Featured Speakers
Featured Speakers
During the seminar, you will have the opportunity to hear from national experts in grief, trauma, health and wellness and more. Below is a list of the speakers and presenters who will be in attendance.
Make sure to also download the TAPS Events app. Recommended session schedules for different grief programming and speaker information are all built into the easy-to-navigate app.
Jennifer Baldwin, MA, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCPAT
Jennifer graduated with a master’s in art therapy from The George Washington University and has been working as a clinical art therapist in Northern Virginia/D.C. Metro area since 1997. She is board certified in art therapy and a certified grief and trauma therapist through the Wendt Center for Healing in Washington, D.C and a licensed professional clinical art therapist in the state of Maryland. She currently works as part of a private clinician’s group, NoVa Grief Support and Counseling, dedicated to educating and supporting those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. In addition, Jennifer is an adjunct faculty at The George Washington University in the Art Therapy program and a certified art therapy supervisor. She has successfully blended the areas of art therapy and traumatic grief when working with people of all ages by using art therapy techniques and interventions alongside traditional talk therapy to help support the difficult journey of grieving. Jennifer also enjoys presenting and conducting training for clinicians and community members through programs that have included the Goodwin Living Care Community, the Health and Wellness Program through the Falls Church City Public School, and the TAPS Institute for Hope and Healing®. Over the past two years she has been involved in assisting grieving families through TAPS seminars during open studio experiences and workshops. Providing opportunities for the non-artist to experience creative expression as a healing tool is an important mission for Jennifer.
Audri Beugelsdijk
Audri Beugelsdijk serves as the Vice President of Survivor Services for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), overseeing immediate and long-term survivor support and outreach, and survivor programming. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology. She came to TAPS as a survivor in March 1997 after her husband CTRSN Jason Springer, USN, was lost at sea in the Pacific from the USS Kinkaid. As a Navy veteran as well, Audri is passionate about supporting our military families. Her work in honor of her late husband is a testament to her passion for the TAPS mission and her desire to offer safe places of hope and healing for all those grieving a military loss.
Bonnie Carroll
Bonnie Carroll is the President and Founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the leading national Military Service Organization providing comfort, care, and resources to all those grieving the death of a military loved one. Ms. Carroll founded TAPS following the death of her husband in an Army plane crash. She is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer, and she has served in the White House under three Presidents.
Frank Campbell, PhD, LCSW, CT
Dr. Frank Campbell is the Executive Director Emeritus of the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center, where he is developing the first National Training Center for Suicidology. He is also Senior Consultant for Campbell and Associates Consulting where he consults with communities on Active Postvention efforts and Forensic Suicidology cases. During his more than thirty years of working with those bereaved by suicide he introduced his Active Postvention Model (APM) in 1997 it is most commonly known as the LOSS Team (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors). His work with survivors and victims of trauma has been featured in three discovery channel documentaries, multiple professional journals, and several book chapters. Frank has been a consultant to TAPS for years, beginning with the very first National Military Suicide Survivor Seminar in 2009.
Stacie Fredriksson
Stacie serves as a Home Base Family Outreach Coordinator and brings to Home Base 10+ years of non-profit experience working with service members, veterans and their families. A veteran herself, Stacie served 14 years in the Air Force on active duty as an intelligence officer supporting flying and space operations as well as an ROTC instructor at the University of South Florida before transferring to the Air Force Reserves where she served the last 9 years of her career at USCYBERCOM, retiring in 2016. Stacie is married to her husband, also an Air Force veteran and together they have two children and two dogs who keep them both busy and focused on the importance of living each day to the fullest! A native of Texas, Stacie has adapted to New England and enjoys spending time outside, cooking, reading and traveling.
Jacque Francona
Jacque serves as a Home Base Family Outreach Coordinator and has been involved with the Home Base Program since its inception in 2009 and joined the staff as a member of the Family Outreach Team in August 2012. Francona is a Military-connected mother of four—one son and three daughters. Her oldest daughter is the proud and ever-concerned sister of three Military siblings. Jacque’s son served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 with 3rd Battalion/4th Marines. Her son-in-law is a Captain in U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. He deployed to Iraq in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2011-2012 with 1st Battalion/6th Marines. Jacque’s youngest daughter attends the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. Jacque received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Arizona 1982 and practiced in the medical surgical and home health fields before devoting herself full time to raising her family.
