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SPRC Suicide Prevention Regional Planning Conference- Regions 9 & 10

February 28 - March 2, 2005
Portland, Oregon

Speaker Biographies

(In Alphabetical Order) C. H. Hank Balderrama, M.S.W.
C. H. Hank Balderrama was the founder and first executive director of Consejo and Counseling Referral Service in Seattle in 1978, an agency that continues to serve a target population of Hispanics. He has worked extensively in the area of organizational cultural competence ever since. Mr. Balderrama was co-chair of a national panel that developed standards of care for Latinos in a mental health environment in a project sponsored by the Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration. He has been assigned to promote cultural competence at the Washington State Mental Health Division since March, 1989. During that time, he has formulated policy, developed training and provided leadership to headquarters, state hospitals, regional contractors and mental health centers in the areas of client services, community involvement, training and education, hiring and contracting. He consults independently and has assisted with planning, personnel development, clinical consultation and program development.

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Jeremy Bennett
Jeremy Bennett began his public service career while attending college by working with developmentally delayed children and adults. After obtaining a Bachelor or Science degree in Sociology, he started working as a Case Manager and Classification Supervisor for a private adult correctional company. During this time, Jeremy earned a Master of Arts Degree in Education, Curriculum and Instruction. In 2001, he accepted a position as the Statewide Training Specialist for the Idaho Department of Corrections. Jeremy is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Idaho-Boise and completing his dissertation on Classroom Management in the Correctional Setting. Jeremy resides in Boise with his wife and two children.

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Alan L. Berman (Lanny), Ph.D.
Dr. Alan L. Berman (Lanny) is Executive Director of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS). He is a Past-President of the AAS (1984-1985) and their 1982 Shneidman Award recipient (for Outstanding Contributions in Research in Suicidology).

Dr. Berman holds a B.A. degree from the Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America. From 1969 to 1991 he taught at the American University where he attained the rank of tenured full professor. In 1991 Dr. Berman changed his appointment to that of Distinguished Adjunct Professor when he was named Director of the newly established National Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the Washington School of Psychiatry, a position he held until accepting his current role with the AAS in January, 1995.

A Diplomate in Clinical Psychology (American Board of Professional Psychology) and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Berman maintains a full time private practice of psychotherapy and psychological consultation at the Washington (D.C.) Psychological Center. He has published over 100 professional articles and book chapters. From 1990-1994, he served as Case Consultation Editor of the journal Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior (SLTB). In 1994 Dr. Berman was elected Editor of SLTB; however, he resigned this position when he was chosen as the AAS's Executive Director. He remains a consulting editor to SLTB and three other journals. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Suicide Research. In 1999 Dr. Berman was elected 1st Vice President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP); in 2003 he was elected Treasurer of IASP. He currently (2004) is President of Section (VII) of Behavioral Emergencies of the Division of Clinical Psychology (Div. 12) of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Berman appears frequently on both national and local media. He has appeared on The Today Show (2x), Good Morning America, Hour Magazine, and The Larry King Show.

He has testified on Capitol Hill three times: on suicide among Vietnam combat veterans, on teenage suicide, and on the U.S.S. Iowa explosion. In 1996 he was appointed Consultant to the Office of Independent Counsel to investigate and finalize their report on the 1993 death of White House Counsel Vincent Foster, Jr.

He served on the HHS Federal Task Force on Youth Suicide Prevention (1985-6) and was an initiating member of the Centers for Disease Control sponsored "Working Group" on the operational criteria for the classification of suicide and the NIMH sponsored conference on developing a nomenclature for suicide morbidity.

He frequently is asked to serve as an expert witness in legal cases involving suicide malpractice and wrongful death and has a national reputation as a teacher and professional workshop leader on the topics of suicide and youth suicide (assessment and intervention).

