Paul Quinnett, Ph.D., Founder and CEO
A clinical psychologist and trainer for more than 35 years, Dr. Quinnett developed and managed a suicide prevention hotline, an emergency services department, and a dozen mental health service delivery programs. He has authored seven books, many professional articles and book chapters. He was Director of Training for the Spokane Mental Health APA-approved psychology internship program for more than 20 years and has served on board of the American Association of Suicidology. He was a founding board member of two national suicide prevention organizations: The Kristin Brooks Hope Center (1-800-SUICIDE), and The Suicide Prevention Action Network. Heavily involved in the training of mental health professionals, he currently serves as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of Washington School of Medicine. To help prevent suicide, he donated the French and English electronic editions of his bestseller, Suicide: the Forever Decision to the world in 2005 via the World Wide Web.
Richard K. Ries, MD, Medical Director
Dr. Richard Ries is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle, Washington. He is board certified in Psychiatry and certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Society for Addiction Medicine, and in Addiction Psychiatry (1993) by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Ries is Director of Outpatient Psychiatry, Dual Disorder Programs, and the Chemical Dependency Project at Harborview Medical Center. He is director of substance abuse education at the University of Washington Medical School and director of the Division of Addictions for the Department of Psychiatry. He has obtained NIDA sponsored clinical research grants in 1989 and 1997 to evaluate treatment outcome in dual disorders and also helped develop and participate in a NIDA sponsored training videotape (1996) on dual disorders.
Dr. Ries was chosen to chair the first official Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP#9-1994) on dual disorders by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. In 1999 he became co-editor of the key reference text Principles of Addiction Medicine, published by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He is heavily involved in clinical research and in teaching and training physicians about the role of substance abuse and mood disorders in suicide.
Norman S. Braveman, PhD, Senior Research Consultant
Dr. Norm Braveman is President and founder of Braveman BioMed Consultants (www.bbmcllc.net), a firm devoted to excellence in biomedical and behavioral research. In more than 25 years experience with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) he has provided leadership in strategic and implementation planning as well as in program development and evaluation for individual institutes including the National Institute on Aging, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. As Acting Director of Planning and Evaluation and Chief of the Planning and Policy Research Branch for the NIH he was responsible for agency-wide program development and assessment activities.
His expertise spans the design, implementation and evaluation of clinical trials, program planning, development, evaluation and assessment, the development and peer review of research proposals, and strategic and implementation planning. During his 10 year academic career he taught statistics and experimental design as well as survey methods at the university level. Currently Braveman BioMed Consultants is responsible for organizing and carrying out the peer review of applications submitted to the State of Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund.
Brian Quinnett, M.S., National Training Director and QPR Master Trainer
Brian current duties include the recruitment, selection, training, coordination, credentialing and supervision of advanced QPR program instructors and master trainers. He also manages the Institute’s university CEU web-based suicide prevention educational programs for professionals and serves as a consultant to organizations seeking to implement suicide risk reduction practices.
Also the Institute’s Web master, Brian returned to campus after playing professional basketball for three years with the New York Knicks and earned a masters degree in Sports Psychology and Counseling from the University of Idaho. He worked in the business world for several years before joining the Institute. His special area of interest, speaking, and writing is preventing suicide among student athletes.
Paul LeBuffe, M.S. Master QPR Trainer
Paul LeBuffe is the Director of the Devereux Foundation's Institute of Clinical Training and Research. At Devereux, Paul co-chaired (with Susan Kiesling) a multidisciplinary best practices work group which developed a comprehensive agency-wide suicide risk reduction program. Through this program he became involved with the QPR Institute. Devereux trained over 5,000 staff in QPR and over 700 clinicians in QPRT.
In addition to suicide prevention education, Paul's professional interests include the measurement and promotion of resilience in young children, psychometrics and test development, and treatment outcome evaluation in behavioral health care. He has authored three behavior rating scales that are widely used in the behavioral health care and child development fields. He is active in a number of professional and community organizations concerned with young children and individuals with developmental and psychiatric disorders. Paul and his family live in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
Skip Simpson, B.A., J.D. Risk Management Instructor
With a legal background ranging from duties as a U.S. Air Force Courts Martial Judge to services as Texas' top drug traffic prosecutor, Skip Simpson has created a private law practice in the area psychiatric and psychological malpractice. Profiled in the Wall Street Journal in 1997 for his pioneering work in suicide litigation, Mr. Simpson has been nationally recognized for his expertise in suicide and repressed memory cases. His work has been profiled in C.C. Risenhoover’s book The Suicide Lawyers: Exposing Lethal Secrets.