Pamela Gabbay, EdD, FT
Dr. Pamela Gabbay is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant who has served the bereavement field in many capacities during her 25 year career. She is a co-founder of The Satori Group, a national organization providing education and consultation to the end-of-life, death, and bereavement fields. Pamela is a national trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and is the co-author, along with Andy McNiel, of Understanding and Supporting Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals. She is part of the training corps of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and travels throughout the country conducting trainings on their behalf. Dr. Gabbay has served in a variety of roles in her career, including being the Director of Operations and Training for The Compassionate Friends, the Director of The Mourning Star Center for Grieving Children, and Camp Erin-Palm Springs. Dr. Gabbay holds a Fellow in Thanatology (FT) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and earned a Master of Arts degree in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University. Dr. Gabbay is a member of the TAPS Advisory Board.
Betsy Hart
Betsy serves as a Home Base Family Outreach Coordinaotr and is the wife of an active duty Naval Aviator and knows first-hand the joys and struggles of military life. Over the last 18 years, she and her family have found their way through nine moves, six deployments and countless detachments. She has spent the last 14 years as a full time mom to three military children. In addition to her adult life experience, Betsy is the daughter of a Vietnam veteran and a child and family therapist. Home Base’s mission to heal the invisible wounds of war is deeply personal to her. Betsy has a degree in Communication from Florida State University. She served as a volunteer for Home Base for 18 months before joining the team as a Family Outreach Coordinator at the end of 2018.
Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann
Ashlynne is Deputy Director, TAPS Policy and Legislation. She is the surviving daughter of SFC Jeffrey J. Haycock, who died in an Army training accident on April 12, 2002, and Nichole C. Haycock, an Air Force Veteran who died by suicide on April 25, 2011. She graduated with a bachelor’s in political science from American University in 2013. Before joining the TAPS staff, Ashlynne attended the Good Grief Camp for seven years and volunteered as a Good Grief Camp mentor for four years. As TAPS Policy and Legislative Deputy Director, she advocates on behalf of surviving families and also serves on the VA’s Advisory Committee on Education.
Jason Howland
Jason brings proven leadership, project management, and educational instruction, resulting in expertise managing multiple large-scale and high-risk projects, as well as engagement of diverse teams and human behavior at all organizational levels. His leadership skillset includes 20 years of military service and is rounded out by expertise in Strengths-Based Leadership and Six-Sigma (yellow belt) certifications, with graduate education as a Project Management Professional. Jason has a Master's Degree in Human Relations and certifications as a trauma informed yoga/meditation instructor, Four Lenses facilitator, and NETA personal fitness coach.
Jenny Howland
Jenny is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychology and a passion for service and expertise in providing life-improving human performance and resilience tools for military, first responder, and civilian populations. This passion is propelled by a unique combination of strong clinical diagnostic skills, demonstrated cognitive neuroscience research experience, accoladed public speaking, and background in program management and evaluation. Jenny has training and certification in other holistic areas,including mindfulness/ meditation, integrative wellness/medicine, trauma-informed yoga, nutrition, heart rate variability, and biofeedback.
Jenna Preston, PsyD, LP ART-BC
Dr. Preston is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a Registered, Board Certified Art Therapist. She earned a Master's in Art Therapy from The George Washington University in 1996 and was an adjunct professor at George Washington University from 2010 to 2014. She earned her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) from the American School of Professional Psychology, Washington, D.C. in 2016 using her spouse's Post 911 GI Bill. Her career and training includes serving children, adolescents, and adults within community mental health, inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, correctional, residential substance abuse settings, and a unique opportunity to work with the Metropolitan Police in Washington, D.C. Dr. Preston is a proud (retired) military spouse. Her husband retired from the Air Force in 2015. While stationed overseas in England from 2003 to 2006, she opened a private art therapy practice serving military children and spouses. Currently, Dr. Preston works as a Clinical Psychologist at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado serving active duty military from all six branches, their spouses, and military children.
