Webinar: Active Healing Through Mentoring

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.

Jon Ganues

Jon is Manager of TAPS Men's Program, managing all aspects of event planning and coordination. Jon provides a safe space for grieving men to share their stories, connect and support each other, and find ways forward in their unique journeys, building relationships among the surviving community to deepen the foundation of support for male military survivors. Jon serves on the Virginia Military Advisory Council, exploring issues impacting quality of life for service members and their families, relations between the installations and surrounding civilian communities, as well as effects of encroachment. Jon served on the Department of the Air Force 2022 to 2024 Survivor Advocacy Council, which served as a forum for the Air Force and Space Force to champion survivor programs. He is a former TAPS Peer Mentor and was the 2019 Peer Mentor of the Year. Jon is a retired U.S. Army Warrant Officer with 21 years of active-duty service, with experience in logistics and information technology. He is a lifetime member of the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association, and he is a lifetime honorary member of the Board of Directors for Henrico County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Jon holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with information and technology from Colorado Technical University. Through his work at TAPS, Jon honors the memory of his son, Airman First Class Jon Wesley Ganues, Jr., U.S. Air Force, who died by suicide on June 2, 2009.

Carole Hilton, MSW, LCSW, CT

Carole is a senior member of the Survivor Care Team and came to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) with her young children following the death of her husband, Navy LT Lawrence Hilton in 2004. She served as a volunteer Peer Mentor before coming onboard as staff with the Survivor Care Team in 2010. Prior to her life with her Navy husband, she enjoyed a career as a licensed clinical social worker (California - 1992) and holds bachelor's (Cal State Los Angeles BSW 1986) and master's degrees (UCLA MSW 1989), along with certification in Thanatology (ADEC 2015). Carole obtained additional certification in 'Death and Grief Studies' from the Center for Loss and Life Transition in 202. She is grateful to be able to combine her professional background with her experience as a surviving widow and mother of her 3 bereaved children as she provides outreach and support.