Unlike mental health experts, Mr. Simpson’s work obliges him to look at suicide from every possible angle in preparing a case, and he has to make his findings easily understandable to a jury. As a leading attorney in the mental health field, in 2003 Mr. Simpson received an academic appointment as a senior fellow, Harvard Medical School Program in Psychiatry and the Law at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, Massachusetts. He was also appointed Clinical Instructor at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, and in 2006 was promoted to Adjunct Associate Professor. In these roles, Mr. Simpson teaches medical residents subjects focusing on psychiatry and the law. In 2005 Mr. Simpson was named to the board of directors for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Collin County where he served for a one year term.
Roger Bragdon, Law Enforcement Advisor
Mr. Bragdon served on the Spokane Police Department for nearly 33 years, retiring in 2006. The last eight years of his career there, he was the Chief of Police. Mr. Bragdon has a strong background in police operations, having commanded the patrol, detectives, and special investigations units as well as the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, among other assignments in his career.
He has instructed in all areas of critical incident management, leadership, intelligence operations, and domestic terrorism for many years. He continues instructing for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in the areas of counter-terrorism programs and Intelligence Led Policing. Mr. Bragdon is also a consultant for the Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS) specializing in the management of safety and security programs.
Mr. Bragdon is a graduate of the Northwest Law Enforcement Command College and the FBI’s National Executive Institute.
John M. Violanti, Ph.D., Law Enforcement Advisor
John M. Violanti, Ph.D. is a Research Full Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM), School of Public Health and Health Professions at Buffalo, NY and has been associated with this department for 25 years. Dr. Violanti is a member of the University at Buffalo, NY Medical School graduate faculty. Prior to his position at Buffalo, he also was a full professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Criminal Justice.
He is a police veteran, serving with the New York State Police for 23 years as a trooper, criminal investigator, and later as a coordinator of the Psychological Assistance Program for the State Police. Dr. Violanti served in the U.S. Army, 57th Military Police from 1963-1966. He has been involved in the design, implementation, and analysis of numerous suicide, stress and health studies over the past 25 years. Dr. Violanti has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles and 14 books on suicide, stress and PTSD. He has lectured nationally and internationally at academic institutions on matters of suicide, stress and trauma at work.
Bennett J. Mintz, Senior Marketing Advisor
Bennett J. Mintz was graduated from Los Angeles City College and California State College Los Angeles with degrees in journalism and communications. Following military service where he served in the Public Information Office of the aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, Mintz joined the staff of the Los Angeles Unified School District in public and community relations.
Ben accepted a position with the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles developing public service radio and television commercials before striking out in his own agency. He specialized in writing and producing fund raising materials for non-profit organizations - YM and YWCAs, Red Cross Chapters, hospitals, Salvation Army chapters and others - before turning his lifelong fly-fishing hobby into a product advertising and marketing specialty.
He lives in Chatsworth, California.
David W. Coombs, PhD, M.P.H.
Dr. David Coombs is an Emeritus faculty member in the Department of health Behavior, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Trained as a sociologist he subsequently obtained a masters degree in public health with a specialization in health behavior and communication. He is an active participant in the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Center (ASPARC) and is a member of the ASPARC Board of Directors. Dr. Coombs has studied suicide and suicidal behaviors for more than 30 years from a sociological and public health perspectives. He has also worked as a suicide prevention/crisis center telephone volunteer and as a professional back up. He has varied work experience in the design and implementation of research programs and in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Coombs is fluent in Spanish and has worked extensively in five Latin American countries in teaching, research and health promotion. Currently he is collaborating with the Alabama Department of Public Health, UAB and ASPARC in developing community gatekeeper training programs. These programs will test the utility of social media in circumventing the perceived stigma that impedes many depressed and suicidal persons from seeking or taking advantage of help.
Robert Robey, QPR Master Trainer
Bob Robey is a suicide prevention master trainer for the QPR Institute in Spokane, Washington. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in business and education from Kentucky Wesleyan College and has over thirty years of experience in human services including twenty years with one of Kentucky’s Regional Mental Health Centers.
In 1995 Bob begin working with the Hospice in Owensboro, Kentucky as the bereavement coordinator. A few weeks after beginning with Hospice, his good friend died by suicide, which led him to organize the Owensboro Survivors of Suicide Bereavement Support Group. In 1997, after two years of meeting with survivors of suicide Bob felt the need to try and prevent suicides and traveled to Spokane, Washington to train with Dr. Paul Quinnett who had just developed the QPR Model for suicide prevention.
