Join EDC at AAS26

Seven EDC experts will spotlight successful approaches to transforming suicide prevention and care at the 59th Annual American Association of Suicidology Conference on May 17 to 22 in St. Louis, Missouri. The theme of this year’s conference is “Moving Forward Together: Advancing Suicide Prevention Through Science and Lived Experience.”

Look for our EDC Solutions team at Booth #19 in the exhibit hall to learn about our community-led suicide prevention, Zero Suicide Institute, and multi-tiered suicide prevention for schools work.

Explore all of our panels and sessions below.

Tuesday, May 19 (11:30–12:30 CT, Room 240—Conference Center)—15 Years of Zero Suicide: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Presenters: Julie Goldstein Grumet, PhD (EDC Vice President and Director of the Zero Suicide Institute at EDC); Mike Hogan, PhD (CEO, Hogan Health Solutions); Virna Little, PsyD, LCSW (Co-founder, Concert Health); Karen Johnson, MSW (Senior Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Clinical Officer for the Behavioral Health Division, Universal Health Services)

• Presenters will discuss why Zero Suicide remains the gold standard for healthcare, the spread of Zero Suicide across healthcare, what is missing to make effective suicide care attainable, and the vision for the next 15 years of Zero Suicide.

Tuesday, May 19 (1:30–2:30 CT, Room 231—Conference Center)—Unpacking the Unknowns: A Framework for Evaluating Suicide Prevention in the U.S.

Presenters:  Colleen Carr, MPH (Director, National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention at EDC); Victor R. Armstrong, MSW (Vice President, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention); Deb Stone, ScD, MSW, MPH (Senior Director for Knowledge & Review, The Jed Foundation); and Richard McKeon, PhD (Senior Advisor, SAMHSA 988 Office)

• Presenters will share key actions to build an effective, whole-of-society approach to evaluating progress in preventing suicide in the U.S. and share Hope Counts, an initiative designed to advance knowledge of the impact of suicide prevention efforts.

Tuesday, May 19 (1:30–2:30 CT, Room 240—Conference Center)—Clinical Innovation for Suicide Prevention in Systems of Care: What’s Working for Whom

Presenters: Julie Goldstein Grumet, PhD; John Draper, PhD (President of Research, Development, and Government Solutions, Behavioral Health Link); Sarah A. Donovan, PsyD (Co-founder, SafeSide Prevention); Jennifer Lockman, PhD (Director of the Suicide Prevention and Recovery in Healthcare Initiative, University of Alabama at Birmingham)

• Presenters will explore how Zero Suicide innovators are expanding Zero Suicide’s core principles to better engage both the workforce and people in care. This session asks: how do we deliver the right suicide prevention care, for the right people, at the right time—moving us closer to zero?

Tuesday, May 19 (4:00–5:00 CT, Room 230—Conference Center)—Bridging Systems and Stories: Lived Experience in the Zero Suicide Movement

Presenters: Jan Ulrich, BS (Senior Project Associate II, Zero Suicide Institute at EDC); Laurin Jozlin, LMSW (Senior Project Associate, Zero Suicide Institute at EDC); Rick Strait, LPC (Substance Use Division Director/Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Community Counseling Center); Shelby Kuhn, MSW, LCSW, SAC, ICS (Senior Project Associate, Zero Suicide Institute and Chief Integration Officer, Noble Community Clinics)

• Presenters will provide practical strategies to meaningfully integrate the perspectives of individuals with lived experience of suicidality and loss to strengthen Zero Suicide implementation—including co-design processes, workforce development, and quality improvement.

Wednesday, May 20 (1:30–2:30 CT, Room 231, Conference Center)—Integrating Zero Suicide in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)

Presenter: Laurin Jozlin, LMSW (Senior Project Associate, Zero Suicide Institute at EDC)

• The presenter will demonstrate how CCBHCs can apply the Zero Suicide framework, including integrating suicide care practices into existing workflows and leveraging data and quality improvement to build sustainable, systemwide suicide prevention.

Wednesday, May 20 (4:00–5:00 CT, Room 267, Conference Center)—Building Effective Partnerships for Comprehensive School-Based Suicide Prevention

Presenters: Sommer Albert, MSW (Training and Technical Assistance Associate, EDC); Lee L. Fletcher, MSW, MDiv (School Mental Health Program Director, South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Mental Health); Alyeska Tilly, LMSW (Suicide Prevention System Manager, United Way of Connecticut)

• Presenters will introduce EDC’s Multi-Tiered Suicide Prevention for Schools (MTSP) framework and highlight how partners in South Carolina and Connecticut are using MTSP to build comprehensive and effective systems to reduce youth suicide risk.

Thursday, May 21 (10:15–11:15 CT, Room 242, Conference Center)—Hope on the Move: Bridging Mobile Crisis Response with the Zero Suicide Framework

Presenters: Jan Ulrich, BS (Senior Project Associate II, Zero Suicide Institute at EDC); Bailey Blair, MSW (Crisis Clinical Officer, Prairie View School District and President of the Kansas Suicide Prevention Coalition)

• Presenters will describe how to integrate mobile crisis response with the Zero Suicide framework to create a seamless continuum of care that includes effective ongoing treatment, recovery supports, and peer involvement.

Thursday, May 21 (11:30–12:30 CT, Room 231, Conference Center)—Zero Suicide at Scale: Practical Strategies and Lessons from a Large Social Service Organization

Presenters: Barbara Gay, MA (Associate Director, Zero Suicide Institute at EDC); Anna Farmer, LCSW (Director, Zero Suicide Project, The Jewish Board); David Johnson

• Presenters will provide actionable strategies, coordination tools, and real-world examples to help organizations scale Zero Suicide effectively and avoid common pitfalls in implementing Zero Suicide across large social service organizations.

We invite you to learn about EDC’s work focused on healthy communities, maternal health & home visiting, mental health & wellbeing, and rural health.