Dr. Rachel L. Navarro is the principal investigator and a trainer for ND THRIVES. She has extensive training in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. Dr. Navarro is a licensed psychologist who has experience working with adolescents and adults from rural and Tribal communities struggling with behavioral health issues. She also is a Professor of Counseling Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of North Dakota (UND) where she is the director of training for UND’s APA-accredited Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program. She has been a key contributor and senior personnel on three HRSA funded training grants focused on building the behavioral health workforce in rural and/or underserved areas with a focus on integrated care.
Brett Harris, DrPH, is a Senior Research Scientist at NORC and a behavioral health specialist with over 14 years of experience developing, directing, implementing, and evaluating mental health and substance use prevention projects. Dr. Harris is an expert in suicide prevention and leads efforts in surveillance, prevention, clinical intervention, postvention, and lethal means safety. Much of her work focuses on disproportionately affected populations including rural communities, veterans, and LGBTQIA2S+ youth. Dr. Harris oversees the training of clinical and non-clinical staff and the provision of tailored technical assistance and implementation support to our partners.
Norman McCloud Jr., MBA, BA, is Program Director for ND Thrives and a technology transfer specialist with the Opioid Response Network. His work with ND Thrives addresses shortfalls in rural and tribal behavioral health by training individuals to address the needs of individuals, ages 6 to 24, experiencing suicide ideation. We connect with rural health care providers, school systems, foster care programs and local suicide prevention programs to implement an upstream approach to suicide prevention. Through ORN, he works with a network of 600 consultants working in Substance Use prevention, treatment and recovery. Norman works with requesters to match consultants with agencies seeking their expertise. He is certified to provide consultation in contingency management and peer support and work to promote these models as integral components of recovery.
Norman has also worked as Regional Director for US Senator Heidi Heitkamp. He assisted in the research and drafting of federal legislation. This included legislation directly related to health care needs specifically focused on mental health and childhood trauma. Much of this work focused on tribal communities across ND and the US with specific focus on health care needs. He served as program directly for nonprofit and grant funded programs including Companions for Children, a youth mentoring organization, and Rehab Services-Children’s Home, a home for children with Autism.
Hildie Cohen, MA, Med, is a Senior Research Director at NORC with over 10 years of experience in research, evaluation, project management, and data governance. Ms. Cohen has subject matter expertise in substance use prevention and intervention, mental health, and suicide prevention with a focus on adolescents and young adults. Ms. Cohen serves as the program manager for the NORC team and oversees the development of the STARS program which is a multi-component school substance use and suicide prevention training program designed with local North Dakota partners.
Dr. LaVonne Fox Peltier, PhD, MOTR/L, is a Research Assistant Professor and Youth Outreach Specialist within the Bureau of Evaluation & Research Service at the University of North Dakota’s Department of Education, Health, and Behavioral Studies. A member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribal Nation, Dr. Peltier is deeply connected to her roots and empathizes profoundly with the ripple effects that suicide can have on families and communities. Her personal experiences within her extended family and observations in rural and tribal communities have fueled her dedication to suicide prevention.
With over 27 years of experience, she previously served as an Associate Professor in UND’s Occupational Therapy program and has worked extensively in various mental health facilities. Dr. Peltier is actively involved with ND Thrives, a critical initiative committed to preventing suicide among rural, tribal, and frontier youth ages 10-24 in North Dakota, particularly focusing on the North Central region, known for its high suicide rates and isolation.
Additionally, her role with the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) at UND emphasizes suicide prevention among Indigenous youth. Drawing from her extensive background, Dr. Peltier has dedicated her expertise to addressing mental health challenges in both rural and urban settings, advocating for culturally relevant interventions and strength-based approaches that challenge the often-used deficit-based methods in mental health care. Her work also delves into the impact of historical, generational, and intergenerational trauma transmitted across communities.
Katie Gallant, MSW, is a Senior Research Associate in the Public Health department at NORC at the University of Chicago. With nearly seven years of experience in public health and suicide prevention, Ms. Gallant provides subject matter expertise on various suicide prevention projects focused on implementation, technical assistance, evaluation, community engagement, and resource development. She is a seasoned trainer in Zero Suicide; Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment – Suicide Care (SBIRT-SC); and Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR). Ms. Gallant currently leads the provision of technical assistance and evaluation support for health and behavioral health settings implementing SBIRT-SC, with a focus on reaching populations disproportionately affected by suicide in North Dakota.
Taylor Lang, MPH, is the Outreach & Communications Specialist for ND THRIVES. She recently completed a Master of Public Health in Indigenous Health which has provided her with expertise in social determinants of health, health literacy, public health communication strategies, community outreach and engagement, and emergency communication. Taylor has experience developing and implementing several public health programs in rural, tribal, and underserved areas.
Tracy McPherson, PhD, is a research psychologist and Principal Research Scientist at NORC with 20+ years of experience leading evaluation, training, and technical assistance projects in behavioral health. As an expert in screening and brief intervention she works with organizations and health professionals to implement and evaluate an integrated model that addresses substance use and co-occurring risk for suicide with youth and adults in rural and tribal communities, schools, primary care, military, and other settings. Dr. McPherson will oversee all evaluation activities including design and development of data collection tools and procedures, analysis, reporting, and quality improvement.