Suicide Prevention Summit

Tracey Atkinson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Life Coach in the State of Wisconsin. She has been working in the mental health field for over 15 years. Tracey has worked in settings such as an inpatient hospitalization facility, outpatient mental health clinic, mobile crisis, contracted position in a school setting and has worked collaboratively with local police and sheriff departments, emergency rooms, jails, and with a local Children's Advocacy Center. She specializes in trauma work and has presented at multiple mental conferences on trauma.

Pardeep Singh Kaleka M.S., LPC Author of, The Gifts of Our Wounds. Pardeep works as a hate and violence prevention senior advisor and the director of Behavioral Health Response at Carroll University. He also serves as a de-radicalization interventionist with Parents4Peace, assisting families and individuals offramp from violent ideologies. In 2012, following the death of his father in the hate killings at the Oak Creek Sikh Temple, he co-founded Serve2Unite, an organization nationally recognized for bridging school and community healing and resilience. As a first-generation immigrant from India, Mr. Kaleka has spent more than 25 years in the public arenas of law enforcement, education, and mental health, assisting hate crime survivors and perpetrators across the United States with recovery. He is the former director of the Interfaith Conference and has also worked on numerous coalition-building efforts across ethnic, racial, and religious differences. With a specialization in understanding the impacts of communal trauma, he has helped to develop policies and practices to help mental health professionals, social service practitioners, law enforcement agents, and educators address hate and the rise of targeted violence.

Hunter Markle is an autistic young adult who also has some mental health challenges. He is currently working part-time. He loves Dungeons & Dragons and heavy metal music! (Feel free to search for his mental health play list on Spotify.) After high school, he got a job and thought everything was going okay. But his autism, anxiety, and depression brought him to a point where he really wanted his life to end. He wants to share how he got help and what he does today to make sure he doesn’t go back to that place.

Tim Markle is founder and director of Forgiveness Factor. Forgiveness Factor exists to promote forgiveness as a way to live mentally well. Tim teaches classes, workshops, and seminars and speaks about forgiveness, suicide prevention, and addiction recovery in Wisconsin, nationally, and internationally. Tim brings a unique perspective by sharing his personal journey through childhood trauma, alcoholism, betrayals, misunderstandings, mental health challenges, and life. Tim has a master's in counseling from John Carroll University and a master's in Christian studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Tim is married, has two adult children, and lives in Stoughton, WI.

• forgivenessfactor.org        
• internationalforgiveness.com

Dr. Tamara Morris, Psy.D. is a licensed Psychologist, Assistant Professor, and Director of Training with the Building Resiliency through Action for Veterans and First Responders (BRAVE) Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology after serving in the U.S. Army. Her doctoral internship was completed at the Cheyenne VAMC where she later worked as staff in the specialty and trauma clinics, as well as having served as the Director of Training for the psychology internship program. Dr. Morris specializes in working with Veterans from all eras of service and in treating complex trauma.

Carin Neloms currently possesses a master’s degree in social work. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Mount Mary University and her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For most of her social work career, she has worked with children from ages 5 to 18. She has worked as a youth mentor, probation officer for at-risk youth, and as an in-school therapist at 4 different Milwaukee Public Schools helping youth enhance their mental wellness. Carin has always had a passion for working with youth. She believes youth are our future. "It is imperative that all professionals of today including me keep the youth in our mind. As generations pass through we must inspire today for tomorrow," states Carin.  She can be reached on Linkedin's social networking site.

Born to challenge the status quo, Dr. Dominique Pritchett strategizes with companies to prioritize mental wellness solutions to evolve personal and professional development. She is an international speaker, owner of Beloved Wellness Center, and the founder and podcast host of Space for Sistas®. Dr. Dominique holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, a master's in clinical social work, and a bachelor's in social work. She has been featured on BBC London Radio, Shondaland, Women’s Health Magazine, The New York Times, and many more.

Clem L. Richardson is the CEO and Executive Director of Manna Behavioral Services. Mr. Richardson is a Mental Health Professional (M.S.), Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC), Master Addiction Counselor (MAC), and Associate Degree in Theology (A.A.). Mr. Richardson has over 21 years of professional experience he provides workshops, group facilitation, and prevention education at Alternative Schools, church groups, and drug treatment facilities to adults or youth. He has a nontraditional approach to counseling using various techniques to engage his audience. Mr. Richardson has 20 years of lived experience which led into street crimes, drug addiction, and gang affiliation. Mr. Richardson is a recipient of many prestigious awards including the Outstanding Leadership, 2001 Certificate of Appreciation Prison –Reentry Department of Corrections (DOC), 2009 Community Impact Award Rising Star 2009, and in 2018 he received the “Black Excellence Awards” by the Milwaukee Times just to name a few. He is married and has five children and seven grandchildren. He enjoys reading, traveling, weight training, and family time. Mr. Richardson is the author of the book White Keys/Black Lives. Mr. Richardson is the founder and lead pastor of Kingdom Empowered Ministries located in Milwaukee, WI.

Erich Roush, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist, and a Major in the United States Army Reserves. Dr. Roush has unique experiences as a service member, serving in both active and reserve components and serving in multiple roles (19A-Armor, 25A-Signal, 70B-Medical Officer, 73B-Psychologist) in his ongoing career. He served as an active-duty armor officer for 4 years in the 2nd Infantry Division including a deployment to Iraq in 2009–2010. He currently works as a psychologist and Assistant Professor with the Building Resiliency through Action for Veterans and First Responders (BRAVE), part of the Wisconsin Institute of Neuroscience (WINS) at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Chaplain Tara Shilts is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains and is ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She is the Chief of Chaplains at the Tomah Veterans Administration medical Center and outside of her one-to-one ministry with the Veterans who reside there, she co-facilitates the Suicide Postvention Committee, co-facilitates REAL (Reclaiming Experiences and Loss) a support group for Veterans with Moral Injury, and leads a telehealth grief group for Veterans. She was raised in the La Crosse community and is proud a graduate of Logan High School.

Madeline Vinzant has over ten years of service as a school counselor, working across all grade levels in the public K–12 education system. Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree in psychology from UW-La Crosse, a master's in school counseling from Winona State University, and she is currently pursuing a doctorate in counselor education and supervision at Viterbo University. Madeline's primary goal is to assist others and ensure that all students can reach their full potential by supporting their overall wellness and mental health. She strongly believes that the work of school counselors is vital, challenging, and life changing.

Alec Wendelboe oversees the Education and Community Outreach Department for the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance and Minnesota Stroke Association. He is a Hamline University graduate who studied neuroscience, with lab experience at the Wesley and Lorraine Artz Cognitive Neuroscience Center.