In 2004 Bob became a master trainer for the QPR Institute. In addition to training over ten-thousand QPR gatekeepers, he has provided QPR Instructor Certification for major universities including Kentucky, Texas, and Tennessee. He has provided QPR Instructor Certification Trainings for the U.S. Army in the U.S. and Germany, Hospices, and has conducted suicide prevention trainings for Native American Tribes across the U.S.
A member of the Kentucky Suicide Prevention Planning Group, he helped organize and served as chairman for three years of a community suicide prevention coalition in Owensboro. He is the author of “A Guide For The Bereaved,” published by the Hospice in Owensboro, and “After Suicide” a resource guide for families.
In addition to the suicide prevention work and meeting with survivors, Bob is an Americorps Volunteer working with the homeless shelters in Owensboro.
In 2006 he was recognized with the Kentucky Spark award for his contribution to suicide prevention in Kentucky, and received the R.C. Neblet Service award for his service for economically disadvantaged in the Owensboro community.
Kerry Hope, Ph.D., QPR Master Trainer
Dr. Hope is currently the Suicide Prevention Coordinator at the Student Counseling Services at Texas A&M university. Dr. Hope completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Texas A&M University and is a licensed psychologist. Her areas of special interest include crisis intervention and suicide prevention, as well as issues of diversity, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual issues, Women’s issues, eating disorders and supervision and training.
Kerry trains both QPR Instructors and teaches the QPR Suicide Triage program and QPRT Suicide Risk Management Inventory courses. As a QPR Master Trainer she has been busy training leadership, chaplains and clinical professionals in the U.S. Army and at many colleges and universities.
Mary Bolin-Reece, Ph.D. QPR Master Trainer
Dr. Bolin-Reese is currently the Director of the University of Kentucky Counseling & Testing Center in Lexington, Kentucky. She is primary responsible for day-to-day oversight of services provided by a staff of nine psychologists, one learning skills specialist, one administrative officer, three support personnel, and several doctoral-level trainees. She completed her internship and served as Interim Administrative Director the Needs and Evaluation Center at the University of Virginia, where she also provided leadership to as Coordinator of Clinical and Crisis Services for the University.
Currently Mary serves on the Kentucky Suicide Prevention Group (KSPG), the Stop Youth Suicide Campaign (SYS), and coordinates QPR gatekeeper trainings for University of Kentucky faculty, staff and students. She has a wide range of interests, including suicide prevention both on college campuses and in the community.
Colleen Carpenter, MA, MPH, QPR Master Trainer
Colleen Carpenter has been the Director for the Indiana Cares Youth Suicide Prevention Resource Center for 3 years and was the Project Coordinator for the Indiana Suicide Prevention Coalition (ISPC) for 5 years. She has been presenting on suicide prevention for the last 7 years across Indiana and nationally at American Association of Suicidology conferences. She is a QPR Master Trainer as well as an ASIST Master Trainer, Connect Postvention Trainer, and a CALM Trainer. She has a master's degree in sociology from Loyola University Chicago and a master's degree in public health from the University of North Carolina's Health Behavior and Health Education program. She is also a survivor of her Uncle John's suicide.
Lindy Williamson, MSW, QPR Master Trainer
As an educator, Lindy Williamson has worked with communities, hospitals, mental health agencies, emergency services, military, schools, businesses, churches and service organizations.
She regularly teaches several Critical Incident Stress Management Classes as an approved instructor with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and is in demand as a keynote speaker and panelist at national symposiums and conferences serving the needs of mental health agencies and emergency services on the state, regional and national level.
As a Life Coach, Lindy specializes in Trauma Recovery and Empowerment.
Lindy served 5 years as consultant and trainer for the National Veterans Foundation which maintains a national toll free Hotline for Veterans and their families.
As a crisis response provider for Employee Assistance Organizations, she provides a calm and grounded response to both employees and businesses seeking guidance during times of workplace turbulence.
Lindy also works with the staff of the 2-11 Hotline in Charleston, SC. The 2-1-1 Hotline is accredited by the American Association of Suicidolgy and answers calls for the State of South Carolina for both 1-800-SUICIDE and for 1-800-273-TALK (The National Suicide Prevention Hotline).
Deployed to several major disasters, including the World Trade Center, the Asian Tsunami, and several hurricanes, including Katrina, Lindy has worked with Green Cross, CISM Teams, the Red Cross and FEMA to provide assistance for both first responders and victims.
