Experts to address ‘Suicide: Culture & Community’ at Austen Riggs Center virtual conference
Stockbridge — The Erikson Institute for Education and Research at the Austen Riggs Center will present a virtual conference for clinicians, scholars and mental health advocates Friday evening, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17. “Suicide: Culture & Community” will address how COVID-19 and social isolation measures are impacting suicide rates as well as what other individual and societal factors at play and how they can be understood and dealt with.
Topics will include “Suicide: The individual and Society,” “Suicide: Social Isolation and Marginalization” and “Suicide, Loneliness and Adolescent Social Networks” and will be addressed by James Gilligan, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University; Brenda J. Butler, M.D., of Berkshire Health Systems; Sherry Molock, Ph.D., associate professor of clinical psychology at George Washington University; Anna Mueller, Ph.D., professor of sociology at Indiana University; Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology at Emory University; and Michael Prezioso, Ph.D., commissioner of the Saratoga County Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
The cost of the conference is $35-$75. Online registration is ongoing through Friday, Oct. 16. For more information, contact Austen Riggs Center at 1-800-51-RIGGS or info@austenriggs.net.
–E.E.
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CHP names Fierro director of behavioral health
Great Barrington — Community Health Programs has named Mary A. Fierro, Ph.D., LICSW, as its director of behavioral health. She divides her time between administrative duties and client appointments.
Fierro most recently worked in private practice and as the clinical program manager for Medicaid members of Fallon Health. She was also vice president of behavioral health services at the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center in Worcester. Earlier, she was program administrator for a child protective services center at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Jersey.
Fierro has worked as a faculty and adjunct faculty member at several colleges and universities, including University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Rutgers School of Social Work. She has a doctorate in psychoeducational processes from Temple University, a master’s degree in social work from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Seton Hall University.
–E.E.
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18 Degrees CEO Holmes resigns
Pittsfield — Chris King, chair of the board of directors for 18 Degrees, has announced that president and CEO Colleen Holmes has resigned to accept another opportunity in the nonprofit sector in Springfield, effective Friday, Oct. 30. Stephanie Steed, vice president of programs, will step up to serve as interim executive director. The board has begun a search for Holmes’ successor.
“For the past three years, our organization has been uplifted and transformed by our president and CEO, Colleen Holmes, for which we are very thankful. When the board of directors began their search for a new president and CEO in 2017, we sought to ensure ongoing programmatic excellence, rigorous program evaluation, and consistent quality of finance, administration, fundraising, and communications. We got all that with Colleen, and more,” stated King.
Steed, who has a master’s degree in education and is a licensed social worker, began her career with 18 Degrees 15 years ago. She oversees a wide range of programs in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley, including foster care, adoption, child and family support in the Pioneer Valley, family networks, Young Women’s Initiative, and Rap Inc., and is well-acquainted with state funding sources.
–E.E.
