Keynote Speakers

​​Stan P. Collins
Stan Collins has worked in the field of suicide prevention for nearly 20 years and is recognized nationally as a leader in the field. Currently he is working as a consultant, focusing on technical assistance in creation and implementation of suicide prevention curricula and strategies. Stan has been instrumental in assisting counties across California in the development and roll out of strategic plans to address suicide prevention. As part of his work with the San Diego County Suicide Prevention Council, he chairs the Media and Communications sub-committee. Through this work, he has developed media engagement strategies and plans to provide guidance to the council on promoting reporting recommendations through news media and guided organizations working to address suicide to ensure they are promoting positive and effective communication. In addition, he has participated in numerous interviews on the topic, as well as assisting county behavioral health agencies in responding to high profile suicides. Stan is a member of the American Association of Suicidology’s Communication team, and is assisting in developing a plan to support local agencies in their communications and media relations. Stan also serves as the primary subject matter expert for communications on suicide prevention for the CalMHSA funded Each Mind Matters campaign.

Michael Lindsey, PhD, MSW, MPH
Dr. Michael A. Lindsey is a noted scholar in the fields of child and adolescent mental health, as well as a leader in the search for knowledge and solutions to generational poverty and inequality. He is the Executive Director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University (NYU), the Constance and Martin Silver Professor of Poverty Studies at NYU Silver School of Social Work, and an Aspen Health Innovators Fellow. He also leads a university-wide Strategies to Reduce Inequality initiative from the NYU McSilver Institute.
At the NYU McSilver Institute, Dr. Lindsey leads a team of researchers, clinicians, social workers and other professionals who are committed to creating new knowledge about the root causes of poverty, developing evidence-based interventions to address its consequences, and rapidly translating their findings into action through policy and best practices.
Additionally, he leads the working group of experts supporting the Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, which created the report Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice (NAP) in Social Work and Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. He was also appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin serving on the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) in 2022.
Dr. Lindsey serves on the editorial boards of the following journals: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Psychiatric Services and School Mental Health.
He holds a PhD in social work and MPH from the University of Pittsburgh, an MSW from Howard University, and a BA in sociology from Morehouse College.

Sally Spencer-Thomas
​Sally Spencer-Thomas is a clinical psychologist, inspirational international keynote speaker, podcaster and an impact entrepreneur. Dr. Spencer-Thomas was moved to work in suicide prevention after her younger brother, a Denver entrepreneur, died of suicide after a difficult battle with bipolar condition. Known nationally and internationally as an innovator in social change, Spencer-Thomas has helped start up multiple large-scale, gap filling efforts in mental health including the award-winning campaign Man Therapy (www.ManTherapy.org) and was the lead author on the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention (www.WorkplaceSuicidePreven0on.com)

Spencer-Thomas is Co-Founder and current President of United Suicide Survivors International (https://unitesurvivors.org/) a non-profit dedicated to living up the voices of people with lived experience of suicide for systems and cultural change.

She is the co-editor of a men’s mental health anthology book series called “Guts, Grit & The Grind” (https://www.gutsgritgrind.com/) and established “Construction Working Minds” (https:// www.construcionworkingminds.org/) the first global resource for construction suicide prevention.

Spencer-Thomas has held leadership positions for the International Association for Suicide Prevention, the American Association for Suicidology, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

She has won multiple awards for her advocacy including the 2014 Survivor of the Year from the American Association of Suicidology, the 2014 Invisible Disabilities Association Impact Honors Award, and the 2012 Alumni Master Scholar from the University of Denver, the 2015 Farbarow Award from the International Association for Suicide Prevention and the 2016 Career Achievement Alumni Award from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology.

In 2016 she was an invited speaker at the White House where she presented on men’s mental health. In her TEDx Talk she shares her goal to elevate the conversation to make mental health promo0on and suicide prevention a health and safety priority in our schools, workplaces and communities.

