Speaker Bios
BetterMynd Social Engagement Speakers
Kate Wolfe-Lyga
VP of Clinical Operations, BetterMynd
With more than 20 years of experience in human services, healthcare, and education, Kate is the subject matter expert on all things Clinical. As a successful counselor, and a former counseling director for SUNY Oswego, Kate has an intimate knowledge of the mental health needs of college students, and the challenges college counseling centers face. Kate oversees our clinical operations team. This includes overseeing affiliated counselor credentialing, compliance, quality assurance, support, professional development, and the overall counselor experience. Kate also reviews, suggests, and approves topics for Wellbeing Workshops to ensure they continue to be applicable, appropriate, and appealing to students.
Rori Quinonez
Assistant Director of Campus Success, BetterMynd
Rori Quinonez joined BetterMynd in April 2024 and brings 8 years of experience in supporting and managing client relations. She’s worked with organizations large and small, camps, K-12 schools, and higher education institutions. Rori’s passion for a human-centric approach to client relations initially drew her to BetterMynd. She is also Mental Health First Aid certified. Rori oversees programs after the sales handoff, from onboarding and throughout the program’s lifecycle. She currently manages all eight schools working with BetterMynd through the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
Conference Speakers
Barri Faucett, MA
Director, Prevent Suicide WV
Barri Sky Faucett, MA has dedicated her career serving others in both a mental health and public health capacity in providing for prevention, intervention, postvention and treatment to those affected by mental health, substance misuse and suicide. As a multi-program certified trainer and facilitator, Barri has delivered standardized and personally co-developed presentations and training for countless, diversified audiences. Her clinical experience includes direct service in both outpatient and intensive programs related to children and adolescents with mental health and substance misuse issues, covering a broad array of diagnoses. For over a decade, Mrs. Faucett has served as a statewide director in implementing the continuum of suicide prevention and mental health programs, policies, procedures and strategies in efforts to enhance the systematic infrastructure of best practices across systems and agencies. She has provided technical assistance and consultation services and served on multiple community grassroot, statewide and national coalitions and committees to exponentially increase the capacity of efforts to help others. Her work is a passion beyond profession in serving as a mental health advocate in honor of those lost, those who’ve lost their loved ones, those fighting to stay alive and those who have mental health and substance misuse challenges. Founder of Sky’s No Limit and co-founder of You Matter I Matter, Barri uses her own personal experiences as well as her professional life’s work pertaining to loss and trauma to help change and support the lives of others.
Christy Haynes, MSW, LICSW
PsyCare, Inc.
Christy graduated West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1998, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and from West Virginia University in 2000, with a Master’s Degree in Social Work. She gained the highest level of licensure in her field in 2004 and has spent her clinical career in a variety of fields to include inpatient psychiatric treatment, community-based work with at-risk children and families, corrections, court-ordered domestic violence programming, private practice, and first responder mental health services. Following a decade of practice with first responders, she started Over Watch First Responder Services, LLC., in 2024. With her partner she is contracted by multiple government agencies to provide mental health support to first responders within their communities. She also continues her private practice with PsyCare, Inc., where she started in 2009. Here she focuses on individual, family, and couples therapy within the private sector. She is experienced in all major areas of therapy but does extensive work in the fields of first responder mental health and trauma. She has served as an adjunct professor for West Virginia University Institute of Technology and has provided training at local, state and national conferences. She has provided expert witness and case consultant services for local attorneys. She currently is a Doctoral Candidate for her Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) through University of Kentucky School of Social Work. In her spare time she maintains a small rural farm and is a certified fire fighter.
Heather Julian, MA
Assistant Director of WV 988, First Choice Services
Heather Julian is the Assistant Director of WV 988 at First Choice Services with 15 years of experience helping develop behavioral health programs throughout West Virginia. Heather holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Marshall University. Specializing in suicide prevention and crisis stabilization services, Heather utilizes those skills to coordinate and train Crisis Intervention Teams courses for the past 2 years and uses that experience to lead the WV 988 team and provide suicide intervention and crisis de-escalation trainings throughout the state to better serve West Virginians including at-risk populations as well as military and law enforcement.
Paula Kerner, BA
Program Manager, Safe and Healthy Schools Initiative
Lead Presenter is Paula Kerner, Program Manager for Safe and Healthy Schools Initiative at Fairness WV. Paula is a veteran teacher who has dedicated 37 years to the students and families of West Virginia. Education credits include Bachelor of Science in Secondary Social Studies from WV State University; National Board Certified Teacher in Social Studies Adolescent -Young Adult; Facilitator in Youth Mental Health First Aid, Connections Matter, Be the Boss of Your Body, and Lean on Me WV. Other positions of note include Social and Emotional Learning Coordinator; KCS Staff Development Committee elected member; 15+ years as Gay Straight Alliance sponsor; and liaison for LGBTQ youth. Paula’s goal is to build a strong coalition of adults who will support our youth as they grow to be their best, strongest selves and youth who are confident and secure as they grow into adulthood.