Sally Spencer-Thomas, QPR Master Trainer
As a clinical psychologist, mental health advocate, faculty member, and survivor of her brother's suicide, Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas sees the issues of suicide prevention from many perspectives. Currently, she is the CEO of the Carson J Spencer Foundation and the Survivor Division Chair for American Association for Suicidology. Dr. Spencer-Thomas is a professional speaker and trainer, presenting nationally and internationally on the topic of suicide prevention and has published four books on mental health. She lives in Conifer, Colorado with her partner and three sons.
Donna Barnes, Ph.D., QPR Master Trainer
Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Suicide Prevention Program and Research Associate and Professor at Howard University’s Psychiatry Department in Washington, D.C. where she teaches suicide risk management to psychiatric residents and third year medical students. She also conducts research on families who have lost someone to suicide and has published in this area. She has authored several chapters on suicide for books in the area of mental health and recently completed a book on the Truth About Suicide published by DWJ books for adolescents. Dr. Barnes is currently the recipient of a $600,000 campus grant for suicide prevention from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Barnes is co-founder and President of the National Organization for People of Color against Suicide (NOPCAS) and a founding member of the National Council for Suicide Prevention (NCSP). Dr. Barnes was an awardee for the Eli Lilly Welcome Back Award in 2006 for her work in the community.
Nancy K. Bohl, Ph.D., QPR Master Trainer
Is a Psychotherapist and trainer, who holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and a Masters Degree in Counseling/Education. Dr. Nancy Bohl has specialized in the field of trauma since 1985. She is the Director of The Counseling Team International (TCTI), which is also, The Southern California Critical Incident Stress Management Team. She is a certified Master Trainer for the QPR Institute focusing on Suicide Prevention and Intervention. She is also a certified trainer for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and the Law Enforcement Wellness Association (LEWA). She is a member of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), is one of the past presidents of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Psychological Services Section as well as a past president of the California Peer Support Association (CPSA). For the past twenty-five years Dr. Bohl has been actively involved in helping the families of those killed in the line-of-duty during National Police Week in Washington, DC. She has written numerous articles and book chapters focusing on mental health issues for police and fire personnel. Dr. Bohl is certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), which is a technique she uses to help trauma survivors. She is an adjunct professor in the Criminal Justice Department for Riverside Community, and San Bernardino Valley Community Colleges. She has been a guest speaker at Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Academies.
Mark Besen, Ph.D., Advanced Clinical Trainer
Licensed Psychologist - New Jersey (active), Washington State (inactive); Pennsylvania (inactive)
Vice President Clinical Operations, Steininger Behavioral Care Services, Cherry Hill NJ - Responsible for oversight of operations of continuum of clinical services at large community behavioral health center serving adults and children in Camden County NJ. Services include crisis screening centers in two hospitals, adult crisis residential, supported housing, adult care, adult intensive outpatient services, assertive community teams, adult case management services, family support services; children’s services including youth case management and children’s mobile crisis response teams. Other services as well (see resume).
Adjunct Faculty at Richard Stockton College.
15+ years in executive management in community behavioral health.
QPR Master Trainer - QPRT, Triage, QPR Gatekeeper Master Trainer.
Involvement in 1st implementation of QPR system in large community behavioral health center (Spokane Mental Health).
Jack McClellan, MD
Dr. McClellan is a Professor in the Division of Child Psychiatry at the University of Washington. He is the medical director of Child Study and Treatment Center, the State Hospital for children and adolescents in Washington State. His research addresses the diagnosis and treatment of early-onset schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and the genetics of complex neuropsychiatric illnesses. Dr. McClellan has also been involved in the development of the Practice Parameters for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and is the primary author for the Academy's practice parameters on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Dr Louisa Walker, QPR Master Trainer/New Zealand
Louisa completed a Doctorate in psychology in 1995 from the University of Idaho. She is a NZ registered and US licensed clinical psychologist with 15 years of clinical experience working primarily in collaboration with general practice physicians. She has worked with GPs and specialist in efforts to build innovative models of practice integrating psychological services into primary health care. Louisa developed a Department of Behavioural Health for a regional US medical clinic and has worked with primary mental health care projects in New Zealand since 2002. She has experience in private practice, has been a clinical manager and has developed mental health programs in both the private and the public sectors. Louisa has taught in psychology graduate programs and provided clinical training and supervision for clinical psychology internship programs both in the US and in NZ. Louisa often provides continuing education training for physicians, psychologists and allied health professionals on a range of clinical treatment issues.
Louisa is committed to developing effective cross-cultural mental health services that respect and attempt to integrate traditional cultural practices into primary mental health care delivery. She has engaged in research and practice regarding the mental health status of, and treatment protocols for, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic patients, as well as gaining recent experience working with Maori, Pacific and NZ Refugee populations.
