Shelby Rowe Named New SPRC Director

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Shelby Rowe has accepted the position of SPRC director. A leader in the suicide prevention field for the past 15 years, Shelby brings a wealth of experience working at the local, tribal, state, and national level, most recently serving as head of SPRC’s Tribal Initiatives Team and establishing the first SPRC Lived Experience Advisory Committee.

Shelby has collaborated with other leaders across the U.S. to advance suicide prevention efforts, participating in high-profile groups such as the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s American Indian/Alaska Native Task Force and Care Transitions Advisory Group, and co-founding the American Association of Suicidology’s Indigenous Peoples’ Committee.

An award-winning artist, mother of three sons, and suicide attempt survivor, Shelby is the recipient of the 2021 American Association of Suicidology Transforming Lived Experience Award and the 2016 Chickasaw Nation Dynamic Woman of the Year.

We are grateful to have served as SPRC co-directors and look forward to continuing in our role as SPRC senior advisors. Please join us in congratulating Shelby on her new, well-earned position.

Kind regards,

Dolores Subia BigFoot, PhD

Presidential Professor

SPRC Senior Advisor

Center on Child Abuse and Neglect

Indian Country Child Trauma Center

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Beverly W. Funderburk, PhD

Professor of Research

SPRC Senior Advisor

Center on Child Abuse and Neglect

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center