Key Note Speakers/Discussions –Descriptions below
1. Shedding Light on Being a Veteran and a College Student – Bryan Adams (Active Minds)
2. In Their Own Words - Student Panel Discussion, Tony Deobil Facilitator
3. Championing the Cause of the Caregiver - Andrea Brinn Sawyer (Wounded Warrior Project)
Workshops (Tentative List)
From Campus to Classroom; Reintegrating Veterans into the Classroom – Miguel Rivera, LMHC, NCC, CCJS, Director of SDS & Counseling, Daytona State College
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Melissa A Paliani, Ph.D., Team Leader Vets Center – Daytona Beach
Suicide Prevention Training Strategies – Charlene Latimer, NCC, Chair, School of Student Life Skills, Daytona State College
LGBT Suicide Prevention – Katy Lacefield, University of Central Florida Graduate Student
Bullying and Suicide Prevention – Mitch Pietras, Counselor, Daytona State College
Developing a No Harm Contract – Deborah Lynch, M.A., LMHC, Director of Counseling and Advising & Scott Freeman, Ph.D., LMHC. Faculty,Seminole State College of Florida
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy – Stacey Tantleff Dunn, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Director, Clinical Psychology MA Program, Director, and Laboratory for the Study of Eating, Appearance, & Health, Coordinator, Undergraduate Fieldwork, University of Central Florida
Dismissing the Myths of Suicide and People of Color – Joi Niles LPC, CAS, Director Counseling Services & Mr. Mowatt, Bethune-Cookman University
Suicide Prevention and Law Enforcement - Sini Summerlin, CIT Coordinator / MHFA Instructor, Volusia & Flagler Counties. Stewart Marchman Act
“Gatekeeper” Suicide Prevention Training (Train the Trainer) – TBA.
Faith Community Track
How to set up a CARE Ministry for Suicide Prevention and After Care – Allison Bonilla LCSW, Awareness Counseling Center, Orange City, Fl.
Counseling Evangelicals; Bridging the Gap - Russell Holloway, MS, LMHC, NCC, Director of Counseling Services Salty Ministries, Inc., Port Orange Counseling Center
Death & Dying and the Grieving Process – TBA
Key Note Addresses - Thursday Morning
Bryan Adams – Active Minds
Hailing from a small New Jersey town, Bryan Adams set his sights on the United States army after high school. He served a year-long deployment as a Sniper in Tikrit, Iraq. In October 2004, he was shot in the left leg and left hand during an ambush and was awarded a Purple Heart.
Bryan was 21 years old when he returned from the war. He struggled to reintegrate back into society and was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Currently, Bryan is a Senior at Rutgers University studying Business.
Bryan's story sheds a light on what it’s like to be a veteran and a college student. His story leaves audiences captivated and hopeful.
Key Note Addresses - Thursday Afternoon
In Their Own Words – Daytona State College Students
One of the most requested and moving presentations of any Project SPEAK Conference is the open and direct panel discussions by students who have personally dealt with the issue of suicide. Whether experiencing the thoughts of suicide themselves or watching the waning of a loved one or friend, these individuals share their experiences that puts a real face on the issue. Questions will be solicited prior to the meeting as no questions will be entertained from the audience at the time of the presentation. People are really touched by the stories and background of these brave students who share so much of themselves and their experiences.
Friday Morning – Key Note Address
Andrea Brinn Sawyer – Wounded Warrior Project
Championing the Cause of the Caregiver
Andrea Sawyer will never forget the day she sat with her husband in a psychiatrist’s office and listened to his plan to kill himself. Her husband served in Iraq with the US Army Mortuary Affairs, using his mortuary skills to bring peace to the families of fallen warriors. However, as Andrea witnessed firsthand, it was her husband who was in need of peace. His combat experiences left him suffering from severe migraines, light sensitivity, an endocrine disorder, intestinal bleeding, and a liver issue. However, those injuries aren’t even the worst of what he faces. He also suffers from chronic and severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her husband medically retired from the Army in 2008, and less than a month later, he was declared 100-percent permanently and totally disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs. But his retirement was simply another beginning for Andrea, who serves as his caregiver.
“The sacrifices a caregiver must make are often a trial by fire,” says Andrea. “We have given up our jobs and substantial loss of household income. We have seen our health decline. We have given up time with our children, and our marriages have changed as we adapt to the different challenges injuries have brought into our lives.”
Andrea became an advocate while helping her husband find treatment. She participated in the Department of Defense Wounded Warrior Best Practices symposium in 2008, the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program 2008 as a consumer advocate for PTSD, and the Wounded Warrior Project Caregiver Summit 2009, which lobbied for caregiver legislation on Capitol Hill. Andrea and her husband are subjects in “Living with PTSD” a special report series by the Military Times papers to educate the public, service members, and veterans and their families about chronic, severe PTSD and its signs, symptoms, treatment options, effects on relationships and long-term outlooks.