Louisa has extensive experience in clinical practice treating anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, trauma and sexual abuse. She worked for a crisis intervention and suicide prevention project in the State of Maine in the US. While based in primary care, she developed a program to assess and treat ADHD in adults, adolescents and children and developed a neuropsychological testing service, training and supervising clinical psychology graduate students to conduct psychometric tests and neuropsychological evaluations.
Since moving to New Zealand Louisa has worked in private practice, was a consultant to a regional NZ acute mental health service, and has worked with several NZ GP organizations in their ongoing efforts to further develop strategies to improve mental health treatment in primary care.
Louisa was the Clinical Manager for a NZ Ministry of Health funded suicide bereavement service. She is a Consultant working in the areas of suicide prevention and postvention and is currently working with the NZ Coroner’s office developing psychological autopsy services investigating deaths by suicide. Louisa has been a QPR Master Trainer since 2008 and currently delivers QPR Level I – III training throughout New Zealand.
Connie Briscoe, Ph.D. QPR Master Trainer
Dr. Connie Briscoe is currently the Assistant Director/Director of Community Intervention at the University of Tennessee Counseling Center. Connie completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Tennessee and interned at Texas Woman’s University. Connie is a Licensed Psychologist/Health Service Provider in Tennessee. She has a faculty appointment with the QPR Institute and is certified as a QPR Master Trainer. She is the project director of the VolAware Suicide Prevention Initiative, a suicide prevention program at the University of Tennessee (UT) funded by the Garrett Lee Smith grant and Coordinator of the University of Tennessee VolAware Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness committee. She coordinates the use of QPR at UT including the training of Gatekeeper Instructors and the gatekeeper trainings provided to faculty, staff and students as well as to the Knoxville community. Connie is also on the Steering Committee for the Association for the University and College Counseling Center Outreach (AUCCCO).
Janet Schnell, MSW, LSW QPR Master Trainer & QPR Instructor
Janet Schnell holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern Indiana. She is the President of Survivors of Suicide of Dubois County, quilt organizer for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, member of American Association of Suicidology, Indiana Suicide Prevention Coalition, and Dubois County Suicide Prevention Coalition. Janet was a past board member of Suicide Prevention Action Network.
As a suicide prevention trainer, Janet has worked with Girl Scouts, religious communities, teachers, students, law enforcement, hospital and human resource employees. Janet helped to develop QPR in a school system. She has been a Peer Trainer since 2002 and QPR Master Trainer since 2011. Janet is also a CALM suicide intervention and Connect Postvention trainer. She is a suicide loss survivor of her brother Kent's suicide.
Lt. Colonel Charles E. Woods, M.A., M.Div., QPR Master Trainer
Colonel Woods is an officer in the United States Air Force, assigned as the Commandant of the Academy for Innovative Ministry for the National Guard. He is responsible for developing, designing, and instructing curriculum on crisis intervention, suicide intervention, workplace violence, deployment ministry, and family support for all National Guard Personnel. He is a professional with more than 30 years of experience in the fields of mental health and substance abuse.A
Colonel Woods also serves as the Chief for Crisis Intervention, providing Crisis Intervention policy, guidance, training, and support for personnel assigned to National Guard units in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. He is a certified instructor for nine different Critical Incident Stress Management courses, and is responsible for training and mobilizing Traumatic Stress Response Teams to provide assistance during times of national crisis. His duties include responding to mass fatalities, natural disasters, suicides, weapons of mass destruction, and acts of terrorism. In 2001 he served at the Pentagon as the chief of crisis operations, overseeing eight operational sites responding to the Pentagon Attack of September 11, 2001.
Dell Hackett, QPR Master Trainer, Law Enforcement Advisor
Dell Hackett is a retired lieutenant with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office in Eugene, Oregon. He is currently President of the Law Enforcement Wellness Association a training and consulting organization dedicated to the physical and psychological health of our nation’s law enforcement personnel. During his years of service he held several different assignments including command responsibility over his department’s special operations and training sections, including SWAT, Air Operations, Search and Rescue and Emergency Services. In addition to a Bachelor of Arts in Management, he is a member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and a Diplomat member of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and the American Board of Law Enforcement Experts. He also graduated from the prestigious FBI National Academy, session 182.
Long interested in preventing suicide among the ranks of law enforcement, he has become a QPR Institute Master Trainer. In addition to other articles and chapters published in a variety of law enforcement areas, Dell is the co-author of the new book, Police Suicide: Tactics for Prevention and Intervention, with Dr. John Violanti.