Andy McNiel, MA
Andy is the Senior Advisor of Youth Programs for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Andy is an author and trainer on topics related to grief, bereavement, and end-of-life. He has been an advocate for healthy children, teenagers, and families throughout his career. He brings his dedication and expertise to TAPS, where he oversees, develops, and facilitates programming for young military survivors. He is co-founder and executive partner of The Satori Group, LLC, a national education, management, and consulting company that provides education, content development, training, and consultation in grief and loss. His leadership has guided the National Alliance for Grieving Children, the Amelia Center at Children's of Alabama, and Hospice of Martin and St. Lucie in South Florida. Andy is a trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; a member of the International Workgroup on Death, Dying, and Bereavement; and he previously served on the Board of Directors for the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). Andy holds an M.A. in counseling and a B.A. in religion.
Jason Stout
Jason serves as a TAPS Youth Programs Advisor. Jason is passionate about helping youth and adults find their inner strength, form meaningful connections, and experience personal transformation through challenges. This is rooted in the losses of his sister, grandmother, and father — all before Jason was 15 years old. He struggled to deal with these losses as a teen and adult, but he found purpose and healing after completing a 78-day Winter Wilderness Leadership Expedition. In honor of his dad and sister, Jason created a national wilderness program for at-risk and grieving teens, which was featured in Backpacker Magazine, The Denver Post, and the Associated Press. He provides presentations to high schools, universities, and conferences on grief and finding resilience. He previously served Judi's House as Outreach and Education Manager and Outward Bound as the National Outreach Director. Through his work at TAPS, Jason helps grieving children and teens heal through connection and nature.
Carla Stumpf Patton, EDD, LMHC, NCC, FT, CCTP
Dr. Stumpf Patton serves as the Senior Director of Suicide Prevention & Postvention Programs at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), where she oversees programs and services provided to military community members and families after a suicide loss. She is a suicidologist and subject matter expert in the areas of grief, trauma, and suicide prevention, intervention, and Postvention, is a registered ASIST trainer in suicide first aid, and is trained in Psychological Autopsy Investigations and Crisis Response Planning. Dr. Stumpf Patton holds a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Guidance Counseling, and a Doctorate of Education in Counseling Psychology. Her dissertation research focused on military families bereaved by suicide, and was a key contributor in the development of the TAPS Suicide Prevention Model™. Dr. Stumpf Patton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a Certified Fellow Thanatologist, a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, a Florida Qualified Supervisor, and a counseling educator in higher academia. She is the surviving spouse of Sergeant Richard Stumpf, an Active Duty U.S. Marine Corps Drill Instructor and Gulf War Era Combat Veteran who died by suicide in 1994, several days before their only child was born. She is remarried to a retired U.S. Marine, who was also a suicide survivor widower, with whom she shares five children.
Candace Wheeler
Candace Wheeler is Director of TAPS Government & Legislative Affairs. As a staunch military family advocate with over 30 years' experience, Candace works to protect the rights and earned benefits of surviving families. TAPS is committed to improving support provided by both federal and state governments, and advancing policy and legislation to strengthen the families of the fallen. During the 116th Congress, Candace led efforts to finally eliminate the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) offset, commonly referred to as the "Widow's Tax". The TAPS policy team was instrumental in creating a new strategy, educating Congress, garnering support from veterans and military service organizations, and empowering surviving spouses to advocate on their own behalf. Candace is also a leading advocate for the families of those who died as a result of illnesses connected to toxic exposure while serving in the military, and represents TAPS on the Toxic Exposure in the American Military (TEAM) Coalition. As the former President of The Military Coalition (TMC) and Chairman of the Board for the National Military Family Association (NMFA), and Spokesperson for the Save Our Benefit Coalition, Candace has championed military families before Congress, State Legislatures, Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA). As a military spouse, Candace is committed to strengthening the military and veteran community, their families, caregivers and survivors.