Keynote Speakers
Dese’Rae L. Stage
Dese’Rae L. Stage, an award-winning artist, mom, suicidologist, and activist will Bring Resiliency Into Focus with personal stories.
Pata Suyemoto, Ph.D.
Dr. Pata Suyemoto is a feminist scholar, writer, educator, diversity trainer, mental health activist, jewelry designer, and avid bicyclist.
Jennifer Kelliher
Jennifer Kelliher has been the Managing Director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention since 2012.
Hasan Davis, J.D.
For more than 25 years, Hasan has held to the belief that each child can and will succeed as long as adults in their world create hope.
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Additional Speakers
Alison Krompf, MA
Alison received her BA in Psychology from Colgate University, a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and is currently pursuing her PhD in Organizational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Vermont.
Amber Leventry
Amber Leventry is a queer, nonbinary writer and advocate. They live in Vermont and have three kids, including twins and a transgender daughter. Amber’s writing appears in many publications including Romper, Longreads, The Temper, The Washington Post, and Parents Magazine.
Auburn Watersong, BA, M.Div
For more than twenty-five years, Auburn Watersong has been a tenacious advocate for those struggling with the effects of trauma and toxic stress that result in part from systemic oppression, violence, abuse, and poverty.
Becky Stoll, LCSW
Becky Stoll serves as Vice President for Crisis and Disaster Management for Centerstone.
Brittany Rhoads, LCMHC
Brittany Rhoads, LCMHC is an Adult Outpatient Clinician at Lamoille County Mental Health Services (LCMHS). LCMHS is a Designated Agency, serving Vermonter’s within the county.
Caitlin Jelinek, MPH
Caitlin Jelinek is very passionate about analyzing data to understand and survey populations at-risk for suicide, and how these data can help influence public health decision making.
Register
Registration is $99 per person. Each ticket enables one user to access all the Symposium virtual content during the live event, and the recorded content after the event.
More Speakers
Casey Doerner
Casey is the Health Systems Educator and Wellness Nurse Lead for the SASH program.
Catherine Marrin, MSW, LICSW
Catherine Marrin, MSW, LICSW Is Team Leader for the Integrated Health Team and supports the behavioral health social workers imbedded in primary and specialty care clinics in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.
Charles Gurney, LICSW, LADC
Charles Gurney is the Substance Use and Aging Specialist for the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, State Unit on Aging, and the Vermont Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Use Programs.
Elaine de Mello, LCSW
Elaine de Mello is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in the mental health field since 1978 as a clinical program manager in inpatient and community settings
Jaskanwar Batra, MD, MHA
Jaskanwar Batra, MD, MHA is a board-certified psychiatrist currently serving as Vice-Chair of Clinical Operations at Stony Brook Medicine in New York.
JoEllen Tarallo, Ed.D., MCHES, FASHA, HC
Dr. JoEllen Tarallo is Executive Director of the Center for Health and Learning (CHL), a comprehensive health promotion organization, and Director of the VT Suicide Prevention Center (VT-SPC).
Joseph Smith, US Army Veteran, Suicide Survivor
Joe Smith served for 6 1/2 years in the United States Army as an Infantryman deployed to serve in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm with the 101st Airborne Division.
Keith Clark, US Air Force Veteran
Keith Clark was a member of the U.S. Air Force before becoming a police officer in 1991. He was a patrol officer in Dover, VT before becoming a patrol sergeant with the Bellows Falls Police Department in 2000.
Kurt Michael, BA, MS, PhD
Dr. Kurt Michael is the Stanley R. Aeschleman Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University.
Larry Davidson, Ph.D
Larry Davidson is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, where he founded and directs the Program for Recovery and Community Health.
Mary T. Mcquiggan, LICSW
Mary is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has focused her work on supporting adolescents and their families with navigating the health care and education systems in Vermont.
Melissa Southwick
Melissa Southwick is the Assistant Director of the SASH (Support and Services at Home) program. Melissa has dedicated her career to helping older adults age in place.
Peter Espenshade, MA, CRC
Peter Espenshade is proud of his long-term recovery and has been the president of Recovery Vermont and VAMHAR since 2013.
Rebecca Bell, MD, MPH
Dr. Bell is a Pediatric Critical Care physician at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine at UVM.
Rebecca Chaplin
Rebecca Chaplin, MS, MSW is Social Work Care Coordinator assigned full time to a OBGYN specialty care practice through a unique partnership between Northwestern Counseling & Support Services and Northwestern Medical Center.
Reid Plimpton, MPH
Reid is the Project Manager for the federally funded (HRSA/FORHP) Northeast Telehealth Resource Center (NETRC), a member of the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers , where he provides assistance to organizations while they develop, implement, and expand telehealth programs.
Sarah Squirrell, MS, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Mental Health
Sarah Squirrell, Commissioner of Vermont Department of Mental Health, has over 20 years of experience in community mental health and nonprofit leadership with a focus on Vermont’s young children and families.
