2021 Prevent Suicide PA Conference

Guy Diamond Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Family Intervention Science at Drexel University. His primary work has been in the area of youth suicide prevention and treatment research. As a prevention scientist, he has created a program of training, screening and triage for non-behavioral health settings. As an intervention scientist, he and his colleagues have developed and tested Attachment-based Family Therapy, with a focus on youth suicide treatment. Along with his colleagues, Drs. Gary Diamond and Suzanne Levy, Dr. Diamond has written the first book on ABFT, Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed Adolescents published by the American Psychological Association.

Mandy Fauble, PhD, LCSW, is Director of Clinical Care Services at UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor in Erie, PA. She has been with Safe Harbor since 2002. Her areas of focus include serious and persistent mental illness, trauma and crisis intervention. Dr. Fauble has been a faculty member at Mercyhurst University since 2005, and an assistant professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania since 2012. She is a certified trainer of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). Dr. Fauble has previously served on a variety of boards and committees, including locally on the Erie County Department of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Advisory Board and the Erie County Criminal Justice Coalition, as well as the PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors. She is currently a board member of the Rehabilitation and Community Provider Association (RCPA) of Pennsylvania. She was one of 2016’s Mercy Center for Women’s 12 Women Making History.

Brandy Lidbeck is a licensed marriage and family therapist and helped develop and lead the LOSS Team in the Central Valley of California before recently stepping down to assist other teams throughout the country start their own LOSS Teams. As a two-time suicide-loss survivor herself, Brandy is passionate about reaching each survivor and connecting them with the support and resources that were not available to her at the time of her own losses. Brandy currently serves as the Chair of the Fresno County Suicide Prevention Collaborative and is in the process of forming the county suicide review team. Lidbeck is also the author of The Gift of Second: Healing from the Impact of Suicide, which is often given out to new survivors by LOSS Teams and support groups throughout the U.S.

Doctor Larence Kirby is the owner and counselor for Key 2 Clarity Counseling Services. He specializes in counseling males of color and veterans who may be reluctant to disclose feelings. He also serves as an academic counselor with Delaware Technical Community College providing guidance for 3,300 students while assisting military and military family students with veteran education benefits. Prior to this position, he worked as state director for veterans' services, where he secured benefits for 72,000 Delaware veterans.

Doctor Kirby retired from active-duty Air Force as a Command Chief Master Sergeant and is proud to have served our nation. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions in Afghanistan and selflessly identified hundreds of Iraq and Afghanistan casualties, through dental xrays, at Dover's Air Force Port Mortuary.

Doctor Kirby has a Ph.D. in Human Services, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and serves as Board President for the Mental Health Association in Delaware. He believes that he was placed on this Earth to help others, so he strives daily to do so on multiple occasions.

As President of the MyAdvisor Division, Jennifer implements and directs proactive care coordination programs for Three Wire Systems. In her current role, she improves access to reintegration services in the areas of wellness, behavioral health, navigational advocacy, financial and career transition coaching. Most recently, Jennifer was appointed to the P.A. State Board for Vocational Rehabilitation and to the Yellow Ribbon Fund Board of Directors. She serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Rural Mental Health, where she is also the former president, and Jennifer is a member of the Veterans Community Initiatives, WETA Public Media Mental Health, Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, AHA Rural Leadership Advisory Task Force, and the VA Community Care Board for Central PA. Jennifer was a 2019 Navy Embark Participant aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and received the 2019 Service to the Citizen Award- Champion of Change as part of National Public Service Week. Jennifer led MyAdvisor to win the 2020 Excellence in Business (Large) for Cambria County Pennsylvania and the 2021 American Association of Suicidology Crisis Center of the Year.

THOMAS JOINER went to college at Princeton and received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is The Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University (FSU). Dr. Joiner’s work is on the psychology, neurobiology, and treatment of suicidal behavior and related conditions. Author of over 750 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Joiner is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal /Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior/, and was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship. He received the Dublin Award for career achievement in suicide research from the American Association of Suicidology, as well as research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and Department of Defense (DoD). The Lawton Professorship and the Dublin Award are the single highest honors bestowed, respectively, by FSU and the American Association of Suicidology. In 2017, he was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was given the 2020 James McKeen Cattell Award for lifetime contributions to the area of applied psychological research from the Association for Psychological Science.

