A Note from Jerry Reed, Director, SPRC

I am excited to inform you about an upcoming change in my work at Education Development Center (EDC). As many of you know, I have had the pleasure of serving as director of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) since July 2008. I am extremely proud of the progress that SAMHSA-funded SPRC and its staff—past and present—has made over the last nine years. SPRC’s contribution to the field of suicide prevention cannot be overstated. I am proud to have been a part of that work. However, the responsibilities of my new role as the senior vice president for practice leadership for suicide prevention, and my responsibilities as leader of the Injury, Violence, and Suicide Prevention (IVSP) Portfolio at EDC make it necessary for me to relinquish my role as SPRC director. We will recruit a new SPRC director (announcement below) to lead the life-saving work of this vitally important resource center that has been operational since 2002. Until my successor is identified, I will continue to serve as SPRC director. 

I am not leaving the field of suicide prevention. I will continue to oversee the IVSP Portfolio at EDC in which SPRC resides, supervise the new SPRC director, and dedicate my professional efforts to strengthening EDC’s organizational contribution to suicide, injury, and violence prevention. I look forward to continuing the wonderful relationships built with many of you over the years and I am completely confident that the skills, expertise, dedication, and passion of our staff will continue to carry on this important work. I will work closely with SAMHSA to recruit a new SPRC director who will work with our staff, stakeholders, and collaborators to build on the achievements of SPRC and other suicide prevention projects and programs to help the field move toward our common goal of reducing the nation’s suicide rate 20 percent by 2025. 

I want to thank all of you for making the last nine years as SPRC director among the most rewarding of my professional career. I look forward to the next chapter of my work life and the opportunity to continue working with all of you in my new role at EDC.

Best,

Jerry

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EDC’s U.S. Division has an opening for the Director (Managing Project Director) of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) within the Injury, Violence, and Suicide Prevention Portfolio. The Director will report to the Senior Vice President for Practice Leadership and Portfolio Leader, and will be located in the Washington, D.C., or Waltham, Mass., office. SPRC is the nation’s only federally supported resource center devoted to advancing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. SPRC is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The SPRC Director collaboratively leads a large team of full- and part-time staff in fulfilling the expectations of the SAMHSA-funded cooperative agreement.

For more information and to apply, click here.

To ensure full objectivity in the selection process, please no phone calls and direct all inquiries via email to JPadgett@edc.org.