Steve Broer, Psy.D.
Steve Broer, Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist & Director of Behavioral Health Services at Northwestern Counseling & Support Services.
Terresa Humphries-Wadsworth, Ph.D
Terresa Humphries-Wadsworth, a licensed psychologist and highly experienced public speaker, is an expert in mental health promotion, suicide prevention, postvention, and behavioral health crisis care.
Tom Delaney, PhD
Dr. Delaney is based in the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program in the UVM Larner College of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics.
Tracy Dolan, MS
Tracy Dolan, Vermont Deputy Health Commissioner, provides overall leadership for a range of public health programs in the department, and manages coordination of services with the Agency of Human Services and other departments and agencies throughout the state.
Victor Armstrong, MSW
Victor Armstrong joined North Carolina DHHS as Director of the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Substance Abuse Services in March of 2020
Xusana Davis, Esq.
Xusana Davis works to identify and address systemic racial disparities and support the state’s efforts to expand & diversify Vermont’s population.
Presentations
Zero Suicide Pathway to Care: Addressing the Challenges of Systems Engagement
In this workshop, there will be a discussion on those practices and methodology and ways to overcome obstacles.
Widening the Lens: Social Justice and Racial Equity in Suicide Prevention
In order to begin to address the disparity in efforts around suicide prevention, we need to widen our lens to include a perspective of social justice and racial equity.
The Nature and Roles of Mental Health Peer Support
This workshop addresses the history, nature, and roles of peer support and what we have learned about its evidence and benefits, and how it can be applied to suicide prevention.
Telehealth & Suicide Prevention: Supporting Mental Health Clients Remotely
Engage with “telehealth guru” Reid Plimpton from the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center (NETRC) as he shares Telehealth 101 for Mental Health Providers which provides an overview on subjects such as: how to choose a telehealth platform, equipment needs, HIPAA considerations, reimbursement, licensure, and an orientation to readily-available telehealth resources through the NETRC, and other national organizations.
Suicide Prevention in Vermont: Comprehensive Systems Overview
This session has been designed for those who are new to the VT Suicide Prevention efforts and provides an overview of key partners, major initiatives & activities as well as the foundation of our work – the VT Suicide Prevention Platform.
Strategies for Engaging Students in Success
In this workshop, Hasan will explore the foundation of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and the impact of non-cognitive engagement on student culture, behavior, and norms.
Reframing Resiliency: Doing More And Asking Less Of The LGBTQIA+ Community
Leventry will provide personal stories from their own experiences while highlighting statistics from national and local surveys that confirm the LGBTQIA+ community suffers a disproportionately higher rate of self-harm, suicide ideation, and suicide compared to straight, cisgender peers.
Recent Suicide Prevention Trends: What Have We Been Learning?
The presenters will present recent trends in Vermont suicide and related data. Special populations that will be described include youth, LGBTQ+, Persons of Color, females and older adults.
Leveraging your Experience While Honoring the Sacred
Join Elaine as she examines experiences in the aftermath of suicide, to include perspectives of loss survivors and first responders.
Lethal Means Safety and Suicide Prevention: New Approaches for Firearm Safe Storage Counseling
Drs. Bell and Delaney will present an innovative approach they have developed for training providers on how to engage clients/patients on firearm safe storage practices, both for suicide prevention and as a broader approach to firearm injury prevention for children and families.
Integrating Suicide Focused Care in Primary & Specialty Care
In this workshop, presenters will describe a model for Integrated Behavioral Health & the application of Collaborative Assessment of Suicide (CAMS) in primary and specialty care practices.
Improving Resiliency for Older Adults at Risk for Suicide
Learn about the approach of care coordinators and wellness nurses who perform screenings, provide education and intervene as necessary with counseling, make referral to specialists, and assist in living well connecting their older adults with peers.
Comprehensive Suicide Prevention in K-12 Schools
The workshop is designed to inform school mental health providers and educators on the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of CAMS and CALM with students in K-12 schools.
Community Collaborations for Zero Suicide: The Lamoille County Experience
A panel of collaborators share some of the stories, challenges and successes, and their vision for the future which is now shared.
Care Transitions: Best Practices, Innovation, and Community-based Connections
Join us in examining practical examples of innovative strategies to build a ZERO GAP in care transitions for those with identified suicide risk.
Bringing Resiliency Into Focus
In a series of snapshots, Dese’Rae L. Stage, an award-winning artist, mom, suicidologist, activist, and MSW student, will share her experiences with suicidal thoughts (and sometimes more) over the course of her lifetime.
Away from No way: Every Child Has a Story, Every Story Deserves Heroes
Hasan will share the simple strategies his personal champions employed to help him complete the “JD shuffle” and go from Hasan Davis Juvenile Delinquent to Hasan Davis Juris Doctor.