National Survivors of Suicide Day
Opening Remarks
Joanne L. Harpel, AFSP Director of Survivor Initiatives
Surviving Suicide Loss: A Panel Discussion
John R. Jordan, Ph.D., moderator (Providence, RI)
Rob Desmond (Wayland, MA)
Michael Keenan (Coventry, CT)
Doris Smith (Atlanta, GA)
Carla Stumpf-Patton (Sarasota, FL)
Cari Wheat (New York, NY)
Sidney Zisook, M.D. (San Diego, CA)
Closing Remarks
Robert Gebbia, AFSP Executive Director
Joanne Harpel, AFSP Director of Survivor Initiatives
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Rob Desmond’s32-year old brother, Jerome, took his own life in 1997. Jerome loved the game of hockey and taught Rob how to skate, instilling in his younger brother a lifelong love for hockey; Rob’s family has hosted charity ice hockey games against the Boston Bruins Alumni to help raise awareness about suicide and depression. Rob, who works in technology sales, is on the board of AFSP’s Boston Chapter, and is a volunteer with its Survivor Outreach Program.
Robert Gebbia has been AFSP’s Executive Director since 1997. Prior to joining AFSP, he was with United Way, and also worked as a Senior Health Planner for the New York City Department of Health. He holds a B.A. in Sociology from Hofstra University and an M.A. in Sociology from the New School for Social Research.
Michael Keenan lost his son, Michael Joseph Keenan, a 20 year-old culinary student, in 2004. As an internist, Michael works with many patients struggling with opiate addiction; he also co-facilitates a men's support group, and his family has established a scholarship program that grants awards to a graduating high school senior who is interested in the Culinary Arts. At 54, he and his wife are foster parents to a 10 month-old and are now expecting their fourth child.
Joanne Harpel became AFSP’s first-ever Director of Survivor Initiatives in 2002 after having served on AFSP’s national Board of Directors. Joanne is a former attorney with experience in non-profit administration, and is responsible for the full range of AFSP’s survivor programs, including National Survivors of Suicide Day, the Survivor Outreach Program, the Survivor e-Network, and the Support Group Facilitator Training Program. She is a survivor of the 1993 suicide of her brother Stephen, who was a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.
John R. (“Jack”) Jordan, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice specializing in bereavement, is the founder and Director of the Family Loss Project, a research and clinical group based in Boston, MA. Dr. Jordan has worked with survivors for more than 25 years, and is the co-author of After Suicide Loss: Coping with Your Grief, available through AFSP. He is the Professional Advisor to the AFSP Survivor Council and a former board member of both AFSP-New England and the Association for Death Education and Counseling.
Doris Smithof Atlanta, GA, lost her son, Mark in 1992. Mark, a 27 year-old singer, writer, percussionist, arranger, and producer, had been studying for the ministry after attending Morehouse College. Doris retired after 35 years of service from Clark Atlanta University (where she established the Mark Alan Smith Endowed Scholarship Fund), and is a founder of the National Organization of People of Color Against Suicide (NOPCAS).
Carla Stumpf-Patton was 9 months pregnant with her first child when her husband, Drill Instructor Sgt. Rich Stumpf, U.S. Marine Corps, a 24 year-old Gulf War veteran, and her high school sweetheart, killed himself. Now completing her Doctorate studies in Counseling Psychology, Carla has spent the past 15 years dedicated to suicide prevention efforts, focusing specifically on suicide in the military and among veterans. She facilitates a monthly support group for survivors of suicide loss, and is active with AFSP’s Sarasota Sun Coast Florida chapter.
Cari Wheat was 29 years old in 2003, when her father, Curt, killed her mother, Marie, and then himself. Curt, 61 years old and a geologist, had suffered from depression for many years. Marie was 59 and an elementary school teacher and librarian. Cari is now event producer who lives in New York City. She has worked as a crew member on AFSP’s Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk, and has attended AFSP’s Survivor Support Group Facilitator Training Program.
Sidney Zisook, M.D., is a Professor and Director of the Residency Training Program for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Author or co-author of over 200 articles, chapters, manuals, and books, Dr. Zisook is best known for his work on bereavement, stress, mood, suicide and psychiatric education, for which he has won numerous awards. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and member of the American College of Psychiatrists, Dr. Zisook also serves on AFSP’s Survivor Research Working Group and on the board of its San Diego Chapter.