He is a consultant to NASA’s Human Research Program, and is the Director of the DoD-funded Military Suicide Research Consortium, a $70 million project.

Dr. Joiner has authored or edited eighteen books, including /Why People Die By Suicide/, published in 2005 by Harvard University Press, and /Myths About Suicide/, published in 2010, also with Harvard University Press. He runs a part-time clinical and consulting practice specializing in, among other topics, suicidal behavior, including legal consultation on suits involving death by suicide.

State Representative Mike Schlossberg was reelected to a fifth term in November 2020, continuing his commitment to community leadership. For the 2021-2022 session, he was elected Democratic Caucus Administrator. Representative Schlossberg is Democratic co-chair and co-founder of the Mental Health Caucus, allowing him to focus on helping other members of the General Assembly and the citizens of Pennsylvania to understand mental health issues and concerns. In September 2015, Rep. Schlossberg was honored to accept an invitation to become a member of the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Mental Health and Justice Advisory Committee, providing guidance and structure to ensure statewide coordination and effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s criminal justice and mental health systems.

In 2020, Representative Schlossberg was named Public Elected Official of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers. Schlossberg was also named Legislator of the Year in 2017 by the National Association of Social Workers—PA and was presented with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s “Allies in Action Award” in 2016. On multiple occasions, he served as Honorary Chair of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s annual “Out of the Darkness” Walk and was also selected as the Honorary Emerging Minds Chair for the non-profit Minding Your Mind. Rep. Schlossberg was the 2015 recipient of the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society’s Benjamin Rush Award, presented to a non-psychiatrist who has brought recognition to mental illness/health over the past year.

Representative Schlossberg is married to Brenna, a teacher in the Allentown School District. They have a son and daughter who are both in elementary school.

Christine E. Brubaker, LCSW, LISW-S, LSSW is a Community Engagement and Partnerships Program Manager with the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP) with Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO). Ms. Brubaker received her Bachelor of Science in Social Work degree from Miami University and her Master of Social Work degree from The Ohio State University. Ms. Brubaker has practiced as a licensed master’s social worker for the past 18 years and is currently licensed in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Throughout her career she has participated in consumer centered, strength based and recovery-oriented programs through the provision of clinical care, trainings, program development and community collaboration. Ms. Brubaker strives to serve Veterans through increasing the quality of mental health care, suicide prevention and addressing Veteran public health issues. She is honored to participate in the 2021 Prevent Suicide PA Conference.

As a strong believer in the empowerment of young people, Marisa Vicere founded and became president of Jana Marie Foundation in 2012. The experience of losing her sister, Jana Vicere, to suicide in 2011 cemented her commitment to helping young people navigate through the tough transitional years and educating parents and community members about mental and emotional health. Under her leadership, the Jana Marie Foundation was named a top 100 organization by Pennsylvania Business Central.

Marisa is a certified instructor in Mental Health First Aid (Youth and Adult Modules), teen Mental Health First Aid, and Question Persuade Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Training for Gatekeepers. She is also trained to facilitate AFSP More than Sad and AFSP Talk Saves Lives.

Marisa currently serves as chairperson for the Centre County Suicide Prevention Taskforce and is a board member of the Centre County Council for Human Services and Prevent Suicide PA. Marisa holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Susquehanna University and MBA from Penn State Smeal College of Business.

Marisa was named to Pennsylvania Business Central’s Foremost Under 40 List (2018 and 2020), Pennsylvania Business Central’s Top 100 People List (2019), and Women in Business’ 2020 Women Making a Difference List.

Dr. Perri Rosen is a consulting psychologist at the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) at the Department of Human Services (DHS) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She is also Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) and a Pennsylvania certified Special Education teacher. At OMHSAS, Dr. Rosen has helped lead several youth mental health and suicide prevention initiatives, including the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention grant and the Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services.

Linda L. Goodwin is an ordained minister of the Church of the Brethren and a retired pediatric chaplain. She is a writer, spiritual retreat leader, speaker and a suicide loss survivor. She also serves on the Cambria County Suicide Task Force and is a QPR Instructor.

