Building The Bridges of Hope: Upstream Approaches to Suicide Prevention

Melissa Romeo, MS, serves as the 988 Program Coordinator at the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) within the New Jersey Department of Human Services. In this role, Melissa works directly with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline centers throughout the state and oversees federal grants supporting this initiative. Melissa additionally provides support to the DMHAS Medical Director in facilitating suicide prevention initiatives including the implementation of the Zero Suicide framework. For the second year, Melissa Romeo is serving as the Chair of the Suicide Prevention Conference.

Susanne Mills is a member of Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Executive Staff.  Ms. Mills serves in the role of DMHAS Ombudsman and is the Manager of the DMHAS Office of Advocacy and Peer Services in the Medical Director’s Office. She has lived experience with Mental Health challenges and struggled with Suicidal Ideation and Self-injury for 40 plus years.  

Richard McKeon Ph.D., MPH received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona, and a Master of Public Health in Health Administration from Columbia University. He has spent most of his career working in community mental health, including 11 years as director of a psychiatric emergency service and four years as Associate Administrator/Clinical Director of a hospital-based community mental health center in Newton, New Jersey. In 2001, he was awarded an American Psychological Association Congressional Fellowship and worked in the United States Senate, covering health and mental health policy issues. He spent five years on the Board of the American Association of Suicidology as Clinical Division Director and has also served on the Board of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

He is currently Senior Advisor in the SAMHSA 988 and Crisis Office after serving for 12 years as Chief for the Suicide Prevention Branch in the Center for Mental Health Services where he oversaw all branch suicide prevention activities, including the Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention, and Campus Suicide Prevention grant programs, the Zero Suicide initiative, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, and the Native Connections program. He has worked with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline since its inception in 2005, including establishing the foundation for 988 as the national suicide prevention number. In 2008, he was appointed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the Secretary’s Blue Ribbon Work Group on Suicide Prevention. In 2009, he was appointed by the Secretary of Defense to the Department of Defense Task Force on Suicide Prevention in the Military. He served on the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Task Force that revised the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services project management team coordinating the 2024 revision of the U.S. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and Federal Action Plan. He also participated in the development of World Health Organization’s first World Suicide Prevention Report. 

In 2023 he was awarded the American Association for Suicidology Dublin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Suicide Prevention. Also in 2023, he was a finalist for the Samuel J Heyman Service to America Medal for his contribution to the establishment of 988 as the new United States national suicide prevention and mental health crisis number. In 2024, he was awarded the Crisis Now International Visionary Leadership Award. In 2025, he received the CDC Amy Wald St. Pierre award for Excellence in Partnering as part of the HHS team overseeing the 2024 revision of the US National Strategy.

Amy Hassa, MSW received her Masters from Rutgers University New Brunswick and has been a passionate advocate for youth throughout her lifetime.  She has worked in the area of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention for 20 years. Amy is the training coordinator for the Disaster and Terrorism Branch and is also a national trainer for Mental Health First Aid, Youth Mental Health First Aid, and QPR. Amy is a DRCC and is also a member of the TLC Response team.  

Nedra Watson is a Behavior Support Technician at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. Nedra started working with people as a school bus driver where she was offered a special needs school route, or atypical school student route. Within one school year, Nedra went from transporting students to their group home to becoming a job coach in the agency’s supported employment program. Nedra loves to make a difference with each individual interaction. As hobbies, she enjoys cross stitch and learning to play the ukulele.

Lori Jarck is an American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) New Jersey Chapter Board Member and Loss and Healing Ambassador. She is also a member of the AFSP National Loss and Healing Council. Lori volunteers her time as Director of Suicide Loss and Education and   Group Facilitator at Stephys Place, A Grief and Loss Center in Red Bank, NJ. She is also a Certified Grief Services Provider at the Alan Wolfelt’s Center for Loss and Life Transitions in Fort Collins, Co. Lori has been recently certified as a Reiki Energy Practitioner.

Dr. McGann is a practicing psychologist in New York City specializing in traumatic loss. She is also co-chair of the Coalition for Clinician Survivors, an organization for professional caretakers who have had a loss to suicide and a board member of the Alliance for Hope, a comprehensive online healing support resource. She trains, teaches and consults on topics related to suicide assessment, intervention and care as well as postvention. She also helped to create the guidelines of the Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. She has been involved with numerous national suicide prevention organizations and task forces for postvention, along with training and consulting on postvention and clinical work with loss survivors. She lost her sister Nadine to suicide in 2004.

