Pete Gutierrez is Executive Vice President of Research and Development at LivingWorks where he oversees development and maintenance of their training programs, the research and evaluation agendas, and provides suicide subject matter expertise. He earned his PhD in clinical psychology in 1997 and has served as a faculty member at Northern Illinois University and the University of Colorado School of Medicine and was a clinical/research psychologist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He currently holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University.

He has been a suicide prevention researcher for almost 30 years and has directed or co-directed multiple large federally funded research projects including the Military Suicide Research Consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. His work has been published in over 150 peer-reviewed articles and close to 200 national and international conference presentations. Pete is also a past-president and former Board member of the American Association of Suicidology, a Fellow of the International Academy of Suicide Research, an associate editor of the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior and is a licensed psychologist (inactive) in the state of Colorado.

Dr. Ryan Hill is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Louisiana State University. Dr. Hill’s research is focused on the prevention of suicide-related thoughts and behaviors among child, adolescent, and emerging adult populations. His research interests span suicide prevention broadly, from basic research to enhance our understanding of the development and maintenance of suicidal thoughts to applied research developing and testing brief interventions to reduce suicide risk. 

Founded in 1966, Crisis Support Services of Alameda County (CSS) has served as a consistent lifeline for our community for six decades. What began as a grassroots suicide prevention line has evolved into a comprehensive suicide prevention agency serving over 75,000 people annually through local and 988 Crisis Line and Text Line, community education, and clinical supports. Our history is defined by a commitment to being present for our community’s most vulnerable moments, ensuring no one has to navigate a crisis alone. We strive to normalize help-seeking by fostering environments where suicide can be openly discussed without shame.

While our roots are deep, our approach is constantly evolving to ensure responsiveness to the needs of a diverse population. CSS remains at the forefront of the national movement to reimagine crisis care. By integrating mobile crisis dispatch services and providing robust follow-up care, we are actively reducing law enforcement involvement in mental health emergencies. Our success is rooted in the foundational principle that safety exists in relationships and community care, not in coercion.

We actively work to maintain the \”neighbors helping neighbors\” model through a robust volunteer program, as well as apprenticeships, and clinical internships. At CSS, we don\’t just provide a service, we build a culture of care where every resident is supported by the strength of their community.

Through the leadership of David Covington and the sustained commitment of the teams at Recovery Innovations and Behavioral Health Link, The Crisis Jam learning community is transforming the nation’s crisis system—one conversation at a time. Convening every Wednesday since early 2020, The Jam brings together interactive, engaging voices from across the crisis continuum to share expertise, challenge assumptions, and accelerate learning. Inclusive of all professional roles and lived perspectives, its intentional, participatory design stands as a powerful model for systems change—demonstrating how connection, curiosity, and shared purpose can shape the future of crisis care.

Lori Espinosa is a California Native born and raised in Northern California. She has been a life-long animal lover and advocate. Lori is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (#15819) w/over 30 years’ experience working in public service. In her previous life she was a Crime & Intelligence Analyst, but since the loss of her son to suicide in 2011 her passion turned towards mental health. She became a mental health advocate worked in conjunction with Solano County Mental Health by serving on the Mental Health Advisory Board and Solano County Suicide Prevention Committee. She has partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and chaired multiple Suicide Awareness events including International Survivor of Suicide Loss Day Conferences and Out of the Darkness Community Walks. She has been part of two certified therapy dog teams who provided emotional support to those in assisted living facilities and Alzheimer Units. She currently sit on the Board of Directors for Crescent Moon which is a non-profit who provides therapeutic services to those who have experienced trauma via art and equine therapy.

In her new professional life she has served as the Clinical Services Director for a 32-bed residential facility for those with serious mental illness, and has found her niche here with Solano County Behavioral Health as the Suicide Response Coordinator. She works primarily with Suicide Loss Survivors and does program development enhancing behavioral health care with evidence-based practices proven to support those impacted by suicide and suicidality. Lori completed her undergraduate work at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and went on to complete her graduate program in Mental Health Clinical Counseling at Walden University. Lori specializes in Grief and Bereavement, Trauma Informed Care, and Suicidology.

Sangmi Kim is a PhD candidate in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she is also completing a minor in the Intercollegiate Graduate Statistics and Data Science Program (IGSDSP). She earned her MSW from Ewha Womans University and holds South Korea’s highest-level national social worker license. Her earlier professional experience includes providing mental health support in community welfare organizations, contributing to Korea–Japan comparative child welfare research, and studying NEET youth, hikikomori, and youth volunteerism at the University of Tsukuba in Japan.

Her doctoral research focuses on youth suicidality and data justice in digital mental health systems. Her first dissertation paper, Data Justice and Social Justice in AI-Based Suicide Risk Prediction, examines structural bias and representation issues within AI risk models. Her second study analyzes algorithmic bias together with disengagement and survey nonresponse as forms of “hidden inequity.” Her final paper evaluates how multimodal AI can interpret symbolic emotional expressions of adolescents in immigrant families and support culturally responsive parent–child communication. Across this work, she centers marginalized and culturally diverse youth, emphasizing fairness, cultural responsiveness, and community-grounded approaches.

Methodologically, she integrates psychometrics, machine learning, multimodal analysis, human-in-the-loop AI, advanced statistical modeling, and mixed-methods designs grounded in practice relevance and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Sangmi is honored to receive the 2026 Morton M. Silverman Student Award and is committed to advancing safe, just, and human-centered suicide prevention for vulnerable youth and families.

Dr. Marie Adams is the Assistant Director of Training at the University of Iowa’s University Counseling Service and is a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Iowa. She also co-chairs the University of Iowa’s Suicide Prevention Coalition and is a Certified Crisis Specialist through the American Association of Suicidology. Dr. Adams helps provide training and consultation on suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention through serving as an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) trainer with LivingWorks Education, Inc. and serves as a member of the Johnson County Suicide Prevention Coalition, helping support suicide prevention efforts within the State of Iowa and UI’s surrounding communities. Her suicide prevention efforts on campus encompass integrating crisis management and suicide prevention into her direct clinical work with enrolled students, serving as an experienced clinical supervisor to mental health professional trainees, and providing training and consultation to various staff/faculty groups, colleges, and with senior administrators across campus. Dr. Adams also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the University of Iowa’s Counseling Psychology doctoral program.

Eliza (she/her) is a writer, national trainer, speaker, curriculum developer, advocate and Executive Director of NAMI Massachusetts. Prior to her appointment as Executive Director, her role at NAMI Mass was Deputy Director of Programs, overseeing all programming for the organization, including peer, family and community education programs, as well as the Compass Helpline.

Eliza has worked in the non-profit sector in Massachusetts for over two decades, supporting and advocating for people and families with life interrupting challenges: trauma, mental health conditions, problems with substances, being unhoused and systems of oppression. This work, in addition to her own lived experience, has shaped Eliza’s lifelong passion for social justice, equity and amplifying the voices of those most marginalized. As a queer woman whose young adult life was interrupted by her own mental health struggles and the associated discrimination, Eliza knows firsthand the way that mental health systems can help as well as do harm. At NAMI Mass, Eliza leads a team that strives to develop and offer programs and supports that honor the experiences, dignity, and humanity of each member of our community.

Eliza holds a Master of Education with a focus in Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, both from Lesley University. In her free time, you’ll find Eliza submerged in the Atlantic Ocean, dancing with her wife Heather in their kitchen or chasing her dogs, Nelson and Clementine.