She has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver, Masters in Non-profit Management from Regis University, a Bachelors in Psychology and Studio Art with a Minor in Economics from Bowdoin College. She has written several books on mental health and violence prevention. She lives with her partner and three sons in Conifer, Colorado.

Anne Moss Rogers 
Anne Moss Rogers is an emotionally naked® speaker, TEDx storyteller, certified suicide prevention trainer, NAMI Virginia board member, and the award-winning author of Diary of a Broken Mind. After her 20-year-old son, Charles died by suicide June 5, 2015, Anne Moss chronicled her family’s tragedy in a newspaper article that went viral, and her blog, Emotionally Naked, has reached millions. 

​She has been featured in the New York Times and was the first suicide loss survivor ever invited to speak to at the National Institute of Mental Health. Her second book, Emotionally Naked: A Teacher’s Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk, is due out August 2021 through Wiley Publishing. A UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus, Anne Moss currently lives in Richmond, VA with her husband. Her surviving son, Richard, is a filmmaker in LA.

Albert Swanson
Albert Swanson serves as the Project Director for the COVID-19 Emergency Response Suicide Prevention (ERSP) Grant with Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) ensuring the provision of suicidal screening services to those underinsured and uninsured in Pima County emergency rooms. Albert has experience working with suicide prevention programs at the county, state, and federal government levels. Albert has trained professionals in numerous suicide prevention trainings and has served as a SafeTALK trainer. Albert also serves as an Adjunct Faculty member with the University of Phoenix.
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Breakout Speakers: 

​William Beverly, Ph.D., LMFT, CCHP
​Dr. Beverly is a licensed psychologist and faculty member in the counseling department at South Mountain Community College, where he also serves as Coordinator of the Behavioral Health Sciences program. Dr. Beverly has held leadership positions in a wide array of behavioral health settings overseeing numerous behavioral health programs across the state of Arizona, including residential treatment for teens, therapeutic group homes for adults with serious mental illness, forensic psychological services, sex offender treatment, and general outpatient counseling and psychiatric services. He was previously the Lead Psychologist for the Maricopa County jail system, where he co-developed a trauma-informed model for training officers working with inmates with mental illness and cognitive impairment. Dr. Beverly has conducted numerous workshops and published on the topic of suicide prevention and intervention with vulnerable populations. Dr. Beverly is also an adjunct professor at Northern Arizona University, where he has taught in the educational psychology department for the last 10 years.

​Roumen Bezergianov, LPC
Roumen Bezergianov is a mental health counselor at Arizona State University Counseling Services. He was born in Bulgaria in 1976 and first arrived in the United States as a Rotary International exchange student at the age of 17. He earned his counseling degree from Arizona State University, and has experience working in different mental health treatment settings: substance abuse treatment at "The Meadows" in Wickenburg, Arizona, intensive outpatient treatment at St. Luke's hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, counseling youth at the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections and in juvenile detention, and most recently counseling students at Arizona State University. He is the author of "Character Education with Chess" and "Suicide, Freedom, and the Reverence for Life".

Emily Bower, PhD
Dr. Emily Bower is a licensed clinical psychologist and geriatric mental health researcher with specializations in suicide prevention and the assessment and treatment of anxiety in older adults. She is an Assistant Professor in the PhD Clinical Psychology Program at Pacific University where she enjoys training and mentoring the next generation of clinical psychologists. Her research examines how people adjust to functional changes (cognitive, physical, and social) as they age with the goal of leveraging that information to develop behavioral interventions to promote mental health and prevent suicide among older adults. She was recently awarded an AFSP Young Investigator Grant to examine suicide risk factors in older adults with subjective cognitive decline. Dr. Bower received her PhD in clinical psychology from the SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the VA Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Veteran Mental Health and Suicide. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring local parks and donut shops with her 4-year-old daughter.

