I didn't become a therapist because, years ago, I wasn't convinced the field had truly effective tools and interventions to address suicide risk. Instead, I built a career in research, evaluation, and training.
My work now centers on the implementation gap: making sure evidence-based, ethically-grounded interventions don't stay confined to research settings but actually reach the everyday clinicians, educators, and providers working on the front lines.
I didn't become a therapist because, years ago, I wasn't convinced the field had truly effective tools and interventions to address suicide risk. Instead, I built a career in research, evaluation, and training.
The field of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention has changed. We now have evidence-based approaches for identification, assessment, and intervention that can save lives. But having effective approaches isn't the whole picture. Interventions also have to be implemented and grounded in sound ethical practice. As a member of New Jersey's Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review, Suicide Sub-committee, since 2016, I have seen the challenges and opportunities providers face and the ways in which systems can improve to save lives.
My work now centers on the implementation gap: making sure evidence-based, ethically-grounded interventions don't stay confined to research settings but actually reach, and get used by, the everyday clinicians, educators, and providers working on the front lines. Providers do not have to choose between their professional values and the evidence. By grounding these evidence-based interventions within the human relationship and collaborative conversation that providers already value, we can save lives.
I have always been passionate about helping professionals navigate the hardest moments in care, where compassion, ethics, and competence matter most. With over 40 years as a licensed clinical social worker, I have served individuals and families facing the complexities of suicide.
As an expert witness in malpractice claims, I came to a key realization: clinicians needed help translating evidence-based theory into practical, usable tools they could actually use with clients.
I have always been passionate about helping professionals navigate the hardest moments in care, where compassion, ethics, and competence matter most. With over 40 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker, I've provided services to individuals and families facing the complexities of suicide, published school-based curricula on suicide prevention, and trained clinicians in the fundamentals of suicide risk assessment. As an expert witness in malpractice claims, I came to a key realization: clinicians needed help in translating evidence-based theory into practical, usable tools to help them engage clients openly in conversations about suicide. This was the only way to dramatically enhance the effectiveness of assessment and treatment alike.
What often complicates this process is the fear many clinicians have about providing services to suicidal clients, often simply because they haven't learned how to adapt the skills they already have into a framework built for suicide risk. That's a gap in training, not capacity, and a gap we can absolutely fix.
Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors, the active postvention model that brings support to those bereaved by suicide, developed by our advisor Frank R. Campbell.
ASWB licensing exam preparation from our advisor Rayshawn Ledet, LCSW, reaching social workers nationally through RayTube.
Advisors
Our advisors
Leaders across social work, suicide prevention, clinical practice, lived experience, education, business and advocacy.
Yvonne Chase, Ph.D., LCSW, ACSW
Past President, National Association of Social Workers
Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, past chair of the NASW National Ethics Committee, and one of NASW's Social Work Pioneers since 1994.
Dr. Yvonne Chase is a past president of the National Association of Social Workers and a professor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She has an MSW from Howard University and a Ph.D. in Social Work from Norfolk State University.
Her extensive leadership experience at the NASW chapter and national levels includes serving as president of the NASW Alaska Chapter, member of the boards of NASW and the NASW Assurance Services, Inc., chair of the NASW National Ethics Committee, and member of the NASW Foundation Gosnell Memorial Scholarship Panel.
Dr. Chase is one of NASW's Pioneers. The NASW Social Work Pioneers program honors members of the social work profession who have contributed to the evolution and enrichment of the profession, recognizing individuals whose dedication, commitment, and determination have improved social and human conditions. Since its launch in 1994, the program has inducted almost 900 individuals.
Organizational affiliations include the Council on Social Work Education and the editorial board for the Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect. Dr. Chase's areas of interest include social work ethics, child welfare, serving diverse client populations, and the global social work community. Her most recent activities include an article published with a colleague on “Reimagining Child Welfare.”
Frank R. Campbell, Ph.D., LCSW, C.T.
Founder, National Suicidology Training Center
Developer of the LOSS Team model of postvention and Executive Director Emeritus of the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center in Louisiana.
Frank R. Campbell, Ph.D., LCSW, C.T., is the founder of the National Suicidology Training Center and the developer of the LOSS Team model of postvention, an active postvention approach that brings support to survivors at the scene of a suicide.
He is Executive Director Emeritus of the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which has provided training and support services since 1970, and serves as Senior Consultant for Campbell and Associates Consulting, LLC.
Skip Simpson, J.D.
Attorney, Suicide Malpractice Litigation
A former Air Force general courts martial judge and federal prosecutor, now one of the nation's ranking experts on the legal aspects of patient safety.
Skip Simpson, J.D., is a patient advocate for zero suicide. His law firm focuses on teaching suicide prevention and, for enforcement, prosecuting suicide malpractice cases. He was profiled in The Wall Street Journal in 1997 for his pioneering work in suicide litigation.
His career spans service as a United States Air Force combat crew member, military prosecutor, defense lawyer and general courts martial judge, Texas' top drug traffic prosecutor, a federal prosecutor, an in-house corporate lawyer, and a privately practicing civil trial lawyer.
In 2003 he was honored as a Research Associate of the Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. He was appointed a Clinical Instructor at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 2004 and promoted to Adjunct Associate Professor in 2006. He served on the board of directors of the American Association of Suicidology from 2015 until 2021.
He co-authored “Avoiding the Malpractice Snare: Documenting Suicide Risk Assessment” in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice, and contributed to the American Association of Suicidology task force report “Preventing Suicide through Improved Training in Suicide Risk Assessment and Care.” His later work includes chapters in Developing a Forensic Practice (Routledge) and Malpractice and Liability in Psychiatry (Springer), and papers on documenting suicide risk assessments and clinician testimony in suicide litigation.
Robin S. Mama, Ph.D.
Professor & Dean Emerita, Monmouth School of Social Work
Represented the International Federation of Social Workers at the United Nations for 22 years, and serves on the International Organization for Women and Development.
Robin S. Mama, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita and Dean Emerita of the School of Social Work at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. She received her BSW from College Misericordia and her Master of Social Service, Master of Law and Social Policy, and Ph.D. in Social Work and Social Research from Bryn Mawr College.
Before entering academia, Dr. Mama was Associate Director of the Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health, a labor organization working for better health and safety conditions for workers and unions across the tri-state Delaware Valley area.
Dr. Mama represented the International Federation of Social Workers to the United Nations in New York City for 22 years. She currently serves on the executive board of the International Organization for Women and Development.
Rayshawn Ledet, LCSW
Founder, Mental In Mind & RayTube
A licensed clinical social worker and creator of RayTube, the largest ASWB exam-prep channel on YouTube, with more than seven million views.
Rayshawn Ledet, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker from New Jersey who is passionate about empowering others through guidance, understanding, and insight.
He founded Mental In Mind, a private practice providing individual therapy services, as well as RayTube, the largest ASWB exam-prep channel on YouTube, with more than seven million views.
Whether supporting clients in therapy or helping future social workers pass their licensing exams, his goal is to make a meaningful and lasting impact.
Chris Bolding
Mental Health Advocate & Nonprofit Development Leader
Brings a business-minded perspective to advisory work, helping organizations strengthen strategy and build sustainable ways to serve more people.
Chris Bolding is a mental health advocate and nonprofit development leader with a background in product management, strategic fundraising, and relationship building. She brings a business-minded perspective to her advisory work, helping organizations strengthen their strategy, expand their reach, and develop sustainable ways to serve more people.
After losing her daughter to suicide, Chris became deeply committed to advancing suicide prevention, raising mental health awareness, and supporting young people and families. Her professional expertise and lived experience inform her thoughtful, practical approach to making suicide prevention education more accessible and effective.
Janet York (Grossman), Ph.D., PMHCNS-BC
Affiliate Professor of Research, Medical University of South Carolina
A child psychiatric nurse, family psychotherapist and implementation researcher with a 59-year career in suicide prevention, psychiatric nursing and youth and family services.
Jan York is a child psychiatric nurse, family psychotherapist, and implementation researcher. She has had a 59-year career including roles as an interprofessional academic, suicidologist, mental health provider, program director, and advocate. Her contributions have included coordinating training programs for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners and developing suicide prevention programs, nursing competencies in suicide prevention, and academic sections of child psychiatric nursing.
She has received numerous awards including the 2025 Distinguished Alumnus in nursing from Rush University and the Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Service Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She is the coauthor of the Emergency Department Means Restriction Intervention, listed on the SAMHSA National Registry of Evidence-based Prevention Programs.
She was an investigator on VA-funded grants covering the initial Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner programs and a multisite randomised controlled trial comparing training modes and outcomes in evidence-based assessment and management of suicidality for mental health providers.
She continues to be active in the mentorship of early career nurse researchers, scholarship in nurse suicide research, and advocacy. Throughout her career, Jan York has demonstrated an unwavering passion for innovation in the prevention of suicide, psychiatric nursing, and youth and family services, and an enduring commitment to survivors.
Elizabeth Webster
Managing Partner, Rinan Financial, L.P.
A Dallas-based businesswoman with over 35 years in the oil and gas industry, and more than ten years volunteering on a suicide crisis line.
Elizabeth Webster is a Dallas-based businesswoman with over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, beginning her career after attending Texas Tech University. She currently serves as Managing Partner of Rinan Financial, L.P., where she oversees family assets, stock portfolios, and land and mineral interests.
Alongside her business career, Elizabeth has built a lifelong commitment to community service. While raising her children, she dedicated more than ten years as a volunteer on a suicide crisis line, an experience that gave her deep insight into the challenges faced by individuals living with mental health conditions and addiction.
Elizabeth brings together decades of business acumen with a genuine passion for fundraising, stewardship, and community support.
Lincoln Underwood
Board Member, Council 4 Student Wellbeing
A finance student at UT Austin leading a capstone initiative to expand mental health resources across the UT System, centred on student experience.
Lincoln Underwood is a Finance major at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business, with minors in Anthropology and Energy Management, graduating in December 2027. As a board member of the Council 4 Student Wellbeing, he contributes to advancing legislation that supports students in times of crisis.
Through the Texas Trailblazers Second Cohort, Lincoln is leading a capstone mental health initiative to expand resources across the UT System. As Vice President of Philanthropy for the Interfraternity Council, he organizes bi-weekly mental health roundtables with the Dean of Students and campus administration, and is building a fraternity-wide initiative aimed at significantly reducing suicide rates among fraternity men. He also coordinates alumni and community engagement as External Vice President of Pi Kappa Alpha.
Lincoln's work consistently centers on creating accessible, peer-informed pathways that improve student well-being and foster a more supportive campus culture.
Danny Crawford
Technical Advisor · Correntix
Founder of Correntix, which connects organizations with the technical people and tools
they need to grow. danny@correntix.com