On World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10, 2013, Maria Kirchner, PhD, as chair of the suicide prevention committee of the Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, invited her committee members and any interested state employees to gather in one of the conference rooms to commemorate the day, share information and find solutions to stop suicide in NJ.

Under her tutelage, this small initiative morphed into a well-known and widely attended Suicide Prevention Conference that attracts people across borders and of all walks of life: consumers, clinicians, researchers, people with lived experience, commissioners, teachers, social workers, mental health practitioners, interested residents, etc.

In addition to working on the state level with people in distress, Dr. Kirchner also experienced firsthand as a clinical psychologist in private practice, the importance of preventing suicide by giving hope and helping those pained emotionally, spiritually, and/or physically and their loved ones.

Maureen is the Program Director for the Statewide Traumatic Loss Coalition. The Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth Program (TLC) at Rutgers-University Behavioral Health Care is New Jersey's primary youth suicide prevention program funded by the Department of Children and Families. The TLC is an interactive, statewide network that offers collaboration and support to those working with school-age youth. Maureen is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, and a Diplomate at the American Academy of Experts in Trauma. She is a Master Trainer in the evidence-based practice of suicide prevention Question Persuade Refer. She is a certified Talk Saves Lives and a Finding Hope trainer for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and the assistant producer of Signs Matter: Early Detection online suicide prevention training for educators. She is a certified Psychological First Aid Trainer (PFA) and Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. She is also a Stress First Aid (SFA) trainer and Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) certified trainer.

Maureen is the chair of the New Jersey Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council and a member of the NJ Child Fatality/Near Fatality  Review Board. She was one of the first clinicians certified as a Disaster Response Crisis Counselor and is on the “go team” for the State of New Jersey under the Disaster and Terrorism Branch within the Division of Mental Health. She also is member of their advisory board. She also sits on the New Jersey Child Assault Prevention advisory board and the Middlesex NJ4S program.  

Brett Peppe is a dedicated Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor based in New Jersey. As Program Manager of the HOPES Program—a Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) team—he provides crucial support to families across the state who have lost a child aged 21 or younger to suicide. His team offers immediate on-scene assistance and ongoing support through monthly survivor groups, creating a compassionate environment for families to navigate their grief.

Brett has extensive experience in community mental health, having worked at a mental health center where he wrote and maintained numerous grants while providing operational oversight and clinical supervision for various programs, including intensive and outpatient treatment, co-occurring services, supported employment, and homelessness outreach. He also served for many years as the Somerset County Traumatic Loss Coalition Coordinator, delivering essential prevention and postvention services to youth organizations after a suicide or traumatic loss.

As a credentialed trainer for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the International Trauma Center, Brett regularly conducts training on Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery. He is also a trainer for the Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) model of suicide prevention and plays a key role in onboarding new lead responders through the Traumatic Loss Coalition’s program, “Managing Sudden Traumatic Loss in the Schools.”

In addition to his professional contributions, Brett authored “Penelope the Powerful Parrot,” a heartfelt book designed to help children cope with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic through storytelling, music, and dance. This initiative has been embraced by SAMHSA and is part of the “Hope and Healing” grant program implemented throughout New Jersey and beyond.

Jennifer Paruk, MPH, PhD is a postdoctoral research fellow at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers University School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the prevention of firearm injury, especially through secure firearm storage and extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs).

AAG Rasheedah Sims is Counsel to the Director of the Office of Alternative and Community Responses in the Department of Law & Public Safety, where she serves as an advisor to the director on Extreme Risk Protective Orders (ERPO) and leads ERPO related projects and initiatives for OACR. Prior to joining the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, she served as Managing Deputy Attorney General in the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, where she oversaw the District Attorney’s role in Gwinnett County’s Accountability Courts. In that capacity, she supervised other District Attorneys and support staff assigned to the Accountability Courts including Mental Health Court, Drug Court, Veteran’s Court, Family Treatment Court and DUI Court. AAG Sims was also a Special Deputy Attorney General in the Special Victim’s Unit of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. She also served as the County’s Bias Crimes Liaison. AAG Sims has taught programs on the Fourth Amendment and Criminal Procedure to law enforcement officers and prosecutors. She also taught a seminar course for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners to Nursing students at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey with a M.S. in Public Affairs and Politics, and a B.A. in Political Science and Administration of Justice. She earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law.

