SPI Directors

			Edward J. Dunne, Ph.D. is the Director of Survivor Initiatives for Suicide Prevention International (SPI). He has been a member of the faculties of both Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and Downstate Medical Center, as well as a senior faculty member of the Ackerman Institute for the Family. He is a past president of the American Association of Suicidology and helped that organization focus attention on survivor needs. He was honored by both the American Association of Suicidology and the International Association for Suicide Prevention for his groundbreaking work with survivors. His experience and international reputation in this field will support SPI’s specific mission to develop and implement programs for those bereaved from suicide. The lead author of one of the earliest books on survivors of suicide, Dr. Dunne is now writing “Survivors’ Burden.” The book, co-sponsored by SPI and the American Mental Health Association, will be a comprehensive treatment of the problems of survivors and how they can be helped to deal with them.
	Edward Dunne, Ph.D.

			Eric Ferrero serves on the Board of Directors for Suicide Prevention International. He brings expertise in advocacy campaigns, communications and strategic planning. Mr. Ferrero is the Director of Communications at the Innocence Project; previously, he worked in leadership roles at Lambda Legal, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, the American Civil Liberties Union and other national advocacy organizations. He has led major campaigns in support of gay rights, access to healthcare, criminal justice reform, the rights of homeless people, and services for at-risk youth. His commitment to suicide prevention and education stems, in part, from the prevalence of suicide in rural communities and among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
	Eric Ferrero

	Herbert Hendin, M.D.
			Herbert Hendin, M.D., is chief executive officer and director of special projects at Suicide Prevention International (SPI) and Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College. He has been the Principal Investigator on studies of suicide in the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, and Hungary and in the U.S. among college students, the elderly, African Americans, and Vietnam veterans. He has also done extensive research in the areas of posttraumatic stress disorders, substance abuse, and assisted suicide. The many awards he has received for his work include the prestigious Louis I. Dublin Award of the American Association of Suicidology for “distinguished contributions to our knowledge of suicide.” The U.S Supreme Court cited his work in this country and in the Netherlands in their 1997 decision that there was no constitutional right to assisted suicide. He is one of two U.S. experts on suicide prevention selected by WHO to advise and assist WHO in its global suicide prevention activities. Read more >>>

	Kathy Karich
			Kathy Karich is Chief Financial Officer at Suicide Prevention International. She has more than 20 years of financial and managerial experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. In 1987 she worked with Dr. Hendin in organizing the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, of which SPI is an outgrowth. Ms. Karich is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, which acquired BearingPoint, Inc., a major international management and technology company where she was Vice President and Managing Director. She has a particular interest in programs focused on suicide prevention, and support for relatives and friends who have lost loved ones to suicide.

			Caren Lerner is a practicing attorney in the litigation department at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a major international law firm headquartered in New York. She organized and serves as Chair of SPI's Junior Committee (JSPI), which focuses on youth suicide prevention and survivor support. Caren organized SPI's Junior Committee to serve two main goals: (1) to build a community of support for young people who have lost a loved one to suicide, and (2) to provide support and resources to young people interested in helping to prevent youth suicide.
	Caren Lerner, J.D.

			Linda Lerner, M.S.W., J.D., is Chair of SPI’s Board of Directors. She has been a practicing attorney for over three decades and is counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a major international law firm headquartered in New York. She specializes in providing regulatory advice regarding securities brokers and dealers and is a member of permanent committees of The NASDAQ Stock Market. Prior to becoming a lawyer, she was a certified social worker, specializing in group therapy and community organization. Ms. Lerner, her husband and daughter were devastated when in 1997 her son, Josh, unexpectedly lost his life to suicide. A fine student, gifted musician, and athlete, Josh was well-liked by his friends and respected as a sensitive and caring young man. He suffered, however, from a underlying depression he took pains to conceal. On joining SPI, Ms. Lerner organized and served as Chair of SPI’s Survivors’ Committee before becoming Chair of SPI’s Board of Directors.
	Linda Lerner, M.S.W., J.D.

			Moira Rynn, M.D. is Medical Director of Suicide Prevention International. As SPI's Medical Director, Dr. Rynn has oversight over all of SPI's scientific activities and is a key member of SPI's Scientific Committee. Dr. Rynn's research and expertise is in the area of mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, and particularly in the psychopharmacological treatment of these disorders. She is now leading a long-term SPI project at the Columbia Medical Center designed to improve the treatment of young people who are at risk for suicide. Dr. Rynn is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Deputy Director of Research at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University. She is Chief of the Children's Day Unit at the Psychiatric Institute.
	Moira Rynn, M.D.

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