Sung Pil Yook, Ph.D. QPR Master Trainer (Korea)
Dr. Yook completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Korea University in Seoul, Korea. He learned about QPR while on a post-doctoral fellowship in suicide prevention at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He completed his advanced QPR training in the United States and in Korea. Dr. Yook has provided consultation and training to police departments throughout Korea and is the suicide prevention advisor to the Republic of Korea National Defense Ministry.
Dr. Yook’s research and writing interests are in military and police stress, personality measurement, and suicide prevention. He has translated QPR and two of Dr. Quinnett’s books into Korean and is opening QPR-Korea.
Hyesun Lee, QPR Master Trainer (Korea)
Hyesun Lee is a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology in Korea University. She completed her advanced QPR training in the United States and in Korea. She has translated QPR program and Dr. Quinnett’s books into Korean. Dr. Yook and she are opening the Suicide Prevention Center in Korea University and plan to disseminate QPR in Korea.
She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is working at the Student Counseling Center in Korea University as a researcher and counselor. She has interested in marital problem and crisis intervention.
Elmer (Lee) Washington, MD, MPH, Advanced Clinical Trainer
Dr. Washington is presently the Medical Director of Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Practice and completed his post graduate training at Georgetown/Providence Family Practice Residency. He completed his undergraduate training at Northwestern University and also earned a Masters in Public Health at Northwester University Medical School.
Dr. Washington supervises and trains staff in a variety of medical settings at the agency’s Community Health Center sites. He also provides leadership for expansion efforts, quality improvement initiatives (including Joint Commission), and collaborative activities with internal and external stakeholders. He completed the QPR Institute’s advanced training program in suicide risk detection, assessment and management and now teaches this knowledge and skills to medical professionals in the Chicago area.
Kevin Bratcher, M.S., Co-Author of the QPRT Risk Management System and Advanced Clinical Trainer
Kevin Bratcher, M.S. has over 19 years experience in suicide prevention, intervention and training. As a clinical treatment provider for both adults and adolescents, he developed and co-authored the QPRT Suicide Risk Management System. Mr. Bratcher’s administrative experience includes work as a Quality Improvement Manager and Behavioral Health Service Clinic Coordinator in large public and private sector mental health agencies. His has provided clinical services on both an outpatient and inpatient basis.
Kevin remains an active trainer, consultant and advocate for improving the national standard of care as it relates to suicide risk assessment and risk management. His energy over the course of the last six years has been focused on managing suicide risk from an administrative and systemic perspective within large healthcare organizations. He has trained hundreds of mental health professionals to improve their clinical assessment and suicide risk management skills both in professional seminars and university programs throughout the United States. Away from his work, Kevin enjoys time with his family camping and fishing in the Pacific Northwest.
Lou Sowers, Ph.D., MBA, Advanced Clinical Trainer
Dr. Lou Sowers is the Director of Youth, Adult, and Family Treatment Services at Spokane Mental Health (SMH); the Chief Psychologist for SMH’s American Psychological Association accredited Psychology Internship Training Program, and a consulting police psychologist and suicidologist. He is the co-author of the QPRT-P Pediatric Suicide Risk Management Inventory and User's Manual.
Lou has over 25 years experience working with children, adults and families in a wide range of clinical and educational settings. Lou provides extensive training and supervision to clinical staff, psychology interns, and psychiatric residents on matters related to mental disorders and suicide risk assessment, management and prevention. He completed his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Southern California.
In addition to serving on the QPR Institute faculty, Lou is or has been an active member of the American Association of Suicidology, the American Psychological Association, the Washington State Psychological Association, and the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology. He also serves as a board member for Students Mastering Important Life-skills Education, as a site visitor for the APA, and as a board member for the Spokane Suicide Prevention Coalition. In his spare time he enjoys the great outdoors, fishing and spending time with his family.
James States, M.D. Consultant/Faculty Member
Dr. James States is the medical director of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, a corporation dedicated to improving the health of adolescents, young adults and their families through clinical methods and community education.. As a faculty member of the QPR Institute, Dr. States trains physicians and other primary care providers in suicide risk assessment and both the clinical and psychological management of patients at risk of self-destruction. He is a widely regarded lecturer and educator throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Dr. States graduated from Temple University Medical School in 1971, completed his internship at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Washington, and was board certified by the American Academy of Family Practice in 1978. He completed post-graduate fellowship training in Adolescent Medicine at the University of Southern California, and in 1978 established the only multidisciplinary private practice in the Northwestern United States dedicated to the treatment of adolescents and young adults. An internationally known climber, Dr. States has climbed many of the world's tallest peaks and was the 17th American to scale Mt. Everest.
