Skip to main content

Task Force Members

The Faith Communities Task Force leads Action Alliance efforts to engage faith communities in suicide prevention. Please find below a complete listing of public-private partners that guides our work to advance the Faith.Hope.Life. campaign.

Note: This group is no longer active. Titles and affiliations are from the time of membership and may have since changed.

Co-Lead

  • Brandon Johnson — Co-Lead, Public Sector, Public Health Advisor, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration    

Members

  • Farha Abbasi, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, and Faculty, Muslim Studies Program, Michigan State University
  • Daniel Adams, Director of Training, Sources of Strength
  • Miriam Ament, Founder and President, No Shame on U
  • Victor Armstrong, MSW, Director, North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
  • Talitha Arnold, MDiv, Senior Minister, United Church of Santa Fe 
  • Glen Bloomstrom, MDiv, MS, MA; Director, Faith Community Engagement, Living Works Education & Adjunct Professor, Bethlehem College and Seminary
  • Kim Burditt, Senior Manager, Programs and Logistics, Suicide Prevention and Postvention, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors
  • Paul Cantz, PsyD, ABPP, Associate Professor; University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine; Adler University - Chicago
  • Christi Eaton, Executive Director, Speak2Save.org; Producer of Hope Bridge; Publisher of Crossing That Bridge
  • Mahira Elder, LLMSW, Muslim Family Services
  • Jeff Elhart, President and Owner, Elhart Automotive Campus
  • Efrem L. Epstein, Founder, Elijah's Journey (A Jewish Response to the Issues of Suicide Awareness and Prevention)
  • Jonah Geffen, Senior Jewish Educator and Campus Rabbi, Hunter College, New York, NY
  • Yosef Goldman, Rabbi, Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel
  • Ben Goldstein, Rabbi, Temple Beth El Mekor Chayim
  • Gregory Hudnall, EdD, Executive Director, Hope4Utah, Bishop, LDS Church
  • Kalman Kaplan, PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Chicago
  • Sarah Lund, DMin, Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice, United Church of Christ
  • Anne Mathews-Younes, Ed.D, D.Min, Deputy Director, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  • Karen Mason, PhD, LPC, Associate Professor of Counseling and Psychology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
  • Chris Miller, EdD, Teacher, Youth Ministry Coordinator, and Chair, Council on Mental Illness, National Catholic Partnership on Disability
  • Sherry Molock, PhD, Associate Professor, Clinical Psychology, George Washington University
  • Melinda Moore, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University
  • LaVonne Ortega, MD, MPH; Senior Advisor, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
  • Pamela Ovwigho, PhD, Research Director, Center for Bible Engagement
  • Anita Phillips, PhD, Director of Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Lancaster Bible College
  • Joshua Rivedal, Founder and Executive Director of The i'Mpossible Project, Author, International Public Speaker
  • Shannon Royce, Esq., Director, Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Michelle Snyder, MSW, MDiv, Director, Soul Shop 
  • Kay Warren, Co-Founder, Saddleback Church
  • Su Yeon Lee-Tauler, Senior Research Scientist, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Suicide Care, Prevention, and Research Initiative, Department of Medical & Clinical Psychology,  Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
National Action Alliance
for Suicide Prevention

300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2010
Waltham, MA 02451