Amy Castellanos, BHT
Amy Castellanos is a comprehensive school mental health champion. She is dedicated to building a community of leaders that support students and families in addressing mental health challenges. Amy’s passion is to build community resilience through a wholistic approach of health and wellness. This approach focuses on providing support, holding space, and investing in the development of professional mentors and teachers. Amy is presenting today not as a professional but as someone who has lived experience in rediscovering their spirituality after a loved one died by suicide.

​Yeates Conwell, M.D. 
Yeates Conwell, M.D. received his medical training at the University of Cincinnati and completed his Psychiatry Residency and a Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. He is now Professor and Vice Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester (UR) School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he is Academic Chief of the Geriatric Mental Health and Memory Care Division, Director of the UR Office for Aging Research and Health Services, and Co-Director of the UR Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide. He is past President of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Chair of its Scientific Council. In addition to teaching, clinical care, and service system development, Dr. Conwell directs an inter-disciplinary program of research in aging, mental health services, and suicide prevention.  

Katie Costello
Katie Costello is a student in the Applied Behavioral Health Sciences Program and a work-study for the Counseling Division at South Mountain Community College. She also serves as president of the Behavioral Health Sciences Club on campus, coordinating student-led community outreach initiatives. At South Mountain Community College, she earned both her Associates in Arts, Associates in Applied Sciences, and two certificates in Applied Behavioral Health. As part of her behavioral health internship at SMCC, she co-facilitated a mindfulness-based stress management counseling group for students at the college. She is continuing her studies at Northern Arizona University, finishing her Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Sciences in Applied Human Behavior, and can speak first hand to the power of mindfulness-based interventions in personal growth and wellness.

Micheon Gorman
Micheon Gorman is Diné (Navajo) from Crownpoint, NM. Micheon is an Arizona State University alumna with a Master of Social Work focusing on Policy, Advocacy, and Community Practice. Micheon’s background has been in the fields of substance abuse and domestic/sexual violence prevention and counseling in tribal communities. Micheon works at the Phoenix Indian Center as a Prevention Program Manager with the Urban Indian Coalition of Arizona, providing awareness and education to tribal youth, adults, and community members about substance abuse and suicide prevention. In addition to providing oversight and coordination for the Prevention Services programs, she facilitates workshops, training, and curriculum on the topics of parenting, suicide prevention, youth-targeted substance abuse prevention, prescription drug abuse and misuse prevention, and historical intergenerational trauma.

Wallace Hudson
Wallace Hudson (he/they) has been leading LGBTQ+ inclusion trainings in the valley since 2016. He graduated with his Master of Arts in Women and Gender Studies from ASU in 2017 and shortly after began working for one•n•ten. Currently, he one•n•ten's Training and Digital Program Manager, where he leads LGBTQ+ trainings throughout the Southwest.

Stephanie Kelly
Stephanie Kelly joined the Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands as Assistant Director in March 2011 and assumed the role of Executive Director in August 2011. She received her A.S. from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1982 and her B.S. in Counseling Psychology from Lesley University in 1998 and worked both as the Assistant Director of Brockton Area Multi Services, Inc. in Plymouth and as Director of Family Support at The Arc of Greater Plymouth. Stephanie brings experience and expertise in the areas of program development, community outreach, grant writing, and collaborative partnerships. 

​In her time since joining Samaritans, Stephanie has served as a member of the Cape and Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition’s Steering Committee, a member of the Executive Committee for the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, on the Governor’s Special Commission to Study the Prevention of Suicide Among Correction Officers in Massachusetts Correctional Facilities, and as a member of the Community Health Network Area 27 (CHNA 27), the Cape Cod Consortium for At Risk Older Adults, the Bourne Women’s Club, and the Women’s Health Care Task Force at Cape Cod Healthcare.

Stephanie is a Cape Cod washashore (a “newcomer” not born on the Cape) even though she has made her home there for 30 years and is a resident of the village of Monument Beach.