Matthew J. Platkin was appointed by Governor Phil Murphy to serve as the state’s 62nd Attorney General on February 3, 2022, and confirmed to that role with bipartisan support by the New Jersey Senate on September 29, 2022.

As New Jersey’s chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Platkin has prioritized the safety of New Jersey residents, focusing on combating violent crime and implementing innovative public safety strategies. He has specifically targeted gun crimes and auto thefts, resulting in significant reductions in both areas during his tenure. He has also spearheaded efforts to change how law enforcement responds to mental health emergencies by connecting individuals to resources, underscored by the innovative ARRIVE Together program.

The Attorney General leads a department that touches upon nearly every aspect of life in New Jersey. Its sweeping responsibilities include investigating and prosecuting crimes, representing the State’s interests in court, enforcing strong consumer protection and civil rights statutes, regulating important industries and overseeing over 38,000 law enforcement officers throughout the state. Attorney General Platkin believes that at the center of this work is public trust. With that goal in mind, he has made it a priority to utilize available resources and authority to root out public waste and abuse, eradicate corruption, hold regulated businesses and industries accountable, defend civil rights, end bias and discrimination, and increase transparency concerning law enforcement conduct.

Since his appointment, Attorney General Platkin has established several new offices within the Department of Law and Public Safety. These include the Office of Alternative Community Responses, the Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement Office, the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance and specialized units within the Division of Criminal Justice dedicated to prosecuting human trafficking and complex financial crimes. He has spearheaded the creation of the Reproductive Rights Strike Force and partnered with the Governor’s Office and Legislature to protect access to reproductive healthcare.

Before becoming Attorney General, Platkin served as Chief Counsel to Governor Murphy from January 2018 to October 2020. As Chief Counsel, he oversaw an office of attorneys that advised the Governor on all legal matters, including legislation, executive orders, administrative regulations, and litigation.

In addition to his work in public service, Platkin also worked in private practice, having served as a partner at Lowenstein Sandler in the White-Collar Criminal Defense and Business Litigation practice groups.

Previously, he worked as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City, where he focused on internal investigations and civil and criminal matters before the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York Department of Financial Services, and various regulatory agencies.

Prior to law school, Platkin began his career as a policy advisor at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., working with members of Congress on job growth and economic recovery. He also served as an organizer in San Antonio, Texas.

Platkin was born and raised in New Jersey, growing up in Morris County, and graduated from Madison High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University, and his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review. He lives in Montclair with his wife, Sophia, and children, Robert and Maya.

Dr. Ursula Whiteside is a licensed clinical psychologist, CEO of NowMattersNow.org and Clinical Faculty at the University of Washington. As a researcher, she has been awarded grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Clinically, she began her training with Dr. Marsha Linehan in 1999 and later served as a DBT-adherent research therapist on a NIMH-funded clinical trial led by Dr. Linehan. Dr. Whiteside is a group and individual certified DBT clinician. Now, she treats high-risk suicidal clients in her small private practice in Seattle using DBT and caring contacts.

Dr. Whiteside is national faculty for the Zero Suicide initiative, a practical approach to suicide prevention in health care and behavioral healthcare systems. This program was described by NPR on a segment titled “What Happens If You Try to Prevent Every Single Suicide?” She is also vice-president of United Suicide Survivors International.

As a person with Lived Experience, she strives to decrease the gap between "us and them" and to ensure that the voices of those who have been there are included in all relevant conversations: nothing about us without us.

Ashley Costello, LSW, serves as Administrator in the Office of Integrated Health & Wellness in the Division of Children’s System of Care within the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF).  She has had various roles within DCF since 2008 including child protection direct practice casework, data analyst, and program specialist.  Ashley provides administrative oversight and supervision of staff in the development and management of programs contracted with DCF that deliver services to children and families of New Jersey.  Included in her responsibilities is the Division’s youth suicide prevention programming.

Kevin has been working in the EdTech space for close to 20 years and is focused on promoting School Safety & Wellness in NJ through the SAFE NJ Program.

Ariel Fuchs (she/her), MPH, is a seasoned public health professional and advocate serving as a Sr. Program Manager at the New Jersey Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (NJAAP), supporting youth suicide prevention initiatives at the chapter. Ariel brings a collaborative approach to improving child and family health outcomes with experience working on a variety of health education and prevention programs including substance use prevention, violence prevention, youth advocacy training, and chronic disease management. Ariel holds an MPH from Temple University and is dedicated to advancing equity-focused, evidence-based public health initiatives.