Dr. Berman has edited (1) Suicide Prevention: Case Consultations (1990), N.Y.: Springer; is the senior author of (2) Adolescent Suicide: Assessment and Intervention (1991), Wash., D.C.: American Psychological Association (David Jobes, co-author) [this work is currently being revised for a 2nd Edition which is due for publication in 2005]; and co-edited: (with Drs. Ronald Maris, John Maltsberger, and Robert Yufit) (3) Assessment and Prediction of Suicide (1992, NY: Guilford Press), (4) Suicidology: Essays in Honor of Edwin S. Shneidman (1995: with Drs. Antoon Leenaars, Pamela Cantor, Ron Maris, and Robert Litman), (5) Risk Management with Suicidal Patients (1998: NY: Guilford; with Drs. Bruce Bongar, Ron Maris, Morton Silverman, Erik Harris, and Wendy Packman); is co-author of (6) The Comprehensive Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention (2000: NY: Guilford; with Drs. Ronald Maris and Morton Silverman), and (7) The Encyclopedia of Suicide, 2nd Edition (In Press, NY: Facts on File; with Carol Turkngton).

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Lidia Bernik, M.H.S.
Lidia Bernik, M.H.S. is the Program Coordinator for the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA). She has a Masters in Health Science in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a B.S. in Human Service Studies from Cornell University. During the summers of 1998 and 1999, she interned at the Westchester Division of New York Weill Cornell's Department of Psychiatry in the Adult Day Treatment Program. Prior to earning her master's degree, she worked as a corporate paralegal in New York City. She is a suicide survivor, having lost her sister in the year 2000.

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Ron Bloodworth, M.A., LPC
Ron Bloodworth, M.A., LPC, was Oregon's Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator from 1998-2003 and is the Principal Editor of The Oregon Plan for Youth Suicide Prevention: A Call to Action. Prior to his service with the State of Oregon, Ron worked in public schools for many years as a teacher and school counselor. Ron is Certified by LivingWorks Education to offer ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and conducts suicide intervention workshops and presentations throughout the Northwest. He serves as a volunteer board member with the Northwest Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition.

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Michael Borunda, MPA
Michael Borunda is currently the Assistant Deputy Director in the Systems of Care Division with the California Department of Mental Health. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of California at Berkeley in the Department of Ethnic Studies, and subsequently earned the Master in Public Administration degree at the University of Southern California. Previously he managed planning efforts for the ongoing support and expansion of a comprehensive network of prevention, treatment and recovery services at the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. As a Community Organizer with the Center for Human Development, Michael organized concerned citizens around drug, alcohol, and violence issues. He also acted as a liaison Officer to the East Contra Costa County Prevention Council where he worked closely with the Contra Costa County Health Services Department Prevention Program in assessing community needs.

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John Crumbley, Ph.D.
John Crumbley was raised in Oregon. He graduated from Medford High School and attended Harvard, where he earned a B.A. After college he worked at Boston State Hospital, he served in VISTA and he directed a Foster Grandparent Program. After only eleven years at the University of Oregon, John completed a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Oregon.

John has taught at the following colleges and universities: the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Oregon, Portland State University, Lane Community College, Umpqua Community College and Central Oregon Community College. He has also been faculty for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and a consultant for the National Center for Juvenile Justice. For more than ten years he has been a consultant and trainer for Love and Logic. He is the President of a consulting and training firm, CAF Associates.

Since 1980 John has been working at the Lane County Department of Youth Services, where he presently serves as a Senior Counselor. He was a partner in the development of what has become known as the Lane County Model of suicide prevention and intervention. He has served on the Lane County Suicide Risk Panel since its inception in 1990.

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Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W.
Charles G. Curie was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 2001 as Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). As SAMHSA Administrator, Curie reports to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and leads the $3.2 billion agency responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the Nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health services.

Articulating the vision of "a life in the community for everyone," Curie has charted a new course for SAMHSA. To realize this vision Curie has redefined SAMHSA's mission as "building resilience and facilitating recovery." He has created an Agency matrix of priorities and principles to guide program development and resource allocation. SAMHSA's new direction is based on the premise that people of all ages, with or at risk for mental or substance abuse disorders, should have the opportunity for a fulfilling life that includes a job, a home, and meaningful personal relationships with friends and family.

Curie has over 25 years of professional experience in mental health and substance abuse services field. His core commitment to ensuring that people with addictive and mental disorders have the opportunity for full participation in American society has earned him national recognition and acclaim.

Prior to his confirmation as SAMHSA Administrator, Curie was appointed by then Governor Tom Ridge as Deputy Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for the Department of Public Welfare in Pennsylvania. During his tenure, Curie implemented a nationally recognized mental health and drug and alcohol Medicaid managed care program and streamlined fractured service delivery systems. He also established and implemented a policy to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of seclusion and restraint practices in the state hospital system. This program won the 2000 Innovations in American Government Award sponsored by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Ford Foundation, and the Council on Excellence in Government.