Caitlin Palmer Davidson serves as Special Advisor to the Secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). Caitlin joined the Wolf Administration in March 2015 and has served in various leadership and policy positions at DHS and the Department of Health. During her time working for the Commonwealth, she has focused on strategic initiatives and policies related to social determinants of health; Medicaid programs for physical health, behavioral health, and long-term services and supports; health reform and racial equity; public health; food security, and innovations to support whole person and family care. Additionally, Caitlin currently heads up Pennsylvania’s statewide suicide prevention task force. Prior to joining the Wolf Administration, Caitlin worked for the Governor’s transition team and spent time working in the non-profit world, focusing on women’s and reproductive health care. Caitlin holds an associate degree from Harrisburg Area Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration and Public Administration from Shippensburg University, a Master of Science in Public Health and Health Policy from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is certified as peer support specialist.

Francesca Pileggi has been involved in mental health and suicide prevention since she lost twofamily members to suicide and struggled with her own mental health issues as a teenager.These events ignited a passion for suicide prevention, which led Francesca to work as a publicspeaker and advocate as a young adult. In 2013, Francesca began serving as the Director of Programming for Aevidum, a student-driven mental health and suicide prevention organization present in nearly 300 schools across the country. She became Aevidum’s Executive Director in 2016. Francesca earned her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology in 2014. Francesca currently lives in Delaware County and works as a high school counselor at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware. She is also a board member of Prevent Suicide PA, a member of the Chester County Suicide Prevention Task Force, a certified peer specialist, and a certified QPR Master Trainer.

Dr. Perri Rosen is a consulting psychologist at the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) at the Department of Human Services (DHS) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She is also Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) and a Pennsylvania certified Special Education teacher. At OMHSAS, Dr. Rosen has helped lead several youth mental health and suicide prevention initiatives, including the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention grant and the Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services.

Stephen Sharp is co-author of Amazon Best-Selling Book and 2019 Hot New Release - 50+ Tech Tools for School Counselors. Steve is a school counselor and Apple Certified Educator. He has worked to provide students with the knowledge and skills to be healthy and successful in the 21st century. Stephen has served on the governing boards of both his local and state school counseling associations. Stephen completed his M.Ed at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, and BA from Lycoming College.

Stephen Sharp is a co-founder of the Leadership Summit, a community-based social justice network to provide students the language and tools to understand and combat the many forms of oppression. Stephen is a Nationally Certified School Suicide Prevention Specialist, and continues to work with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pilot an electronic behavioral health screening for schools. He works tirelessly across the state to provide education and training on mental health, substance abuse, inequality, and a world changed by technology.

Stephen frequently presents and writes on school counseling practice, leadership, technology, emerging career skills, mental health and race in education. Stephen was named the 2017 Pennsylvania Middle School Counselor of the Year.

Hunter started in the behavioral health field as a mental health crisis worker at Access Services while obtaining a Masters' in Counseling Psychology. After being a crisis worker, Hunter was an AD in a Justice Related Services program and then worked as a community trainer supporting high school and collegiate settings build better mental health and suicide atmospheres through education and training. Currently Hunter is the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS). He is a certified QPR trainer and ASIST trainer.

Daniel J. Mallinson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Administration at Penn State Harrisburg. His primary research centers on the study of how states innovate and learn from one another. He has conducted policy-specific research in the areas of cannabis policy, climate policy, energy policy, and environmental policy. Dr. Mallinson is also interested in the feedback loop between public policy and diseases of despair. His recent research on suicide prevention was funded by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

Eunsil Yoo is a doctoral candidate in Public Administration at Pennsylvania State Harrisburg. She is also working as an adjunct faculty at the School of Public Affairs. Her dissertation topic is collaborative networks for program implementation: A case of home-visiting program, and her research interests are collaborative governance, nonprofit management, and network analysis.

Stacey Buettner, LCSW is Program Director of Crisis Services at UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor in Erie, PA. She has been with Safe Harbor since 2008 and her focus includes serious and persistent mental illness as well as crisis intervention. Mrs. Buettner oversees the operations of the 24-hour Crisis Center, Crisis Residential Unit and Crisis Services Acute Need & Diversion Services (CSANDS) programs. She is the lead for the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team and the Suicide Prevention Advisory Board within Safe Harbor. Mrs. Buettner is a certified trainer of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) as well as Question, Persuade, refer (QPR).