Liz Graham, 180’s Chief Executive Officer and a 17-year veteran of the organization. Liz’s achievements include the transformation and advancement of the 2NDFLOOR® Youth Helpline, project management of 180’s emergency safe house, and guiding the organization through a diverse array of milestones and initiatives. Liz serves as a member of Catalyst 2030, a global movement of social change innovators creating connections across borders and cultures with the aim of furthering goals set forth by the United Nations. She aims to lead the organization by utilizing the expertise and legacy knowledge gained after years of extensive, hands-on training under the leadership of outgoing CEO, Anna Diaz-White

Dr. Tully is a Harvard-trained Licensed Clinical Psychologist, former professor at University of California, Davis, and nationally recognized expert in digital mental health, with over 18 years of experience designing, evaluating, and implementing scalable solutions for youth in community and state-level settings. Dr. Tully’s leadership is anchored in evidence-based practice, real-world implementation, and a deep commitment to equitable and accessible youth mental health care. As VP of Clinical Integrations & Partnerships at Kooth, Dr. Tully leads Soluna’s national partnerships and integrations strategy—overseeing cross-sector partnerships, and system-level integration efforts across education, healthcare, and community sectors. Dr. Tully has deep experience securing and managing multi-million dollar public contracts, developing clinical governance protocols at scale, and has worked closely with state agencies and large health systems like CA DHCS, NJ DCF, and Kaiser.

Shannon has worked for New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families (DCF), Children's System of Care (CSOC) since January of 2021.  In her current role, Shannon is the Program Lead for suicide prevention contracts that fall under CSOC’s Office of Integrated Health and Wellness. As Program Lead, Shannon offers programmatic assistance to providers and helps to establish and maintain level of service expectations. Prior to her role at CSOC, she was with DCF’s Child Protection and Permanency working with youth and families within New Jersey’s child welfare system.

Dr. Robert Eilers is the Medical Director at the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). He is Board-certified in adult psychiatry with subspecialty certification in administrative psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. He had received his M.D. from Thomas Jefferson College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, and his M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.

Sean Sundberg is the Associate Vice President of Quality Assurance and Privacy Officer at Care Plus NJ, where he has over 20 years of leadership experience in behavioral health and integrated care. He holds a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Ramapo College.

Sean oversees agency-wide quality improvement initiatives, incident reporting, HIPAA compliance, and suicide prevention efforts. He was instrumental in developing New Jersey’s first certified Behavioral Health Home and is known for his person-centered, recovery-focused leadership in supporting individuals with complex behavioral and physical health needs.

Recognized for academic excellence and leadership, Dr. Joseph worked at Hackensack University Medical Center as a member of the Consultation Liaison Team, leading the team providing Addiction Medicine consultations. Dr. Joseph has also worked as a member of the Consultation Liaison Psychiatric Services team at University Hospital in Newark, NJ, and outpatient psychiatry department at Rutgers UBHC. Additionally, he supervised and taught New Jersey Medical School psychiatry residents and medical students, emphasizing education and mentorship. He currently serves as a collaborative physician to several APNs, providing weekly supervision and case consultation, in addition to being the primary medical provider on various integrative team meetings. 

Committed to community outreach, Dr. Joseph actively participates in events addressing the opioid crisis. He currently serves as a medical expert on the Bergen County Overdose Fatality Review Team via the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. He has attended and participated in events such as the Community Health Improvement Partnership of Bergen County Meeting and the USRA Coalition Opioid Forum. He engages in volunteer activities, including contributions to Habitat for Humanity and continued participation in community events at his local church.

Dr. Joseph is Board-certified in Adult Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. He is an active member of prestigious professional associations, including the American Psychiatric Association (APA), American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP), and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

Stephanie Suriani is a licensed clinical social worker with almost 25 years of experience in the child service field, in both child welfare and child behavioral health care. Currently, Stephanie is Director of Program Management at Tri County CMO, where she provides management of agency deliverables, goals and performance targets, supervision of care management staff, and facilitation of various goal-directed workgroups. Stephanie is an advanced certified Nurtured Heart Approach® trainer. Stephanie has also been a field liaison for Rutgers University School of Social Work for the past 8 years as well as a field instructor for social work students from Rutgers, Ramapo and Columbia Universities for the past 18 years. 

