (terry@terrywise.com)
Co-Chair of the Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee

Widowed at 35 following her spouse's death from Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS), and after surviving a near-fatal suicide attempt, Terry Wise spent the next several years in treatment. A former trial attorney, Wise has since devoted her life to international public speaking and full-time writing (www.TerryWise.com). She now travels to over 50 cities a year as a keynote speaker, continuing education instructor, and workshop presenter - speaking to both the general public and professionals on topics related to depression, grief, long-term care-giving, suicide prevention, and the process of recovering emotional health.

Wise is the author of Waking Up: Climbing Through the Darkness (foreword by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, best-selling author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People), a highly-acclaimed book that provides a roadmap for the restoration of emotional health. Waking Up is in use at numerous universities, including Columbia, Rutgers, Northeastern, St. Mary's, and Sacramento State and has been endorsed by prominent experts in related fields. Waking Up has also been adopted for use in Crisis Centers and in the training materials for the Core Competency Curriculum developed by the American Association of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). Wise is the recipient of a National Mental Health Award for "distinguished achievement and work that has had a major impact on the depression community."

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