Nikki Kontz, LMSW
Nikki is the Clinical Director for Teen Lifeline, a local non-profit dedicated to providing a safe, confidential and crucial crisis service where teens help teens make healthy decisions.  She has been working in the field for the past 16 years including work on a crisis mobile team, postvention intervention and assessment for hospitalization. Nikki possesses a master’s Degree in social work from Arizona State University and specializes in mental health issues, crisis intervention, suicide prevention/postvention and education, and adolescence.  She currently is a state Licensed Master Social Worker, a certified crisis worker through the American Association of Suicidology, field instructor for the Social Work Department at ASU, and serves as the President on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Jon Perez, Ph.D.
Jon Perez, Ph.D., serves as the Chief Operating Officer for The NARBHA Institute, with a rich background of experience in clinical psychology and nearly 30 years of federal behavioral health service from direct care to policy and program management in the U.S. and abroad. He also has multiple Joint Force deployments including serving as behavioral health chief aboard USNS Mercy during initial U.S. tsunami relief efforts in Aceh Indonesia 2005, and serving as the Senior Liaison Officer between coalition forces and the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health 2007-2008.

Brian Planty
Brian Planty is the Project AWARE co-coordinator, working in collaboration with ADE to remove barriers to MH services for students. Brian has been a leader in non-profit services for over 20 years, focused on integrating health services into community based housing, employment, and education services.

​Michael Rhinehart
Michael Rhinehart is the Crisis Outreach Administrator with LaFrontera Empact-SPC, who has been working in suicide prevention for the past 11 years. Michael has been providing extensive trainings on both a community and professional level to a variety of populations and audiences. Michael has stayed active in community outreach events, directing his efforts at the Gila River Prevention Coalition, Indian Nation Youth Camp, and is currently active with the LaFrontera Rally Point 22 For 22 Suicide awareness March. He holds multiple certifications, which include, Arizona Prevention Credentialing, Master ASIST Trainer, SafeTALK, QPR, Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid.

​Michele Russell, LMSW
Michele Russell is the Manager of Crisis Services at LaFrontera-EMPACT. As the Manager of Crisis Services, she oversees Mobile Crisis and Follow-Up Team services. These teams provide mobile crisis and follow up support to clients in crisis in Maricopa County and surrounding areas. Michele has over 20 year experience in the field. She has worked as a Mobile Crisis Therapist, Suicide Prevention Hotline Specialist and Outpatient Therapist. Michele is a LMSW and received her Master's in Social Work from Arizona State University.

​​Andrea Scherrer
Andrea Scherrer (Master of Counseling, Arizona State University) has been a residential faculty member in the Counseling Department at Scottsdale Community College since 2016. She works with students in a variety of settings to support them and help them realize and achieve their potential. She also chairs the Purpose Learning Community Committee. Prior to becoming residential faculty at SCC, Andrea was an adjunct instructor in counseling and psychology in MCCCD, taught Academic Success Courses at Arizona State University and was a high school counselor in Gilbert, AZ.

Thomas Winkel, MA, LPC, NCC
Thomas Winkel, MA, LPC, NCC is the Director for the Arizona Coalition for Military Families, a nationally recognized collective impact initiative focused on building Arizona’s statewide capacity to care for all service members, veterans, their families, and communities. He was a principal team member in reducing the deaths by suicide among Arizona National Guard members from the highest level in its history to zero for over three years. He is also a principle leader in the creation and implementation of both Be Connected and the Arizona Roadmap to Veteran Employment.

Mr. Winkel worked on the development of the White House Executive Order - PREVENTS, has spoken to The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, is on the Governor’s Workforce Arizona Council and Commission for Service and Volunteerism, and has been the Lead and Co-Lead on Arizona’s Governor/Mayor Challenges SAMHSA/VA Team for the past 11 years. 
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Mr. Winkel is a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps and served in the Arizona and Oregon Army National Guard. His service in the U.S.M.C. included tours in Japan, the Philippines, and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm during the first Gulf War.

Thank you to our conference sponsors: