Appendix B
Biographical Sketches
Workshop on Identifying and Managing Veteran Suicide Risk in Non-VA Healthcare Settings
Workshop Planning Committee Members
Timothy J. Strauman, PhD (Chair)
Department of Psychology and School of Medicine, Duke University
Strauman is a professor and former chair of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the Duke University School of Medicine. His research interests focus on the psychological and neurobiological processes of self-regulation, conceptualized in terms of a cognitive/motivational perspective, as well as on the relation between self-regulation and affect and how such processes might contribute to psychopathology. Strauman’s lab’s clinically focused research includes the development and validation of a new self-regulation-based therapy for depression, self-system therapy, and the use of neuroimaging techniques to examine the mechanisms of action of treatments for depression. He is a former president of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science; a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science; a former member of the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and a founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Strauman has a PhD in clinical psychology from New York University.
Rachel Sayko Adams, PhD, MPH
Department of Health Law, Policy & Management, Boston University School of Public Health
Adams is a research associate professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Prior to joining BUSPH, she was a senior research scientist at the Institute for Behavioral Health at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy & Management, where she led a portfolio of addiction health services research for more than a decade. Adams is a health services researcher with expertise studying substance use, access and quality of substance use treatment, and morbidity and mortality outcomes in high-risk populations (e.g., military/veterans, persons with traumatic brain injury or other disabilities). She is one of multiple principal investigators on an R01 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Office of the Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is integrating administrative claims data from the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration to enhance suicide prevention efforts for military members following deployment. Together with her colleagues, Adams has led studies from NIH; the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research; and Uniformed Services University at the Department of Defense. She received her PhD in social policy at Brandeis University.
Eric Caine, MD
University of Rochester Medical Center
Caine is professor emeritus at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), where, in 1998, he and colleagues founded the URMC Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide. Throughout his career, he has devoted his efforts to suicide prevention—merging injury prevention and mental health perspectives to forge new public health, community-oriented approaches to preventing suicide, attempted suicide, related adverse outcomes (e.g., fatal drug intoxication), and their antecedent risks. Caine has served as a consultant to Department of Veterans Affairs and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), and now is a member of NCIPC’s Board of Scientific Counselors. He has been the principal investigator/program director for two research centers from the National Institute of Mental Health and one from CDC, as well as recipient of sustained funding from the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center. Caine received his MD from Harvard Medical School.
Carl A. Castro, PhD
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California
Castro is currently professor and director of the Military and Veteran Programs at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. He served in the U.S. Army for more than 30 years, retiring at the rank of colonel. Castro participated in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo Campaigns, Operation Northern Watch, and the Iraq War. He has chaired numerous North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and international research groups, and he is currently chair of a NATO research group on Military Veteran Transitions and co-chair of a NATO group exploring military and veteran radicalization. Castro current research efforts are broad and include (a) the exploration of the military culture that leads to acceptance and integration of diverse groups; (b) understanding and ameliorating the effects of military trauma and stress, especially combat and deployment, on service members and their family; (c) the prevention of suicides and violence such as sexual assault and bullying; and (d) evaluating the process of transitioning into the military and transitioning from military service back to civilian life. He received his PhD in psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Edward R. Hirt, PhD
Indiana University
Hirt is a professor of psychology and director of pedagogy at Indiana University in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. His central research interests are in the areas of self-regulation, self-protective behavior, social identity, judgment/decision making, and the interface between motivation and performance. Hirt’s research focuses on how individuals deal with self-threats and work to sustain motivation and effective goal pursuit in the face of challenges and failures. He has served as associate editor of both the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and just completed his term as president of the Midwestern Psychological Association. Hirt has served on the executive boards of both the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and is a fellow of both organizations. He received his BS degree in psychology from the University of Dayton and his PhD in social psychology from Indiana University.
Rajeev Ramchand, PhD
RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute and RAND Corporation
Ramchand is codirector of the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute and a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. He studies the prevalence, prevention, and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders in adolescents, service members and veterans, and minority populations. Ramchand has conducted many studies on suicide and suicide prevention including environmental scans of suicide prevention programs, epidemiologic studies on risk factors for suicide, qualitative research with suicide loss survivors, and evaluations of suicide prevention programs. He has also developed freely available tools to help organizations to evaluate their own suicide prevention programs. Ramchand has testified on suicide prevention before the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and California State Senate and recently served on the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee. Other current areas of research include military and veteran caregivers; the role of firearm availability, storage, and policies on suicide; the impact of disasters on community health; and use of public health approaches to study and prevent hate and violent extremism. He received his PhD in psychiatric epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Stephanie Renno, DSW
Cohen Veterans Network
Renno is the senior director of clinical practice and training at Cohen Veterans Network where she oversees the network-wide training of clinical evidence-based practices and processes and works directly to support each clinic in delivering state-of-the-art clinical services to veterans and military families. She has worked in both government and not-for-profit sectors providing and overseeing mental health services for veterans, service members, and their families. Other areas of expertise, research, and experience include family interventions for substance use disorders, implementation of measurement-based care in health systems, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Renno received a BS from the University of Illinois, an MSW from University of Chicago, and a DSW from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeannette E. South-Paul, MD
Meharry Medical College
South-Paul is executive vice president and provost of Meharry Medical College. Previously she was the Andrew W. Mathieson Professor at the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a Medical Corps officer in the U.S. Army, chair of family medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and vice president for Minority Affairs at the same institution. South-Paul was responsible for the educational, research, and clinical activities of the undergraduate and graduate medical education, faculty practice, and community arms of three family medicine residencies and seven ambulatory clinical sites in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, as well as for the academic missions of five additional UPMC Family Medicine residencies in Pennsylvania. She has served in leadership positions in the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM), the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Association of Departments of Family Medicine to include serving as president of the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians and the STFM. South-Paul received her MD at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and was elected to the Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine) in 2011.
Speakers
Brian K. Ahmedani, PhD, LMSW
Center for Health Policy & Health Services Research, Henry Ford Health
Ahmedani is a fully licensed clinician in the State of Michigan. Currently, he serves as the principal investigator (PI) on several large National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal grants, including a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) P50 Suicide Prevention Center, a U01 award evaluating implementation of the Zero Suicide Model across health systems, a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant implementing a suicide prevention care pathway in the emergency department, and the Trans-America Consortium of the NIH All of Us Research Program; serves as site-PI for the NIMH-funded Mental Health Research Network; and is co-investigator on several other projects. Ahmedani also completed a NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse–funded fellowship program in drug dependence epidemiology. He joined the Center for Health Policy & Health Services Research at Henry Ford Health and was appointed director of the Center. His research interests are in health services and interventions for individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, with particular expertise in suicide prevention. He has also published nearly 175 manuscripts. Ahmedani was appointed to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Michigan Suicide Prevention Commission and currently serves as the elected chairperson of the Commission. He has also served on several federal and other expert panels for suicide prevention. Ahmedani received his PhD from Michigan State University.
Lisa A. Brenner, PhD
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
Department of Veterans Affairs Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center
Brenner is a board-certified rehabilitation psychologist; a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, and neurology at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus; and the director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center. She is also vice chair of research for the Department of PM&R. Brenner is a past president of Division 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA) and an APA fellow. She serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. Her primary area of research interest is traumatic brain injury, co-morbid psychiatric disorders, and negative psychiatric outcomes, including suicide. Brenner has numerous peer-reviewed publications, participates on national advisory boards, and has co-authored a book titled Suicide Prevention After Neurodisability: An Evidence-Informed Approach.
Cicely Burrows-McElwain, MSW, LCSW-C
Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs
Burrows-McElwain serves as the director of the Technical Assistance Resource Center for Community-Based Interventions in the Office of Suicide Prevention. Prior to this role, she served at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in the role of military and veteran affairs liaison in the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs. Over the past several years, Burrows-McElwain efforts focused on strengthening cross-agency collaboration among the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense in meeting the behavioral health needs of service members, veterans, and their families, and she has more than 26 years of experience working in rural behavioral health systems in local, state, and federal systems.
Bruce Crow, PsyD, MPH
Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs
Crow serves as associate director, program evaluation for the VA Suicide Prevention Program. Prior to this position he completed a research fellowship in Dissemination and Implementation Science at the University of
Washington School of Medicine sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD) Military Suicide Research Consortium. Crow served with the U.S. Army for 30 years until retiring from active duty at the rank of Colonel. He continued with the Army as a civilian psychologist for five years during which time he led development of the largest tele-behavioral health operation in the DOD. While on active duty he completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology and held several senior leadership positions including eight years as the Army’s chief psychologist and he actively promoted quality improvement initiatives for military suicide prevention and has served as a suicide prevention consultant to the defense ministries of Australia and Columbia. Crow was a member of the work group that developed the 2013 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Assessment & Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide and currently leads suicide prevention initiatives within the American Public Health Association. He is a recipient of the John C. Flanagan Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association’s Society for Military Psychology. Crow holds a PhD in clinical psychology, a MPH.
John McCarthy, PhD, MPH
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan
Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs
McCarthy is research associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Currently, he serves as director of VA’s Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center (SMITREC), director of the National Primary Care-Mental Health Integration Evaluation, and director of Data and Surveillance for Suicide Prevention. McCarthy also provides site leadership for SMITREC’s postdoctoral training program. For more than 21 years, his work has focused on veterans, mental health access, health systems, health behavior, and population health. He has held national VA scientific leadership roles since 2007. McCarthy’s experiences include VA leadership roles for congressional and White House initiatives. He has had ongoing funding for mental health services research, program evaluation, and operations work, including VA and National Institutes of Health grants and dedicated Center funding. McCarthy’s scientific expertise includes health system access, suicide epidemiology, measurement-based management, medication adherence, serious mental illness, mental health services program evaluation, and suicide predictive modeling. After working for four years in physician education and ambulatory administration at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, he earned an MPH from the School of Public Health and a PhD in health services organization and policy from the University of Michigan.
Fetima McCray, BS
Federal Employee and Member, Disabled Veterans of America
McCray is a Marine Corps veteran who served as the aviation logistics and supply accountant during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Throughout her service, she gained firsthand experience with military culture and the unique challenges faced by service members. These challenges included sexual assault and harassment, anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and identity crisis. Despite these obstacles, McCray emerged as a powerful advocate for women’s causes, becoming an author, wife, mother, artist, and motivational speaker. She generously shares her mental and emotional health journey to inspire and uplift others. McCray’s story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and an inspiring example of how to overcome life’s most difficult challenges. She draws on her own experiences to offer valuable insights and guidance for others who may be struggling with similar issues. Her message of hope and perseverance is a beacon of light for all those who seek to overcome adversity and thrive in life. “There is life after what feels like death.” Every day may not be easy, but the journey to another day will always be worth it. Semper Fidelis!
Matthew A. Miller, PhD, MPH
Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs
Miller is the executive director for VA Suicide Prevention, where he leads a team dedicated to the implementation and reinforcement of evidence-based community and clinical interventions addressing suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. Under his leadership, according to the VA Annual Suicide Prevention Report, there has been a one-year decrease in veteran suicide rate of five percent and a two-year decrease of 10 percent. Miller laid the foundation for VA’s Grand Challenge, which enticed the nation’s and the world’s best and brightest to create scalable data surveillance and suicide prevention intervention options to improve suicide prevention predictive analytics. He previously served as the director of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL). Under Miller’s leadership, VCL became the world’s largest and most efficient suicide crisis call center. He began his VA career as the chief of mental health at Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center in Saginaw, Michigan, where he later became the deputy chief of staff. Miller is an Air Force veteran. He completed his professional residency in clinical psychology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center and served as the chief of mental health at a Joint Services Pilot Training Wing. Miller was responsible for overseeing outpatient mental health operations for all active-duty
service members and dependents within the installation community. In addition, he was head of the installation’s suicide prevention, alcohol and drug demand reduction, critical incident response, and family advocacy programs. Miller received his PhD from Michigan State University and an MPH from the University of Michigan.
Bryan Moore, AA
Caregivers on the Homefront
Moore served 23 years in the U.S. Army as a CH/MH-47 Chinook Repairer, with his last eight years serving with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Moore founded the Night Stalker Heroes Memorial of Savannah Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that now falls under The Night Stalker Association Savannah Chapter. Moore earned his associate’s degree in general studies from Columbia College of Missouri and also has a certification in nonprofit management from Duke University.
Shawn Moore, LMSW
Elizabeth Dole Foundation
Moore serves as the director for the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s direct support programs. Moore is an Alumna 2017 Dole Caregiver Fellow for Missouri. Prior to becoming a caregiver to her husband, who served for 23 years in the U.S. Army, Moore served as a police officer for nearly 15 years with Kansas City, Missouri. She then obtained a master of social work degree from Park University and is a licensed master social worker in Missouri. Prior to joining the Foundation, Moore founded Caregivers on the Homefront, where she stood up mental health programming for veteran and military caregivers and their children. She is the executive director. Moore is passionate about advocating for military and veteran caregivers, and utilizes both her lived experience and education by presenting to national audiences on how communities can best support the family members of our veterans. She has served on panels with VA, presented with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Alliance of Caregiving, and has shared her story on PBS News Hours, TODAY Show, and MSNBC.
Stacey Owens, MSW, LCSW-C
Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Owens is the military and veterans affairs liaison for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In this role she is
honored to have the opportunity to support collaborative public health efforts to improve the behavioral health of our nation’s service members, veterans, and their families (SMVF). Owens has more than 20 years of experience in various health care and social service settings; prior to joining SAMHSA she served the SMVF population for 13 years as a clinical social worker at VA and Department of Defense. Her work focused on suicide risk assessment and crisis intervention. She earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Prairie View A&M University. Owens comes from a proud military family. Her father is an Army retiree, and both of her grandfathers were combat veterans. They are her inspiration for working toward improving well-being for future generations of SMVF.
