We hope you can join us on Tuesday, May 13 in Milwaukee for the Prevent Suicide Wisconsin Preconference Gathering. Come reconnect with partners you haven't seen in a while and meet new faces! This is a time for research and skill sharing as well as networking.
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 13, 9am to 3pm.
Registration: $50 (includes continental breakfast and lunch). Space is limited. Register early! Registration for the preconference closes at noon on May 1.
Exhibitor Tables: Exhibit tables are available.
Location: ThriveOn King, 2153 N Doctor M.L.K. Jr Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53212
Parking: Complimentary parking is available in the Thrive On King garage or surrounding streets. The parking garage is located off W. Lloyd St. between N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Vel R. Philips Ave. Enter the garage from Lloyd Street. For directions to the parking garage entrance, we recommend using this address in your wayfinding app: 356 W. Lloyd St. Milwaukee, WI 53212. You will need to buzz security to enter the parking garage. Let them know you are here for Prevent Suicide Wisconsin Preconference Gathering.
Building Entrance – Enter the building at the southwest entrance located off Vel R. Phillips Ave. or W. Lloyd Street, closest to the parking garage.
Continuing Education: The preconference gathering is not eligible for Continuing Education Hours
Agenda
9-10am Exhibitor tabling, continental breakfast, networking
10am-12pm AFSP Research Connection, hosted by the AFSP Wisconsin Chapter
12-1pm Lunch
1-2:30pm Faith-Based Suicide Prevention Panel Discussion and Q&A
2:30-3PM Closing remarks and Adjourn
AFSP Research Connection, hosted by the AFSP Wisconsin Chapter
Jobs, Housing, and Hope: Using "Big Data" to Understand Suicide Risk during Transitions in Later Life
Briana Mezuk, PhD
Professor, Department of Epidemiology
Co-Director, Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Dr Briana Mezuk
Dr. Mezuk is the co-Director of the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health and is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She completed her doctoral training in the Department of Mental Health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and a fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. Her research program uses epidemiologic study designs and analytic tools to examine how mental health relates to medical morbidity in mid- and late-life. She has led several projects, funded by both the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Institute of Mental Health, aimed at understanding how major life changes across different domains (i.e., work, school, housing, health) shape risk of suicide over the life course. Finally, she is committed to mentoring students and early-career faculty in public mental health. She is the founding Director of the Michigan Integrative Well-Being and Inequalities (MIWI) Training Program, a NIH-funded training and mentoring program that supports innovative, interdisciplinary research on the interrelationships between mental and physical health as they relate to health disparities.
Faith-Based Suicide Prevention Panel Discussion and Q&A
The panel will discuss questions including how suicide prevention shows up in their daily work; how we can equip people with language/theology to decrease stigma and increase the likelihood of sharing in a trusted faith community; how they support people in making meaning of suicide and death; how you can support someone not connected to the church during a season of grief; and how people of faith who play a strong role in supporting us care for themselves (self-care).
Panelists
Pastor Walter Lanier
Walter Lanier is a visionary attorney, pastor, educator, and executive leader whose work spans higher education, healthcare, law, and public service. He serves as Senior Pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Milwaukee, where he integrates faith, justice, and community empowerment. As President and CEO of the Great Lakes Urban Empowerment Center (GLUE), he leads regional strategies focused on racial equity, mental health, civic engagement, and systems transformation. He also chairs the Board of Milwaukee Health Services, Inc., guiding governance reform, strategic planning, and institutional leadership.
As a 13 year administrator at Milwaukee Area Technical College, Lanier founded four pioneering initiatives including the college’s first Counseling and Psychological Services Department. Lanier is the founder of the MIRACLE Mental Health Network, a cross-cultural initiative that has worked for over a decade to support mental health education, healing, and advocacy in Milwaukee’s diverse communities. He also played a lead role in establishing the BLEST Hub at Marquette University’s Center for Urban Research, Teaching, and Outreach (CURTO), a regional effort to map and connect programs supporting boys and men of color in Southeastern Wisconsin. Across every domain, Lanier brings innovation, spiritual grounding, and a deep commitment to justice, leadership, and sustainable, community-centered change.
Chaplain Robert Allen
Chaplain Robert Allen is a native Mid-Westerner born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He is a leadership professional with multiple advanced degrees in the areas of business, counseling, divinity, healthcare, and leadership. Chaplain Allen is a proud U.S. Army Veteran and has served in the private sector as a police and hospital chaplain as well as a manger and director of a spiritual care program for more than 15 years. He is a board-certified chaplain, currently serving as the Chief of Chaplain Services at the Clement J Zablcoki VA Medical Center located in Milwaukee Wisconsin and has served in that capacity for the past 4 years. Chaplain Allen is a published author, having written several books with his first being Self-Care Let’s Start the Conversation. He has served in various industries, from education, military, law enforcement, business, mental health, and ministry. Chaplain Allen enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his family.
Pastor Cameron Overton
Pastor Cameron Overton (he/him) serves as Executive Pastor at Zao MKE Church and is a consultant with UBUNTU Research and Evaluation. As a young, Black, queer, and trans person, Cameron is called to ministry that builds the church into an intersectional, queer-liberated space. At Zao, he keeps the church running by managing operations, fostering community partnerships, providing pastoral care, and leading weekly worship with the Zao band. His favorite part of ministry is the ability to show up as his full, authentic self while creating space for others to do the same. Cameron holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in social work. He is also licensed as a Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC).
We would like to thank our sponsors:
Funding for this conference was made possible in part by grants from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by the speakers or moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the DHS; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government or the State of Wisconsin.