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.
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.
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.
Rachel Hunsell
As the TAPS Outdoor Programs Manager, Rachel develops and supports programs in the outdoors across the TAPS network. Rachel connects survivors with the healing power of nature and encourages participants to reconnect with their inner strength by creating emotionally safe and understanding environments. As a survivor honoring the life and death of her brother, Marine Lance Cpl J. Kyle Price, she understands the valleys and mountaintops we experience along the journey after loss. Rachel resides in Southern Illinois, has a background in communication and event management, is Dare to LeadⓇ trained, and is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Education with a degree in Recreation Therapy.
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.
Renee Monczynski, MAOL
Renee is the creative director of the TAPS Young Adult Program that was established in 2016, specifically for surviving children and siblings. Since the sudden death of her husband when they were both active duty, she found healing and new purpose among her military family and peers at TAPS. Renee has a passion for education and volunteerism, earning multiple undergraduate degrees in education and psychology with a concentration in child development, culminating in a MA in Psychology - Organizational Leadership, from Southern New Hampshire University. She has spent her life in service to others through volunteering in several organizations including Young Marines as a training officer, Gold Star Wives Inc. as the Education Chair, National Board, Marine Corps League and TAPS as a military mentor and group leader. Renee has presented the TAPS Young Adults Program to the professional communities of Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and the National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG).
Christine Lynn Norton, PhD, LCSW
Dr. Norton received her PhD in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. She has a Master of Arts in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a Master of Science in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University-Mankato. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Board Approved Supervisor in the State of Texas. She has over 20 years of experience working with youth and young adults in a variety of settings including therapeutic wilderness programs, juvenile justice, schools, mentoring and campus support programs. She has taught as adjunct faculty at The University of Denver, Prescott College, and Naropa University. Her areas of practice and research interest and expertise are in positive youth development; innovative interventions in child and adolescent mental health; adventure therapy; outdoor behavioral healthcare; experiential education; foster care support in higher education; and international social work. Dr. Norton is a Research Scientist with the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center and she helped launch Foster Care Alumni Creating Educational Success (FACES) at Texas State. She is the Foster Care Liaison Officer to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and is the founder of the Foster Care Adventure Therapy Network, an international group of programs and practitioners who utilize adventure therapy with current and former foster care youth and young adults. Dr. Norton has over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles, has edited three books, and has authored over ten book chapters. She has secured over $3,162,154 in internal and external research funding as Principal Investigator (PI) and co-investigator, is a leading social work scholar who has presented her research nationally and internationally. Dr. Norton is active in study abroad and is also a Fulbright Scholar, teaching adventure therapy in the Department of Civic Education and Leadership at National Taiwan Normal University.
Barbara Petsel
Barb Petsel is a Licensed Professional Counselor, thanatologist (end of life and grief issues), Registered Nurse and a Certified Facilitator for Brene Brown’s Daring Way. Although she retired from her private counseling practice, she continues to facilitate grief groups and speak professionally. Her experiences include working as Head Nurse of a neurosurgical ICU, hospice nurse, cardiac nurse, and after going to graduate school she became a Licensed Professional Counselor and served as Program Director of Journey of Hope, a nonprofit grief support center for grieving children, teens and their families. Barb has done volunteer work locally and internationally in Africa, Sri Lanka (after the tsunami), Poland, Panama, and Belize. She has facilitated groups for anticipatory-grief, cancer support, caregiver support, grief, suicide loss, Brene Brown groups, and personal growth groups. She considers companioning others in their life-journeys a privilege and an honor. She and her husband, Marvin, have a blended family of five adult sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and a Golden Retriever therapy dog named Ruby. Achievements include being awarded Fellow in Thanatology by the Association of Death Education and Counseling, earning Certification of Grief and Loss at Colorado State University under Dr. Alan Wolfelt, and facilitation certification under Brene Brown.