Before his service in the Ridge Administration, Curie was the Director of Risk Management Services for Henry S. Lehr Inc. in Bethlehem, PA; President/CEO of the Helen H. Stevens Community Mental Health Center in Carlisle, PA; and Executive Director/CEO of the Sandusky Valley Center in Tiffin, Ohio. Curie is a native of Indiana and a graduate of Huntington College. He holds a Masters Degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and is also certified by the Academy of Certified Social Workers.

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Linda Flatt
Linda Flatt is a survivor of her son Paul's suicide, facilitator of Surviving Suicide (a bereavement support group for adult survivors of suicide), Community Organizer for Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPANUSA), and Chairman of the Board of the Nevada Affiliate Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP-NV).

Since Paul's death in 1993, Linda has journeyed from self-care - to mutual care of other survivors - to advocacy. She learned that suicide is a serious, but preventable, public health problem in the US - and especially in Nevada, the state with one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. Her mission is to advocate for the improvement of suicide prevention efforts in the US and in her home state of Nevada - and to educate about suicide, suicide prevention, and survivor support - in order to SAVE LIVES and increase the possibility of sparing others the pain of living in the aftermath of a suicide death.

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Joyce Gatson, MA, LPC
Joyce Gatson is licensed by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health as a licensed professional counselor. She has been a counselor and educator for more than twenty years primarily in the community college system teaching in the disciplines of psychology and counseling. She is employed by the Mental Health Association of Arizona as their suicide prevention coordinator.

Joyce was touched very personally by suicide when she lost her only child to suicide ten years ago. As a part of her healing process she wrote a book, Andy, Why Did You Have To Go?, a question that every survivor seems to ask. In the process of having the book published, she established Youth Suicide Prevention Education Programs (YSPEP), a 501c3 non profit organization focused on suicide prevention through educating the public.

She is an active member of the Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition (AZSPC). She sits on the executive and youth education committees, and recently merged YSPEP into the Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition, making it a 501c3. Joyce believes that the coalition will be a better way to achieve the goals she had planned through Youth Suicide Prevention Education Programs.

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Christian L. Hanna, MPH
Chris Hanna received a bachelors of science in natural resources from the University of Michigan and a masters in public health from the University of Northern Colorado. Previous work experience over the past 27 years includes environmental education, community-based substance abuse prevention, program consultation, and prevention and community development in rural Colorado. He is employed at the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety of the National Farm Medicine at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation in Marshfield, Wisconsin. The Center provides injury control services for children and adolescents in rural and agricultural communities. Services include research, delivery of technical assistance and development of products to states and others. The project receives support from a subcontract with the Children's Safety Network and Suicide Prevention Resource Center from the Education Development Center, Inc. in Newton, MA. A focus of his work includes providing technical assistance, training, and research for the prevention of violence-related injuries to children in rural communities

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Charlotte Y. Herkshan
Char is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She has 34 years of experience in Outreach work to the Tribal community. She served on the State planning team for Youth Suicide Prevention and is a certified ASIST (Applied Intervention Skills Training) trainer. Currently serves as Vice-Chairperson for the Warm Springs Council on Alcohol and Drugs, organizes and coordinates the annual Camp Sapsikwa (to tech and to learn) camp for youth. Chairs the Title VII Education Committee.

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Robin Holmes, Ph.D.
Dr. Robin H. Holmes is a clinical psychologist and Director of the University of Oregon Counseling and Testing Center. She is also Chair of the University of Oregon Suicide Prevention Task Force and has played an instrumental role in developing and implementing a comprehensive suicide prevention program at the University of Oregon.

Dr. Holmes also has expertise in multicultural issues, cultural competency and multicultural organizational development. She is a co-founder and current-co-director of a diversity research institute at the University called CODAC (Center on Diversity and Community), and serves as the project leader on the cultural competency project.

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Ryan J. Hulbert, Ph.D.
Ryan J. Hulbert has worked for the last three years as the Clinical Services Administrator for the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections. His undergraduate studies were at BYU and he received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1988. His dissertation on alcoholism recovery was conducted on a research fellowship at the University of Lowain, Belquim. After receiving his doctorate he worked for five years at the Cherokee, Iowa Mental Health Institute as staff psychologist and director or research. Prior to his current position he was in private practice for 8 years specializing in evaluations and therapy for adults and adolescents with depression, anxiety, addictions, and relationship problems.

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Randy Jenkins, Ph.D.
Dr. Randy Jenkins is the Chief Psychologist and Director of Psychiatric Ambulatory Services and the Mobile Crisis Team for Southern Nevada Adult Mental Services, the state agency which serves the Las Vegas, Nevada metropolitan area.

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Nancy Johnson
Nancy Johnson is one of the founding members of the AFSP NW. Nancy lost her 14 year old son, Chris, to suicide in 1997. Nancy attended the 1998 CDC/SPAN conference and helped draft the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and was involved in the process to develop Oregon's youth suicide prevention plan. Nancy played an important role in the development of the Suicide Shouldn't Be a Secret public education campaign that has been seen by millions of viewers. She is a past-President of Suicide Bereavement Support and serves the Oregon's State Agency Team for Youth Suicide Prevention. In 2004, Nancy received the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Survivor Award for many contributions to the cause of suicide prevention.

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Mark S. Kaplan, Dr. P.H.
Mark S. Kaplan is professor of community health at Portland State University. He received his doctorate in public health from the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds master degrees in social work and public health. He has written widely on public health issues, including late-life suicide; his recent research focuses on short- and long-term suicide risk factors. The National Institute of Mental Health and private foundations funded his research. He holds adjunct appointments in psychiatry at the Oregon Health and Science University and epidemiology and community medicine at the University of Ottawa. As a 2003-04 Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Kaplan studied the Canadian approach to population and public health. He is board member and book review editor of the International Journal of Men's Health.

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Heidi Keller
Heidi Keller is the director of the Office of Health Promotion in the Washington State Department of Health, where she has worked on a number of high visibility prevention programs and campaigns on such topics as immunization, breast and cervical cancer outreach, youth tobacco and alcohol counter advertising, antibiotic use and physical activity. For several years, the Office has lead efforts in the Department of Health to build cross-program and cross-agency collaboration to promote healthy aging.

Heidi received her degree in Communications from Washington State University and has more than 30 years experience in newspaper reporting, public relations, public sector marketing, community organizing, and health education/health promotion programs. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops on using media, marketing and advertising in health promotion programs.

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Melvin Kohn, M.D., MPH
Melvin Kohn is State Epidemiologist of Oregon, working for the Department of Human Services - Health Services. Dr. Kohn is the Administrator of the Office of Disease Prevention & Epidemiology. This office runs a variety of programs that cover the spectrum of public health including outbreak investigation, communicable and chronic disease prevention, environmental and occupational health, injury prevention, health statistics and vital records. Dr. Kohn oversees seven sections and more than 180 employees.

Dr. Kohn was the Deputy State Epidemiologist before stepping into the State Epidemiologist's shoes in 2000. He has over 10 years of experience in the public health sector including two years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Kohn received a B.A. from Yale, took pre-med courses at Columbia University, received his M.D. from Harvard, and received his Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Tulane School of Public Health. He completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital in Boston, is a board-certified pediatrician, and has taught pediatrics at Harvard, Tulane, and Louisiana State University medical schools.

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David A. Litts, O.D., F.A.A.O.
David Litts, O.D. is the Associate Director, Prevention Practice at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, a funded project of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. His work focuses on disseminating evidence-based suicide prevention practices among professionals and community leaders. Prior to this position, he served for three years as Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health and the US Surgeon General. In this position, he represented the Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary on the completion of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the development of a public-private infrastructure to facilitate its implementation. He has also served as Chief of Staff for the Air Force Surgeon General and 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. This program is now the largest and longest sustained suicide prevention effort associated with significant reductions in suicide. He is the recipient of the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Award and the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award.

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Keri M. Lubell, Ph.D.
Keri M. Lubell is a Behavioral Scientist with the Program Implementation and Dissemination Branch in the Division of Violence Prevention at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Lubell received her Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University, Bloomington. Her current research explores how state-based groups develop and implement statewide suicide prevention plans and programs, in particular focusing on how groups identify and negotiate challenges, create effective partnerships, and engage key stakeholders. She serves as scientific advisor for several suicide prevention projects funded by CDC, including two statewide suicide prevention implementation efforts. She has also conducted research addressing gender differences in suicide, the overlap between suicide and interpersonal violence, and how people seek help for mental health problems.

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Donn Marshall, Ph.D.
Donn earned his doctorate from the Ohio State University and interned at Southern Illinois University before beginning work at Puget Sound in 1987. In addition to suicide prevention work, Donn is active clinically and in his administrative role directing Counseling, Health and Wellness Services. Both on campus and in the community Donn is involved in sexual assault prevention and treatment, HIV/STI prevention, and he advises campus LGBT groups. Donn is a hack bluegrass mandolin player and is scaring the neighbor dogs learning to play violin. Donn is currently Director and Chief Psychologist, Counseling, Health and Wellness Services, University of Puget Sound.

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Gary McConahay, Ph.D.
Gary McConahay PhD has 25 years continuous experience in suicide prevention. Starting as a crisis line volunteer, Dr. McConahay eventually became the Executive Director of a suicide prevention agency. He has worked as a Mobile Crisis clinician and has supervised crisis teams and outpatient treatment teams. Dr. McConahay has personally intervened with over 5000 people at elevated risk of suicide, including at least 1000 people in hospital emergency rooms, jails, and other public facilities. Dr. McConahay has been active in training others in suicide intervention skills, and has been part of the suicide prevention efforts of Oregon, California, Washington, Tennessee, Virginia, the US Army, the US Air Force, and the nation of Scotland. He actively assisted in the development of the State of Oregon youth suicide prevention plan and currently serves on the Technical Advisory Workgroup for the DHS Health Services "Connecting Youth" project.

Currently, Dr. McConahay is the Clinical Director of Oregon Regional Behavioral Services, a statewide nonprofit organization providing housing and services for persons with mental illnesses. He also contacts and consults with government and nonprofit agencies on suicide prevention and promotes community mental health, and is a Senior Coaching Trainer of the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) workshop. Dr. McConahay supports suicide survivors on a pro bono basis and operates a private practice in Grants Pass, Oregon.

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Richard McKeon Ph.D., MPH
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 four years as Associate Administrator/Clinical Director of a hospital based community mental health center in Newton, New Jersey. He established the first evidenced based treatment program for chronically suicidal borderline patients in the state of New Jersey utilizing Marsha Linehan's Dialectical Behavior Therapy. In 2001, he relocated to Washington D.C. and worked as a Congressional Fellow for United States Senator Paul Wellstone, covering health and mental health policy issues. He spent five years on the Board of the American Association of Suicidology as Clinical Division Director and has also served on the Board of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Pychological Association. He currently serves as a special advisor on suicide prevention at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration .

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Denise Middlebrook, Ph.D.
Dr. Denise Middlebrook received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1995. Her areas of interests include community psychology, sociocultural psychology, the social psychology of ethnic groups, and social stigmas. She also minored in clinical psychology with an emphasis on developmental psychopathology, personality theory, and abnormal psychology.

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Lisa M. Millet
Ms. Millet has education and experience working in both mental health and public health. Her work in behavioral health led her to a career in public health. She has worked as a therapist at a state hospital, manager of outpatient behavioral health, coordinator of HIV community planning and now as a manager of injury and violence prevention programs. She oversees a variety of programs with a focus on suicide prevention including Youth Suicide Prevention, Elder Suicide Prevention Planning, Violent Death Reporting, an attempt follow-up demonstration project and Child Fatality Review. She is an advisor to the Northwest Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the vice chair of the Governor's Council on Domestic Violence and an executive board member of the State & Territorial Injury Director's Association. Ms. Millet is also involved in lobbying efforts to increase funding to for suicide prevention through her work with the Injury Coalition.

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Patrick O'Carroll, M.D., MPH
Patrick O'Carroll, MD, MPH, FACPM is the Regional Health Administrator for Region X (AL, ID, OR, and WA) of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). Dr. O'Carroll received his medical degree and his Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University in 1983. After training in family practice and preventive medicine, he joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer. Initially assigned to work the area of violence epidemiology, Dr. O'Carroll later led the epidemiology research unit for the prevention of suicide and violence at CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention Control. In 1992, Dr. O'Carroll began working in the nascent field of public health informatics. He co-led the development of CDC WONDER, was lead scientist on the CDC Prevention Guidelines Database project, and developed the nation's first training course and textbook in public health informatics. As Associate Director for Health Informatics at CDC's Public Health Practice Program Office, he developed and directed CDC's Health Alert Network program. In 2001, Dr. O'Carroll was assigned to the University of Washington's Northwest Center for Public Health Preparedness on public health informatics issues related to workforce development. In this assignment, he led the development of an explicit set of informatics competencies to guide training for public health professionals. In January 2003, he began his current assignment as Regional Health Administrator.

In his 17 years with CDC and USPHS, Dr. O'Carroll has received numerous awards and recognition for his work including two Outstanding Service Medals. He holds Affiliate Associate Professor appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Services at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and is also Affiliate Associate Professor in the Division of Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Washington School of Medicine.

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Richard Paul, MSW
Richard Paul is Vice President of Health and Performance Solutions within the Employer Solutions division of ValueOptions. He is responsible for the implementation of company-wide EAP best practices initiatives, policy and procedure development, as well as workplace service quality practices and standards. In addition, he is involved in the delivery of both organizational and management executive level consultative services.

Prior to joining ValueOptions seven years ago, Rich served as Vice President at Lifescape, responsible for oversight of account services and business development for an interactive on-line EAP product. In addition, he held the position of Director of Behavioral Health Operations at the Human Resources Development Institute (HRDI), where his responsibilities included: program management and development, supervision and training of all clinical staff. He also served as an adjunct faculty member at Valparaiso University's social work department and has worked in a variety of internal and external EAP settings. Rich is president-elect for the Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA) and a member of the EAP Joint Industry Alliance a recently funded private and public EAP initiative funded by SAMHSA. He also represents employee assistance on the University of Rochester Suicide Prevention Consensus Project. In addition, he is a Peer Reviewer for the Council on Accreditation (COA) and a participant on the COA Advisory panel. He has authored over a dozen articles on a variety of issues that impact upon productivity and organizational performance. He obtained his Master of Social Work and post-graduate certificate in Business Administration from the University of Illinois in Chicago, with a concentration in Occupational Social Work and Organizational Development services. He is also a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) and a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP).

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Lloyd Potter, Ph.D., MPH
Lloyd Potter PhD, MPH, is the project director for the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. He oversees the strategic plan and its implementation for the resource center. Associate Director for the Center for Violence and Injury Prevention and Director of Children's Safety Network. His current work is focused upon providing assistance to state and local public health officials to develop and implement efforts to prevent suicide, violence, and unintentional injury. From 1993 - 2000 Dr. Potter served as the Leader of Youth Violence and Suicide Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. He has been proactive in promoting suicide as a public health issue. Dr. Potter has his Masters in Public Health from Emory University in Atlanta. He also has a Master of Science degree in Education from the University of Houston. His PhD is from the University of Texas at Austin in sociology and demography. He taught elementary school from 1980 - 1983 before returning to graduate school. He has also worked as an assistant professor of Sociology and Demography at Fordham University in New York.

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Brooke P. Randell, DNSc, RN, CS
Dr. Randell is adolescent psychosocial nurse and nurse researcher, an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Psychosocial and Community Health at the University of Washington and an investigator with the Reconnecting Youth Prevention Research Program. Dr. Randell has developed two prevention curricula for parents, Parents as Partners and Parents-CARE, both of which include skills training for parents to provide support for their teen related to depression and suicide-risk behaviors. She is a co-author of the Washington State Youth Suicide Prevention Plan. She consults nationally and internationally on the topic of Youth Suicide Prevention. Dr. Randell is PI on four federally funded grants: Promoting CARE: Counselors and Parents Prevent Suicide Risk, Promoting CARE for Hispanic Youth at Suicide Risk, CAST-Plus: A Suicide Prevention Community Partnership and Maintaining Long-term Change: Youth Suicide Prevention.

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Tom Rankin, J.D.
Tom Rankin works at the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center, a program of Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center. As a Suicide Prevention Educator, he lectures to clinics, hospitals, agencies, schools and universities about suicide warning signs, depression and other mental illnesses, and suicide prevention and intervention. Mr. Rankin directs the Minorities Outreach Program at Didi Hirsch, which provides suicide prevention outreach to minority communities especially at risk for suicide. He also coordinates the Survivors After Suicide program, consisting of support groups for those who have lost loved ones to suicide, and the Suicide Response Team, a first-responders program that sends survivors to the scene of a suicide death to assist the newly bereaved. Mr. Rankin's research background is in both psychology and law: he has a Master's in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and is admitted to the California Bar.

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Jerry Reed, MSW
Jerry Reed serves as Executive Director of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA). Prior to assuming this position on July 1, 2003, Jerry served as an independent consultant working on health care, mental health, geriatric and suicide prevention issues. He most recently worked with the Center for Mental Health Services on a variety of initiatives in support of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy and also served as project liaison with the three-year Hotline Linkage and Evaluation Project (HELP) and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). He received an MSW degree with an emphasis in Aging Administration from the University of Maryland at Baltimore in 1982. He spent 15 years as a career civil servant working in both Europe and the United States as a civilian with the Department of the Army developing, implementing and managing a variety of quality of life programs including substance abuse prevention and treatment, family advocacy, child and youth development programs, social services and a range of morale, welfare and recreation programs. Selected as a Congressional Fellow in 1996, he worked in the Office of Senator Harry Reid (NV) serving as senior advisor on health care, mental health, suicide prevention and aging issues. Upon completion of the fellowship he accepted a full time position with the U.S. Senate and completed his assignment in 1999 as Deputy Chief of Staff for Senator Reid. Jerry is currently working on a doctoral degree in Health Related Sciences with an emphasis in Gerontology at the Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Philip Rodgers, Ph.D.
Philip Rodgers, Ph.D., is the Scientific Coordinator for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Evidence-Based Practices Project (EBPP). The purpose of EBPP is to identify evidence-based suicide prevention programs and, in conjunction with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, to create an online registry of effective programs. The registry will provide state suicide specialists, school and government administrators, clinicians and others with the information they need to make informed decisions about the adaptation of prevention programs in their communities. Dr. Rodgers earned a B.S. in Experimental Psychology from California State University Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in Research and Evaluation Methodology from Utah State University. He has worked in the field of research and evaluation for over thirteen years, and has recently completed evaluations in fields as diverse as charter schools, Medicaid, and website accessibility for disabled populations.

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Morton M. Silverman, M.D.
Morton M. Silverman, M.D., currently is the Senior Advisor to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). From October, 2002 until January, 2003 he served as the Director of the SPRC. In October, 2002 the SPRC was established under a cooperative agreement between the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to fulfill one of the objectives of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP). The SPRC supports the suicide prevention efforts of national, regional, state, tribal, and local action-oriented networks by providing technical assistance, access to resources, and training to stakeholders for results-based decision-making and continuous quality improvement.

Dr. Silverman served as the first Chief of the Center for Prevention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health (1983-1985), and then served as the first Associate Administrator for Prevention in the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (1985-1987). From 1987-2002, he was an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Associate Dean of Students in the University, and Director of the Student Counseling and Resource Service, all at the University of Chicago. He currently is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Silverman recently served as the Senior Scientific Editor and Writer for the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action (2001). He has been a consultant to the DHHS Federal Steering Group to implement the National Strategy. He serves as a Temporary Advisor to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence of the World Health Organization and consults on the development of national suicide prevention programs. Since 1996, he has been the Editor-in-Chief of Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, the scientific journal of the American Association of Suicidology.

Dr. Silverman is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a member of Division 27 of the American Psychological Association. He is the co-author or author of over 20 journal publications, and over 20 book and monograph chapters on the topics of college student mental health, disease prevention, health promotion, alcohol and other drug abuse, suicide, and standards of care. He is the co-editor or co-author of 4 books on topics related to the field of suicidology, including the Comprehensive Textbook of Suicidology (2000).

He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania (1969) and received his M.D. degree from Northwestern University in 1974. In 1978 he completed his residency training in Psychiatry at the University of Chicago.

