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Community Suicide Prevention2020 Conference Speaker BiographiesDr. Thomas Joiner grew up in Georgia, went to college at Princeton, and received his Ph.D. inClinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is The Robert O. LawtonDistinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University (FSU),Tallahassee, Florida. Dr. Joiner’s work is on the psychology, neurobiology, and treatment ofsuicidal behavior and related conditions. Author of over 725 peer-reviewed publications, Dr.Joiner is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, and wasawarded the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio ResidencyFellowship for work on suicidal behavior. Early career milestones included the YoungInvestigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression(NARSAD), the Shakow Award for Early Career Achievement from the Division of ClinicalPsychology of the American Psychological Association, the Shneidman Award for excellence insuicide research from the American Association of Suicidology, and the Award for DistinguishedScientific Early Career Contributions from the American Psychological Association. Morerecently, he received the Dublin Award from the American Association of Suicidology for careerachievement in suicide research as well as research grants from the National Institute of MentalHealth, Department of Defense (DoD), and various foundations. The Lawton Professorship andthe Dublin Award are the single highest honors bestowed, respectively, by FSU and the AmericanAssociation of Suicidology. In 2017, he was named a Fellow of the American Association for theAdvancement of Science, and in 2020, was given the James McKeen Cattell Award for lifetimecontributions to the area of applied psychological research from the Association forPsychological Science.He is a consultant to NASA’s Human Research Program, and is the Director, with Pete Gutierrez,Ph.D., of the DoD-funded Military Suicide Research Consortium, a 70 million, ten-year project.Dr. Joiner has authored or edited eighteen books, including Why People Die By Suicide,published in 2005 by Harvard University Press, and Myths About Suicide, published in 2010,also with Harvard University Press. The book Lonely at the Top was published by PalgraveMacMillan in October, 2011, and the book The Perversion of Virtue: Understanding MurderSuicide was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. The book Mindlessness: TheCorruption of Mindfulness in a Culture of Narcissism, came out in 2017, also from Oxford.Largely in connection with Why People Die By Suicide, he has made numerous radio, print, andtelevision appearances, including write-ups in The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London,a radio interview on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, and two appearances on the Dr. Phil Show. Heruns a part-time clinical and consulting practice specializing in, among other topics, suicidalbehavior, including legal consultation on suits involving death by suicide. He and his wife (analumna of FSU Social Work) live in Tallahassee, Florida; they have two sons, the elder of whomis a recent FSU graduate and started medical school at Dartmouth in 2020, and the younger ofwhom is an FSU juniorPage 1

Dr. Joiner continued.Title: “Why people die by suicide”Brief description:In his new theory of suicidal behavior, Thomas Joiner proposes three factors that mark thosemost at risk of death: the feeling of being a burden on loved ones; the sense of isolation; and,perhaps chillingly, the learned ability to hurt oneself. He tests the theory against diverse factstaken from clinical anecdotes, history, literature, popular culture, anthropology, epidemiology,genetics, and neurobiology--facts about suicide rates among men and women; white and AfricanAmerican men; anorexics, athletes, prostitutes, and physicians; members of cults, sports fans,and citizens of nations in crisis.7 objectives— to review basic facts about the epidemiology and risk factors for death by suicide.— to learn about a new theory of suicidal behavior.— to learn about anecdotal, clinical, and scientific evidence that evaluates this new theory.— to learn about approaches to suicide risk assessment.— to learn about developments in the treatment of suicidal behavior.— to learn about developments in suicide prevention.— to understand the experience of people who are bereaved by suicide.Dawn Cureton is the current Director of Counseling Services at the College of Eastern Idahoand teaches adjunct in the Psychology department. She is also the Clinical Director at HealthyCare Solutions and provides therapy. Dr. Cureton earned her masters and doctoral degree inClinical Psychology from Argosy University in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received herPre-Doctoral internship at Brigham Young University and completed her Post-Doctoral Fellow atUC Berkley. Dr. Cureton has served as a counseling psychologist at UC Santa Barbara, UCIrvine, UC Berkley, Sonoma State University, and the College of Marin. After moving to IdahoFalls she worked at the Behavioral Health Center at EIRMC before going back to her first loveof academia at the College of Eastern Idaho.Title of Presentation:Mental Health through Zoom: How to Build In-person Connections in a Virtual WorldDesired Action:Making and keeping interpersonal relationships through online without feeling isolatedPage 2

