Keynote Speakers

Frank Campbell, Ph.D., LCSW

Dr. Campbell is the former Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Crisis intervention Center and the Crisis Center Foundation in Louisiana, USA. He is currently Senior Consultant for Campbell and Associates Consulting where he consults with communities and on Forensic Suicidology cases. It was due to his more than twenty years of working with those bereaved by suicide that he introduced his Active Postvention Model (APM) most commonly known as the LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors ) Team. His work with survivors and victims of trauma has been featured in three discovery channel documentaries. The APM concept involves a team of first responders who go to the scene of a suicide and provide support and referral for those bereaved by the suicide. The goal has been to shorten the elapsed time between the death and survivors finding the help they feel will help them cope with this devastating loss. The Active Postvention Model has shown to have a positive impact on both the team members (most often bereaved individuals who have gotten help and now provide the installation of hope to the newly bereaved) as well as the newly bereaved. The model has now been replicated in countries as diverse as Australia, Singapore, Northern Ireland, and Canada.
Dr. Campbell is a past president of AAS and has received the Roger J. Tierney award for service and the Louis I Dublin Award in 2010 for his contributions to the field of Suicidology. Campbell was also selected by the International Association of Suicide Prevention to receive the 2009 Dr. Norman Farberow award for his international contributions on behalf of those bereaved by suicide.
He was Social Worker of the year in Louisiana and the first John W. Barton Fellow selected in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. To find out more about his work in the field of Suicidology you can visit www.lossteam.com

Michelle Rusk, Ph.D.
Michelle L. Rusk (Linn-Gust), Ph.D., inspires people to have meaningful and authentic lives. Whether she is discussing the 20 years she has spent working with the suicide bereaved, the lessons that running cross country and track taught her about life, or how learning to surf at 39 was a dream come true, Michelle is about making the most of life transitions and personal growth. She has written nine books, including three novels. She presents inspiring workshops, teaching people to set goals and cope with life situations, and works with people worldwide through her life coaching practice.

Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW
Dr. Jonathan Singer is a licensed clinical social worker and associate professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago. For the past 20 years, Dr. Singer has been a community mental health clinician, educator and researcher, much of that time providing crisis services to suicidal youth in schools. Dr. Singer is trained in Eye Movement Desensitazion and Reprocessing (EMDR), Solution-Focused Therapy, and Attachment-based Family Therapy (ABFT) for depressed and suicidal youth. Dr. Singer's clinical and research interests focus on interventions for suicidal and cyberbullied youth; service access and service utilization; and use of technology in education and clinical practice. Dr. Singer has given over 100 regional, national and international presentations to the U.S. Military, community mental health agencies, school districts, and national professional organizations on topics ranging from youth suicide and cyberbullying to ethics, social media, and adolescent development. He is the author of over 60 publications, including the 2015 Routledge text, Suicide in Schools: A Practitioner's Guide to Multi-level Prevention, Assessment, Intervention, and Postvention. His reseach has been featured in national and international media outlets like NPR, Fox, Time Magazine, and The Guardian. He is a founding member of #SPSM, an online suicide prevention social media community. He serves on the board of the American Association of Suicidology, the international organization Human Services Information Technology Association. He is the chair of the Children, Adolescent, and Young Adult Committee for the National Assocation of Social Worker, and the Council on Publications for the Council on Social Work Education. He is the founder and host of the award winning Social Work Podcast (www.socialworkpodcast.com). He lives in Evanston, IL with his wife and three children and can be found on Twitter as @socworkpodcast.

Martin Cheatle, Ph.D.
Dr. Cheatle is Director of Behavioral Medicine at the PENN Pain Medicine Center and Director, Pain and Chemical Dependency Research at the Center for Studies of Addiction, University of Pennsylvania. He is an Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Cheatle specializes in the evaluation and treatment of chronic pain disorders from a biopsychosocial perspective and has been involved in extensive research including a NIH funded 5-year longitudinal study of the development of addiction in patients initiating prescription opioid therapy for chronic pain and as PI of a currently funded NIH/NIDA grant assessing phenotypic and genotypic markers of prescription opioid abuse.  His main focus of research is pain management and addiction in vulnerable populations (HIV/AIDS, psychiatric patients) and pain and suicidal ideation and behavior. 

Breakout Speakers: 

Isaac Akapnitis, LMSW
​Isaac Akapnitis, LMSW is the Lead Community Development Coordinator with Safe Out at Terros Health, working to prevent and reduce suicide and substance use among LGBTQ youth and young adults. Isaac has worked with LGBTQ populations for over ten years, serving in various volunteer and employment capacities in Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Isaac earned his BA in Sociology from the University of North Florida, where he completed a thesis on intersections and identities among trans individuals. He then earned his Master of Science in Social Work with a concentration in Community and Administrative Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin. In all settings, Isaac strives to promote equity and create access to high quality health care for LGBTQ individuals.

William Beverly, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Beverly is a licensed psychologist and faculty member in the counseling department at South Mountain Community College, were 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.

LorenAshley Buford
​LorenAshley Buford, Oklevueha Band of Yamassee Seminoles of Florida, currently serves as the Project Manager over the national Wellness Warrior program with the United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc (UNITY). LorenAshley is the current Principal Chief of her tribe and continues to be active in her state-recognized home community while working abroad. LorenAshley is a graduate of Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in American Indian studies and an emphasis in Federal Indian law and historical trauma. She has been a passionate advocate for prevention work focusing on the awareness of HIV/AIDs, prescription drug abuse, youth marijuana use, underage drinking and suicide among indigenous youth. Artistic expression, cultural inclusion, food sovereignty, youth empowerment and tribal community organizing are LorenAshley’s driving force and passions.

​Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon
Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon is the Executive Director of the Front Porch Coalition and manages a LOSS Team that is designed after Dr. Frank Campbell’s Active Postvention Model (APM). She is one of Dr. Campbell’s Sudden and Traumatic LOSS Trainers. She also trains and educates the community on other suicide prevention, intervention, postvention programs, and now newly developed post-intervention programs. She is also a partner trainer with the Rapid City Police Department, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Dakota Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Training Academy to deliver Crisis Intervention Training to law enforcement officers and first responders. She is currently developing education and training programs specializing in the field of suicidology, postvention, trauma, and has developed her own CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) for first responders. 

Ms. Schweitzer Dixon is a member of the National LOSS Team Conference Committee and a co-presenter and has been a peer-reviewer for abstract submissions and a panel presenter at the AAS (American Association for Suicidology) Conference. She has been selected to a number of South Dakota behavioral health and suicide prevention taskforce committees. Ms. Schweitzer Dixon is certified to teach a number of evidence-based mental health and suicide prevention curriculum. 

​Nikki Kontz
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.

​Emily Laflamme
Emily Laflamme is currently the Be Connected Program Coordinator for Crisis Response Network. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2012, a member of the Daniel Webster Scholar’s Program and the Criminal Law Practice Clinic and was recognized by the law school for excellence in trial advocacy upon graduation. Emily has worked in the behavioral health field in Arizona since 2012, spending the first 3 years focusing on employment and job development services for those diagnosed with Serious Mental Illness (SMI). More recently, Emily has focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention efforts and outreach to veterans and service members. She has been with CRN since 2015, serving as a Crisis Specialist II before her current role with Be Connected, which is a statewide initiative aimed at reducing the rate and risk of veteran and military suicide in Arizona. In 2017, Emily joined CRN’s Trauma Informed Care Team and successfully passed the Crisis Worker Certification Exam administered by the American Association of Suicidology.

​Ann Maxwell, LMSW
Ann Maxwell, LMSW was worked and volunteered with various LGBTQ organizations in the greater Chicago and Phoenix areas for over 7 years. She is a Community Development Coordinator with Safe Out, a Terros Health Program. Ann earned a BA in Organizational Leadership from North Central College in Naperville, IL and her Master of Social Work from Arizona State University where she was a member of the Phi Alpha Honors Society. She aims to create and support safe and healthy spaces for LGBTQ youth and young adults in all communities. Her current efforts include substance use prevention and suicide prevention programs. 

Anjanette McIntyre
Angie McIntyre is a Self-Care and Relationship Mediator who supports the underserved, public servants, and givers of all ages and stages to beat burnout, defeat exhaustion, gain energy, and claim their wellbeing. Angie has a BA in Education and a Masters in Public Administration. You can reach Angie at angiemcnow@gmail.com.

David McIntyre, Ph.D., ABPP
Dr. Dave McIntyre is a retired military Psychologist currently operating a Consulting Psychology practice in Tempe AZ. During his service in the USAF he provided performance psychology skills training to USAF Fighter Pilots, Flight Crews and Emergency Response teams. Dr. McIntyre transferred from the USAF to the United States Public Health Service (USPHS). During his service as an officer in the USPHS he worked with the Indian Health Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Division of Immigration Health Services. He led behavioral health response teams responding to national and international disasters such as the Indonesian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ivan, the Sandy Hook, Newtown Connecticut School Shooting, and several suicide cluster responses to Indian country.

​Michael Rhinehart
Michael Rhinehart is a Community Crisis Liaison with La Frontera EMPACT-SPC, who has been working in suicide prevention for the past seven years. Michael has been active for several years in community prevention efforts through the Gila River Prevention Coalition.  Michael holds several certifications, which include Arizona Prevention Credentialing, Master ASIST Trainer, SafeTalk, QPR, Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid. In addition, Michael continues to work in the area of crisis intervention through his efforts at EMPACT-SPC working on mobile crisis teams.

​R. Bradley Snyder
R. Bradley Snyder is the Executive Director of the Dion Initiative for Child Well-Being and Bullying Prevention. Brad brings to the position nearly three decades of experience managing projects targeting children and adolescents for clients ranging from Cartoon Network to the U.S. Justice Department (for whom his project won the Innovations in American Government Award from Harvard University). At the age of 19, Brad helped found HomeBase Youth Services, a shelter for homeless and runaway youth. In 1994, he ran one of the inaugural AmeriCorps programs. In 2005, Brad helped launch MentorE Online Youth Services, an organization that uses technology to link at-risk youth with caring mentors. Experts describe Brad’s book, The 5 Simple Truths of Raising Kids, as an “urgent ‘must-read.’” Titles from his What Every Child Needs To Know children’s book series (…About Elvis Presley, …About Cancer, …About Punk Rock, …About The Economy, …About Pizza and …About Coffee), which he coauthors with Dr. Marc Engelsgjerd to explain adults to children, have received numerous accolades, including being a “staff pick” at the Museum of Modern Art bookstore in New York City. Brad holds an Ed.M. in Human Development Psychology, with a specialization in Adolescent Risk and Prevention, from Harvard University and an M.P.A. in Public Policy from New York University.

​Kelly Anne Wilde
Kelly Anne is an Iraq War Veteran, serving seven years in the Arizona Army National Guard as a Public Affairs Specialist. After her tour in Iraq, she worked for the Arizona National Guard Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, a Department of Defense effort to connect National Guard and Reserve service members and their families to resources before, during and after deployments. She then worked for the Arizona National Guard’s State Public Affairs office. Once earning her degree of Communications from Arizona State University, she moved to Chicago and worked as a copy writer. Missing working with veterans, service members and their families she returned to Arizona to work with the Arizona Coalition for Military Families as the Lead Trainer and Network Manager.