With nearly 25 years of experience in crisis intervention and suicide prevention work, Dr. Draper is considered one of the nation’s leading experts in crisis intervention and crisis contact center practices (hotline, online chat, SMS services, etc.). As Vice President of National Networks for Vibrant Emotional Health, Dr. Draper serves as Project Director of the SAMHSA-funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network, which consists of over 160 member crisis centers across the country. Under his leadership, Vibrant also administers and supports other national crisis hotline networks, including the Disaster Distress Helpline, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Crisis Line, and the National Football League’s NFL Life Line. Prior to his efforts administering national crisis line networks, Dr. Draper was the founding director of LifeNet, the award-winning crisis hotline that was central to New York’s mental health response following the catastrophic events of 9/11.

Dr. Draper frequently presents at national conferences on subjects related to best practices in crisis intervention and suicide prevention, as well as the use of innovative technologies (text, chat, other online programs, etc.) in helping persons in emotional distress. Dr. Draper also frequently discusses the role of persons with lived experience of suicide in suicide prevention. Dr. Draper has been quoted in The New York Times, ABC News, The New York Post, and TIME among others. He also has received the Hope and Life Award from the Suicide Prevention Center of New York for extraordinary leadership in suicide prevention.

To contact Dr. Draper for journalist and press inquiries, visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/media-resources/.