Matthew LaRoche holds a Masters in Psychology and has an array of both clinical and management experience. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Tri County CMO and has been part of the Children’s System of Care in New Jersey since 2007. In his current role as COO, Matthew provides oversight of the day-to–day operations of the CMO as well as compliance to the operations manual delineating best practices and procedures for Operations staff. He actively participates in formal and informal quality review efforts including documentation of care management services. In addition, Matthew monitors the design and implementation of the care management outcomes measures and oversees the tracking of all CMO youth to ensure compliance with timelines and fidelity to the wraparound model.  

Michael Anestis, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, the executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, and a professor in the Rutgers School of Public Health.  His research focuses on suicide prevention, with a particular emphasis on the role of firearms and a focus on military and veteran communities. He is the author of over 250 peer reviewed scientific articles as well as a book, entitled Guns and Suicide: An American Epidemic.  In 2018, he was the recipient of the Edwin Shneidman Award from the American Association of Suicidology in recognition of early career achievement in suicide research.

The Rev. Dr. Emily B. Hall, D.Min., has been a pastor for over 25 years and holds dual membership with the United Church of Christ and The United Methodist Church.  She has been the Director of Chaplaincy Services at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital for the past 17 years.  She holds her membership as a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, CPE-I, and CPSP, and as an Educator / Diplomat with CPE-I and CPSP.

Mr. Barnes is the Assistant Director of the NJ Gun Violence Research Center (GVRC) and Associate Professor at RU-SPH, Urban Global Public Health. He brings a wealth of practical experience to the GVRC and the School of Public Health, from years in government to the private sector and ministry. Mr. Barnes served in a senior role while working in the NJ Assembly Office. As Chief of Staff to the Assembly Majority Leader, Bonnie Watson Coleman (currently, Congresswoman NJ-12th District), he led her statewide campaign on criminal justice reform and authored an extensive package of bills that was hailed by the New York Times as a model for the country. The legislation sought to make common-sense changes, like allowing those incarcerated access to educational programs to achieve their high school diploma and providing those released from prison with their medical records. At the start of the 2010 legislative session, incoming Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver asked Mr. Barnes to serve as her Chief of Staff. 

He worked collaboratively to enact multiple legislative proposals on behalf of the Speaker by monitoring national trends and culling bipartisan and stakeholder support. He admirably served the Speaker and the majority caucus before transitioning to the private sector. As Area Director, Government Affairs, for a major cable and telecommunications company headquartered in New York, he was responsible for all federal, state, and local lobbying efforts within New Jersey. He supervised internal and external teams of consultants to best position the business interest of the company with regulators, elected officials, and the communities within the company’s franchise area. After several successful years spearheading the company’s government affairs strategy, Mr. Barnes resigned to enroll at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he pursued a Master of Divinity. While attending seminary, he served as Chaplain at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, where he provided pastoral care to victims of interpersonal violence and their families. Mr. Barnes witnessed firsthand the devastation gun violence can have on the individual, family, and community.

At the conclusion of his studies in seminary, the Lieutenant Governor of NJ/Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Sheila Y. Oliver, asked Mr. Barnes to join the Commissioner’s Office as Director of Policy and External Affairs. In this role, he was the point of contact for all elected officials and their staffs; provided the department’s feedback to the Governor’s Office on pending legislation; and worked closely with community-facing organizations and stakeholders to administer Community Service Block Grants. Mr. Barnes remains well-respected in New Jersey’s political and policy circles, having forged relationships on both sides of the aisle as well as with key community-based organizations and stakeholders.

Valerie Mielke is the Deputy Commissioner for Health Services, overseeing the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. which manages the NJFamilyCare health insurance program. NJ FamilyCare is New Jersey’s Medicaid program. She also oversees the Department’s work on First Lady Murphy’s Nurture NJ maternal health initiative and supports the Catastrophic Illness in Children’s Relief Fund.

Mielke had been the Assistant Commissioner leading the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, where she was responsible for the coordination, administration, management and supervision of the community mental health system, and regulating, monitoring, planning and funding of substance use prevention, treatment and recovery support services.  

Mielke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fairfield University and a Master of Social Work degree from Rutgers University, and has been with the state for 20 years.

Mielke also serves as a board member of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors as First Vice President; on the advisory board of the Council of State Governments Justice Center; and as Secretary on the NRI Board of Directors; and she previously served on the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Board of Directors, including as president from 2019 - 2021.

Mielke has also been honored several times for her efforts, including the State Leadership Award from the National Association of State Alcohol & Drug Abuse Directors