SPECIAL GUEST: Lidia S. Bernik serves as Director of Network Development for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a national network of crisis centers accessed through a series of toll-free numbers, which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In January 2009, Lidia was nominated to serve on the Leadership 21 Committee, an effort by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law to identify and engage the next generation of leaders in the fields of mental health, public policy and legal advocacy and has been serving as the committee’s chair since November 2009. Prior to the Lifeline, Lidia worked as Program Coordinator for the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA in Washington, DC, a national suicide prevention organization focused on education and advocacy. She graduated from Cornell University with Distinction in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Service Studies and obtained her Master of Health Science degree in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2003. She is currently pursuing her MBA in Health Care Administration part-time at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. Having lost her sister to suicide in 2000, Lidia’s commitment to suicide prevention is both personal and professional.

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/