Kenzie Leffingwell, MA
Director of Training and Development, First Choice Services
Kenzie Leffingwell is passionate about suicide prevention, a mission that comes from her own lived experience as a suicide survivor after losing her father to suicide. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marshall University and a master’s in Human Services Counseling: Crisis Response and Trauma from Liberty University. She is a mom to three boys and three cats. You can often find her cheering at the baseball field, kayaking, reading, or diving into a good game of Dungeons and Dragons
Kenzie started her career at First Choice Services as a crisis counselor and, for the past year and a half, has served as the Director of Training and Development. In this role, she designs and tailors new hire trainings to meet the needs of her team, helping them feel confident and prepared to support people in crisis. As a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), Kenzie enjoys empowering others to have compassionate, effective conversations about mental health and suicide prevention. Kenzie is also a coordinator and trainer for Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT), working with law enforcement, 911 dispatchers, and community partners to equip them with the skills to respond effectively to individuals in crisis.
Jessica Luzier, PhD, ABPP, CEDS-C
PsyCare, Inc.
Jess Luzier, Ph.D., ABPP, CEDS-S is a board-certified Clinical Psychologist who specializes in treating children, adolescents, people with eating and feeding disorders, suicidal and self-injury behavior. She is a board certified child, adolescent, and pediatric clinical psychologist. Dr. Luzier is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. She is a Full Professor in the WVU-School of Medicine, Charleston Division, where she serves as Clinical Director and co-founder of the Disordered Eating Center of Charleston. She serves as the Director of Child Psychology at Charleston Area Medical Center. Dr. Luzier has dedicated her career to training predoctoral psychology interns and other clinical learners. She conducts meaningful clinical research which has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and at national/international professional conferences. She also advocates for her patients on the state and federal level, and provides outreach to her community.
Nance Roy, Ed.D.
Chief Clinical Officer, The Jed Foundation
Nance is a psychologist with over 30 years’ experience who has dedicated her career to protecting the mental health of teen and young adults and reducing suicide. As the Chief Clinical Officer of the Jed Foundation and Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale School of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, she consults to high schools, boarding schools, colleges, and workplace and professional organizations across the country on effecting systems change, strategic planning and implementing recommended practices that promote positive mental health.
Prior to her role as Chief Clinical Officer at The Jed Foundation, Nance held positions as the Assistant Dean of Health and Wellness at Sarah Lawrence College and Associate Dean of Health and Wellness at Rhode Island School of Design where she developed, implemented and evaluated policies, programs and systems that enhance and support well-being. She has been actively involved in comprehensive initiatives focusing on a holistic approach to education, crisis management and a public health model for delivery of care.
Publications have focused on effective strategies for promoting emotional well-being among teens and young adults as well as treatment and management of at-risk youth. She is a nationally known speaker and has been featured in numerous publications and broadcasts including CBS, NBC, CNN, The Boston Globe, TIME, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, U.S. News and World Report among others.
Nance served as senior advisor to the National College Depression Partnership, serves on the Mental Health Task Force for the Ruderman Foundation, is a member of the International Women’s Forum and has worked on mental health initiatives with the Surgeon General, the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance, the Department of Defense, The Veteran’s Administration, the Milken Institute, the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, the Aspen Institute and educational and workplace systems across the country.
Nance earned her doctorate from Harvard University, master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina and Harvard University, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island.
Carrie Showalter
Assistant Dean, Executive Director of Campus and Community Life, WVU
Carrie Showalter started working at West Virginia University in 2007 in the role of Managing Attorney for the Student Legal Services Office. In 2018, she became the Executive Director of the Office of Student Conduct and served in that role through July 2022 when she transitioned to her current position of the Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Campus and Community Life. Carrie received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies from the College of Wooster in 1997 and her Juris Doctorate degree from West Virginia University in 2003.
Na Eun “Jiggy” Yoon, BA
Mental Health Motivational Speaker, Mindset and Leadership Coach
Na Eun “Jiggy” Yoon is a Mental Health Motivational Speaker and Mindset & Leadership Coach who empowers students, athletes, and professionals at all levels to achieve sustainable excellence through high-performance strategies that prioritize mental health and meaningful impact.
With a deep dedication to empowering those who are committed to the pursuit of becoming extraordinary, Jiggy is also right there with you — as she navigates through the callings of her own life while simultaneously grieving the passing of both of her parents, defying odds by living with a chronic illness alongside training combat sports, and being a neurodivergent Queer Asian immigrant woman.
Through resilience and the power of self-compassion, Jiggy has overcome numerous challenges, losses, and traumas, driven by the hope of inspiring and empowering others who might see parts of their own journey reflected in her story.
Chantel Weisenmuller, PhD
Vice Chair, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, CAMC
Vice Chair, Department of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry, CAMC
Associate Professor, West Virginia University School of Medicine – Charleston
Chantel Weisenmuller, Ph.D. is Vice Chair of the Department of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry and Director of the Psychology Internship at the Charleston Area Medical Center. She is also an Associate Professor at the WVU School of Medicine – Charleston. Previously, Dr. Weisenmuller served as a training clinic director at an APA-accredited doctoral program and has provided clinical services in forensic, community mental health, school, and developmental center settings. She is currently President of WVPA and served six years on the APA Council of Representatives. Her clinical career has focused on improving access to behavioral health care for LGBTQIA+ and underserved communities in Appalachia.