Sergio Perez, M.D., Advisor Latin America
Dr. Sergio Perez Barrero is a clinical psychiatrist and the Founder of Suicidology Section of World Psychiatry Association and also Founder of World Suicidology Net. He is WHO and PAHO temporal advisor. Author of nine books about suicide prevention , he is also Clinical Titular Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Granma, Cuba. In addition to directing a large, public sector mental health program for adolescent, adults and elders, he maintained a public practice in primary care for 25 years. His primary interests are teach volunteers in preventing suicide and management of suicidal crisis for family, general practitioners, young psichiatrists and all people interested in this theme. He has been invited speaker in Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica , Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Peru, Mexico and Cuba.
Rebecca Cardell, DNSc, ARNP, Advanced Clinical Trainer
Dr. Cardell is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner and a nurse suicidologist who has conducted research on the assessment and treatment of suicidal inpatients and published these findings in professional journals for the past ten years. She has served as an expert witness in legal cases involving hospital suicides and was a reviewer for the Joint Commission's book, Preventing Patient Suicide.
A clinician and professor at Washington State University, during her doctoral work at Rush University in Chicago she specialized in suicide prevention and intervention for inpatients. She served on the faculty of Washington State University's College of Nursing for ten years and taught suicide assessment and prevention to nurses for several years. She is a co-author of the QPRT-H: Suicide Risk Management Inventory for Hospitals, an Institute publication.
Scott Eliason, M.D., Advanced Clinical Trainer
Dr. Scott Eliason is a recent graduate from the University of Washington Psychiatry residency where he was chief resident. He is currently doing a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at the University of California-San Francisco and has a special interest in suicide prevention.
He graduated from Brigham Young University and then from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He spent two years as a missionary in Santiago Chile.
David J. Denino, LPC, NCC, QPR Master Trainer
David Denino is Director Emeritus of Counseling Services at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT. He is currently an adjunct faculty member teaching in the Clinical Mental Health program at SCSU. He has served as an executive board member to the Connecticut Counseling Association and American College Counseling Association, and has presented at many state and national conferences. Highlights of his career include the 2007 J. Philip Smith Outstanding Teaching Award at SCSU; Red Cross award for service as a first responder to Hurricane Katrina; Past Outstanding Emerging Leader, CT Counseling Association and CT Counselor of the year award, 1991. He has taught the QPR curriculum for several years, and was instrumental in bringing the QPR model to the state university system in Connecticut. Dave was awarded emeritus status upon retirement in 2010 after a 35 year career and lives in Wallingford, CT with his wife Vanessa, a nurse practitioner in private practice.
Matthew Schumacher, MA, Advanced Clinical Trainer
Matthew Schumacher, MA is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at Northern Illinois University, and an adjunct professor of psychology at Aurora University. He is an active suicidologist with numerous publications and scholarly presentations and teaches on course, etiology and treatment of suicidality, mood and psychotic disorders. He is student representative to the Council of Delegates of the American Association of Suicidology.
Matthew received BA/MA degrees from the University of Chicago where he played football and was captain of the track & field team. From 2000-2003 he was clinical research manager of the Bipolar Disorders Clinic at Stanford School of Medicine, where he contributed to research projects in the neurobiology, etiology and treatment of bipolar disorders. He was also a clinical specialist in the NIMH funded Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorders (STEP-BD), received specialty training in Family Focused Therapy, and was a junior investigator on the STEP-BD family impact study. He conducts research on the prevalence and etiology of bipolar spectrum psychopathology and suicidality with a particular emphasis on asolecents and young adults.
Michael McFarland, LMFT QPR Master Trainer
Michael currently serves as the Kentucky State Suicide Prevention Coordinator through the Kentucky Department for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addiction Services. With a clinical background, Michael conducts clinical trainings focused on suicide assessment, management and treatment throughout Kentucky. Michael also serves as the Project Director for a Garrett Lee Smith Memorial grant; a three year grant revolving around adolescent suicide prevention and intervention. Additionally, Michael serves as a staff consultant to the Kentucky Suicide Prevention Group (KSPG), a statewide organization whose mission is awareness, intervention and prevention of suicide across the state of Kentucky.
Michael’s clinical background includes membership on a mobile assessment team, working in a Psychiatric Hospital setting with both adults and adolescents, and he continues to maintain a private practice in Louisville, KY.
Aaron Baker, Psy.D., Advanced Clinical Trainer/Research Advisor
Aaron Baker, Psy.D. received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Pacific University in 2007. His doctoral dissertation was entitled "Seasonality of Suicide: An Analysis of Florida and North Carolina Suicides and Unemployment." He is a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Association of Suicidology.