Heather M. Salazar, ABD, MA
RAND Corporation’s Office of Congressional Affairs and RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute
Salazar is the legislative and government affairs analyst for veterans policy at the RAND Corporation and the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute. Prior to joining RAND, she worked for the Congressional Research Service, within the Library of Congress, as a veterans policy analyst. Salazar is currently a PhD candidate at Ohio University focusing on post-World War II U.S. military history, modern Latin American history, and Caribbean history. She is currently writing her dissertation to complete her degree. She also has an MA from Norwich University and a BA in history and a BS in secondary education, both from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.
Allen Levi Simmons, BSET
Give an Hour Ambassador
Simmons is a multifaceted individual with an incredible life story. He is not only a husband, father, and motivational speaker but also an author and U.S. Marine Corps veteran with deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Simmons is a true inspiration to us all as he has overcome posttraumatic stress, hopelessness, anger, anxiety, memory loss, and suicide. He found the strength to fight his demons with purpose and poetry, inspiring him to write his first book, a collection of poems, titled “Can I Speak?” Simmons’s determination to succeed saw him graduate with a degree in electrical engineering technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, even after facing setbacks that led to his dropping out in 2012. He then went on to become a successful software support professional for the International Business Machines Corporation. Simmons is also the host and creator of
The Purpose Pod podcast, where he inspires others to live a meaningful life. Simmons’s life mantra “Never Stop Never Quit Repeat!™” is a reflection of his perseverance and determination. His journey inspires us to overcome obstacles, face our fears, and never give up on our dreams. Simmons is a true example of what is possible with hard work, determination, and a willingness to face our challenges head-on.
Megan E. Vanneman, PhD, MPH
Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine; Division of Health System Innovation and Research, Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
Vanneman is an assistant professor in the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Epidemiology and Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health System Innovation and Research. She is also a core investigator and Career Development Awardee at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System’s Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center. Vanneman is a health services researcher. She primarily studies the impact of policy change on access, quality, and cost in large health care systems, with a focus on health equity and mental health. She uses mixed methods in her work, leveraging both quantitative (econometrics, biostatistics, surveys) and qualitative (in-depth interviews, focus groups) techniques. Her teaching interests are in research methods and health policy. Vanneman earned a BA in human biology from Stanford University; MPH in health policy and management from Columbia University; and PhD in health services and policy analysis from the University of California, Berkeley. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health services research at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System’s Center for Innovation to Implementation and Stanford University School of Medicine’s Center for Health Policy/Primary Care and Outcomes Research.
Staff, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Sharon Britt, BBA
Britt is the program coordinator for the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences. She worked at Howard University Hospital for 15 years as a program coordinator with the Graduate Medical Education Department. In this position, Britt managed the Orthopedic and Podiatric Surgery Residency program that prepares residents to succeed in their
practice locations and specialties and provides high-quality care. Prior to her position as the residency coordinator, she worked on several government contracts as a helpdesk manager and information technology analyst. Britt graduated from Strayer University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Ashton Ray, BA
Ray is a senior program assistant for the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences. She is currently supporting the consensus studies, Future Directions for Applying Behavioral Economics to Policy and Focus on Myopia—Pathogenesis and Rising Incidence. Prior to Ray’s position at the National Academies, she worked as the administrative assistant for both the Regulatory Affairs and Health Policy Departments at JDRF International. She began her professional career as an administrative assistant at Georgia Neuropsychology where she provided support to clinical neuropsychologists. Ray received her BA in art history at Georgia State University.
Daniel J. Weiss, PhD
Weiss has conducted research on the cognitive mechanisms of language acquisition and motor planning using a comparative approach, investigating performance across human infants and adults as well as nonhuman primates. He has maintained a federally funded research program and has published more than 80 scientific articles. Weiss graduated Summa Cum Laude from University of Maryland and completed his master’s degree and PhD in the Cognitive Brain and Behavior program at Harvard University. He held a postdoctoral research position for three years at the University of Rochester. Weiss served as the editor-in-chief for Translational Issues in Psychological Science.
Tina M. Winters
Winters is a program officer with the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences (BBCSS) at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She has worked on many consensus studies and other projects within BBCSS on topics including leveraging behavioral science to reduce the impact of dementia, factors that bear on the quality and success of scientific research, influences on aging, program evaluation, and learning across the lifespan. Prior to joining BBCSS, her work at the National Academies centered on studies and other activities related to K–16 science
and mathematics education, educational assessment, and education research. She co-edited the National Academies consensus report Advancing Scientific Research in Education as well as the publication Measurement and Analysis of Public Opinion: An Analytic Framework, and prepared Understanding Pathways to Successful Aging: Behavioral and Social Factors Related to Alzheimer’s Disease, Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Experience and Caregiving, Epidemiology, and Models of Care, Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief.
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