Dr. Linda Hatzenbuehler, Ph.D., ABPP is Chair of the Idaho Suicide Prevention ActionCouncil (ISPAC), is a Licensed Psychologist, Diplomat in Forensic Psychology, and serves onthe American Board of Professional Psychology.She completed her BA in Psychology at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio and her M.Aand PhD. in Psychology at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.Her Professional licenses and board certifications include:Psychologist, State of Idaho License #126, 1979 to present.Board Certification (Diplomat in Forensics), American Board of Professional Psychology(ABPP), 2000 to present.Designated Examiner, State of Idaho, 1980 to present.Certified Psychosexual Evaluator (State of Idaho), 2008 to present.She has been employed in psychology since 1972, is an Emerita Professor of Psychology withIdaho State University and is currently working in private practice as a Clinical Psychologist inForensics.She has served on 16 community boards since 1999. Currently she is serving her community onthe Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Board as a member from 2018 to present, on theIdaho Council on Suicide Prevention as Chair from 2014 to present, and the PsychologyLicensure Board from 1979-1983 and 2014 to present.Dr. Hatzenbuehler has published 14 professional articles dating from 1971 through 2014. She hasreceived special awards for outstanding accomplishments which include the DistinguishedService Award from Idaho State University in 2008; the Idaho Department of Correction &Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce Special Appreciation award in 2002-2003; theAssociation of Schools of Allied Health Professions President’s Award in October 11, 2002,along with 9 other awards.Dr. Hatzenbuehler has agreed to present Idaho's Suicide Prevention Plan at our conference.Community Panel PresentersRepresenting LGBT, Tribal, and University Students.Jennifer Saunders, SLP. Jennifer is a lover of life and when asked why she does what she does,her reply will most likely be “Because I can.” She loves to travel, be outdoors, and practicecourage. More than anything, Jennifer loves to see the lights come on for people that lead themto higher levels of self-love, accomplishment and connection.Page 3

Jennifer is a transformational speaker and Personal Adventure Coach who assists you to see theamazingness that resides in your through Living Courageously Exposed, which also happens tobe the name of the podcast she hosts. Her business model is Empowerment Through Play!She created the company B.I.G., Buttin Gear in 2004 as a platform to live out her dreams. ButtinGear hosts running events as well as being the springboard to mentoring/coaching, adventuringand serving. She is the co-creator of Infinity Speaking, assisting speakers to make greater impact,get more referrals and stay booked even before they take the stage. She continues toparticipate in personal challenges.Jennifer has studied personal development most of her life and became extremely serious about itin 2008 when she decided to take coaching and mentoring to new levels. She has spent thousandsof dollars and hours learning and growing on her own journey so she can assist others to newheights of mastery. She has touched thousands of lives through coaching, speaking and singing.Before jumping into her entrepreneurial journey, she spent five years on the campuses ofMountain View Hospital assisting others through personal training and Reiki energy work.Jennifer has a degree in Speech-Language pathology and Audiology, is an ACE Certifiedpersonal trainer, Certified Behavioral Change Specialist, Precision Nutrition Certified Level 1and Reiki Energy Therapy certified.A few fun facts about Jennifer is that she is an Ultra-runner who has run races up to the distanceof 100 miles four times. She has jumped out of an airplane, walked on fire, walked on glass, shebreaks boards with her bare hands and arrows with her neck, made a CD, sang at the SLCOlympics, been in commercials, was an extra in a big screen movie, climbed Machu Pichu, ranon the Inca trail, waterfall rappelled, zip-lined over the Cloud Forest, visited Patagonia, been atthe base of a huge glacier and built “houses”. She has traveled to Peru, Panama, Guatemala,Ecuador, Mexico, Chili, Bali, Cambodia, and China.Jennifer is the mother of two beautiful daughters and wife of a beautiful soul.Rick Pongratz is the Director of Idaho State University's Counseling and Testing Center. Hereceived his Ph.D. from Arizona State University and conducted his advanced clinical training atColorado State University's campus counseling center. He has worked at ISU for 15 years andspecializes in service to college students and the campus community. Dr. Pongratz staysconnected with organizations leading the way in understanding and treating college studentmental health issues."I don't know how to list my population since I'm sorta filling space but I represent thoseproviding service to college students.Action Item: That we all practice greater self-compassion and compassion for others.Brodie Sanchez is a Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Member and Beadwork ArtistPage 4