Marci Burroughs, Ph.D. QPR Master Trainer
Dr. Burroughs is currently the Associate Director/Director of Clinical Services at the University of Tennessee Counseling Center. Dr. Burroughs completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi and interned at the University of Tennessee Counseling Center. Marci is a Licensed Psychologist/Health Service Provider in Tennessee and an Adjunct, Assistant Professor for the Counseling Psychology Department at UT. Marci has a faculty appointment with the QPR Institute and is certified as a QPR Master Trainer. She is the Co-Coordinator of VolAware, the University of Tennessee’s Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness committee. She coordinates the use of QPR at UT including the training of Gatekeeper Instructors and the gatekeeper trainings provided to faculty, staff and students as well as to the Knoxville community. Marci is on the Steering Committee for the Association for the Coordination of Counseling Center Clinical Services (ACCCCS).
James Allen, MPH
Mr. Allen holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Oklahoma, College of Public Health and has worked in the field of suicide prevention for eleven years. He worked for the Oklahoma State Department of Health for eight years with an emphasis on adolescent health, which included suicide prevention as a priority focus area. He chaired the Oklahoma Youth Suicide Prevention Council for four years, and assisted with the development of Oklahoma’s state plan for the prevention of youth suicide. He assisted in the development of numerous Youth Listening Conferences and has presented on topics including suicide prevention, adolescent pregnancy and parenting, injury prevention and program evaluation.
Mr. Allen has been with the University of Central Oklahoma for the past three years, serving as Assistant Director for Health Promotion where he continues his work in suicide prevention through grant management and teaching the Question, Persuade, Refer program to students, faculty and staff. He also teaches as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies.
Donna Soileau
Donna Soileau is a graduate of Auburn University. She is the former Director of Mental Health America of Sumter County and currently serves as the Coordinator for Suicide Prevention for Mental Health America of South Carolina. She received her suicide prevention certification from the QPR Institute in 2004 and received her Master QPR trainer certification in June 2007. Donna is married, has two sons and enjoys reading, traveling and outdoor adventures.
Constance Shepard, MSW
Constance Shepard is a graduate from Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC with a Bachelor of Social Work Degree and has a Masters of Social Work Degree from the University of Georgia in Athens. Constance is an adjunct instructor and a PhD student at the University of South Carolina’s College of Social Work Program. Her research interests are depression among multicultural groups, suicide prevention, and multicultural parenting influence with children.
Constance has nearly 30 years of professional social work experiences. Her work has encompassed individual and group counseling, program/grant development, management, evaluation and organization management. Constance has trained and educated consumers, students, and professionals in a broad range of mental health topics. Currently, the Affiliate Director for Mental Health America of South Carolina (MHASC) Constance coordinates statewide mental health public awareness, prevention activities, and services delivery for 20 local affiliates. Actively engaged with community collaborations Constance has chaired and participated on mental health, children, and suicide prevention coalitions. She is the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Outreach Partner Coordinator for the state of South Carolina.
Kathryn Falbo-Woodson, Master Trainer
Kathryn Falbo-Woodson currently serves as the Director of Advocacy and Outreach for the Mental Health Association of Central Carolinas in Charlotte, NC, where she has been employed since 2006. In this role, Kathryn has created the infrastructure for a statewide advocacy collaborative and a local multicultural outreach program. She has worked in the mental health field since 1995, providing direct care, case management, volunteer management, advocacy, fundraising, program development, training, oversight, and outreach. She is a certified trainer for Mental Health First Aid-USA and Q.P.R. ® (Question, Persuade, Refer) Suicide Prevention (and QPR Adapted for Refugees), as well as a Master Trainer for Q.P.R. She has an undergraduate in Psychology, with a minor in Spanish, from West Virginia University, and is currently enrolled in the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Graduate School of Social Work (MSW), with a concentration on Marriage and Family Therapy. She lives in Indian Trail with her husband of 17 years, Bryson, and their two children, Emmy and Sam, and their dog, Shadow.
Sal Caraco, Master Trainer
Sal Caraco currently serves as the Compeer Director for the Mental Health Association of Central Carolinas, where he has been employed since 2006. He has worked in the field of human services since 1980, providing direct care, program management, and training. He is a certified trainer in Mental Health First Aid-USA and Gatekeeper Q.P.R. ® (Question, Persuade, Refer), Strategies for Crisis Intervention, and Prevention (SCIP), as well as a Master Trainer for Q.P.R. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Joseph's College (Indiana). He is married and lives in Charlotte with his wife Cherene. He has two daughters and is also a grandfather.