State and Territorial Advisory Committee – Suicide Prevention Resource Center

SPRC’s State and Territorial Advisory Committee:

Strengthens SPRC’s collaborative relationships with states and territories
Advises SPRC on the development of products for states, territories, and communities about suicide prevention best practices and supports
Helps ensure the cultural responsiveness of the national resources SPRC develops and disseminates for use by states and territories

Austin Lucas

Austin Lucas, BS, serves as the program director for the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF). He has been employed with OSPF since 2018. In this role, he manages suicide prevention programming, training, events, education, and resources for federal, state, and foundation grants. Lucas serves as the project lead for the Suicide Prevention Plan for Ohio Impleme... Read more

Melissa Markegard

Melissa Markegard, MS, CHES, has worked in the suicide prevention and mental health field for 10 years. She is currently the suicide prevention administrator for North Dakota’s Health and Human Services, Behavioral Health Division. In this role, Markegard oversees North Dakota’s Suicide Fatality Review Commission. She is a member of the North Dakota Suicide Pre... Read more

Dave Miers

Dave Miers, PhD, is the senior director of behavioral health services at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln, Neb., where he has worked for 27 years. Dr. Miers received a BS from Nebraska Wesleyan University, an MS from St. Cloud State University, and a PhD from the University of Nebraska. He is a Licensed Independent Professional Counselor, a suicidologist, and a memb... Read more

Nayda I. Román-Vázquez

Dr. Nayda I. Román-Vázquez, PhD, earned a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus. Since 2015, she has been working at the Puerto Rico Department of Health’s Commission on Suicide Prevention, the government entity responsible for implementing suicide prevention public policy in Puerto Rico. She has developed and offered ... Read more

KristiAnna Santos Whitman

KristiAnna Santos Whitman, MA, PhD, is a daughter of Guam and the proud mother of one. She manages Guam’s Garrett Lee Smith grant, Focus on Life, which is administered by the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, the island’s state mental health agency. Dr. Whitman is a licensed professional counselor and received a bachelor’s degree from the Un... Read more

Kristen Smith

Kristen Smith, PhD, is a public health consultant and the program coordinator for the Preventing Suicide in Michigan Men (PRiSMM) Program at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program. She oversees the program’s day-to-day grant activities and... Read more

Other Members

Other members bios coming soon: Andrea Duarte, Quinn Lewandowski, Lisa Sullivan, Kelsea Tucker ... Read more