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Susan Soule
Susan Soule moved to Alaska in 1979, spending her first 8 years in the village of Aniak as director of the Kuskokwim Native Association Community Counseling Program and as consultant to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation in suicide prevention. In 1987 she began her 18-year career in state government. She developed and administered the Community-based Suicide Prevention Program and, in cooperation with the University of Alaska and a number of Native Health Corporations and non-profits, the Rural Human Services System Project. This program trains, employs and supervises a statewide network of village-based counselors. Ms. Soule was a member of the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council and of the Expert Panel at the National Suicide Prevention Conference in Reno in 1998. She has consulted and presented on suicide prevention in the United States, Russia and Canada. Ms. Soule retired from state government in January 2005 and currently trains and consults on community-based suicide prevention and health promotion

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Elaine Thompson, PhD, RN
Dr. Thompson is an adolescent psychosocial nurse and nurse researcher, a Professor in the Department of Psychosocial and Community Health at the University of Washington and an investigator with the Reconnecting Youth Prevention Research Program. She is co-developer of the Measure of Adolescent Potential for Suicide (MAPS), a computer-assisted assessment interview for youth at risk for depression and suicide-risk behaviors. She co-authored the Youth Suicide Prevention Plan for Washington State (YSP), served as an evaluator of the state-wide YSP program at implementation, and co-authored the Washington Youth Suicide Prevention Program: Report of Activities 1995-1997. Dr. Thompson is PI on two federally funded grants: Long-term Efficacy of Youth Suicide-risk Preventionand Suicide-risk from Adolescence to Young Adulthood, and she is Co-Investigator on Assessing Suicide Risk in Adolescents (CDC). She was Co-PI on Preventing Suicide Lethality Among Vulnerable Youth (NIMH); Measurement of Adolescent Potential for Suicide (NINR), and Promoting Competence and Support to Prevent Suicide Risk (NINR).

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Reid Vanderburgh, MA
Reid Vanderburgh is a therapist with a private practice in downtown Portland. He specializes in helping clients undergoing major life transformations, such as adjusting to death of a spouse, unexpected job loss, "mid-life crises," and transition from one sex/gender role to another. Approximately 80% of his clients are transgendered. In addition to his work as a therapist, Reid is a writer and educator, providing information about transition and trans issues in general. Reid is a transman who began his transition in 1995.

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Jo Velasquez, Ph.D.
Dr. Velasquez is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and private practitioner in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Velasquez earned her undergraduate degree at the University of California at Irvine and earned her Masters and Doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology with a proficiency in Multicultural Community Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology-Alliant International University-Los Angeles. She completed an undergraduate internship at the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California @ Irvine. She completed her pre doctoral work at the University of California @ Irvine Counseling Center and The Center for Child Development and Developmental Disorders-Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She completed her post-doctoral training at the University of California @ Davis with special assignment to the Medical School. Currently her private practice provides care for adults and children. Her clinical sub specialties include Pediatric and Health Psychology, Psychophysiology. Client populations include Spanish Speaking Culinary Workers, Victims of Crime and Trauma and Court Referred High Conflict Custody Cases. Dr. Velasquez has taught and consulted at the University of California @ Davis and @ Irvine, County Agencies, Children's Centers and Hospitals and Schools. She has worked with populations including prison inmates, wards of the court and their families, and families living in areas where gangs are active. Dr. Velasquez has been married for 22 years and is the mother of two children. Her eldest child is a Bipolar child.

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Margaret A. West, Ph.D., MSW
Dr West has more than 30 years of professional experience in evaluation and development of recommendations for public policy and program development, provision of clinical services, conducting and publishing research, providing training in higher education in the health sciences, and in community consultation and service. She holds a master's degree in Social Work and a PhD in Educational Psychology and an Adjunct Faculty Appointment in Social Work all from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She has been a member of the Washington State DSHS Children's Services Advisory Committee for many years.

She is a Regional Coordinator for the Health Resources and Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services Seattle Division and a member of the US Department of Health and Human Services Federal Steering Group to develop and implement a National Suicide Prevention Plan. She provides leadership and technical assistance to programs in Region X states and others on many issues and topics in public health, mental health, special health care needs, systems integration and development, and team building at the National, Regional, State, and community level. Dr. West has special expertise and interest in prevention of violence and injury, improving access to and adequacy of mental health services as an integrated part of health care, access to and adequacy of genetic services, improving population based data and use of this data in program and policy development, and leadership in collaborative, coordinated, quality care for vulnerable populations.

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Peter Wollheim, C.C.W., Ph.D.
Peter Wollheim, C.C.W., Ph.D. is Executive Director of Idaho Suicide Prevention Service and Director of the Certified Crisis Worker Preparation Program at BSU.

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