NPA 2025 Spring Conference Panelists & Moderators

Suicide Prevention Resources Panelists

Quinn Lewandowski, MS – NE Youth Suicide Prevention and University of NE Public Policy Center

Quinn Lewandowski is a research manager at the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center. He previously served as the project director for Nebraska’s 2019-2024 SAMHSA Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention Grant and currently leads the state’s 2023-2027 CDC Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Grant.

Since 2017, Lewandowski has been president of the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition. He also serves as an executive board member of the Nebraska’s Local Outreach to Suicide Loss Survivors (LOSS) Coalition and the Lincoln-Lancaster LOSS Team.

He earned a BS from Nebraska Wesleyan University and an MS from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Beyond his work, Lewandowski enjoys spending time with his family, particularly his wife and young daughter. He appreciates great food, cycling, and spending time in the Rocky Mountains.

Dave Miers, PhD– NE State Suicide Prevention Resource Center, AND NE State Suicide Prevention Coalition

Dave Miers is the Senior Director of Behavioral Health Services at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln, NE. He has been with Bryan Medical Center for 28 years. Dr. Miers received his B.S. from Nebraska Wesleyan University, a M.S. from St. Cloud State University, and a PhD from the University of Nebraska. He is a Licensed Independent Professional Counselor. He is a member of the American Association of Suicidology and is a Suicidologist. Dr. Miers is the founder and past co-chair of the state of Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition and current Board Member. He is a founding member of the Lincoln HOPELNK Lincoln/Lancaster County Nebraska Youth Suicide Prevention Coalition. In 2019 he served on the Mayors Child Access to Firearms/ Safe Storage Task Force in Lincoln, NE.

Dr. Miers has published research regarding suicide in the Journal of Death Studies and co-authored a chapter in The Routledge International Handbook of Clinical Suicide Research focusing on family survivors of a child suicide. He assisted in the development of the Lincoln Lancaster Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) team in Lincoln, NE in 2009 and has assisted in the development of other LOSS teams in Nebraska and LOSS team development on a national level. He has served in the past on several local boards in various capacities including the Lincoln Lancaster County Homeless Coalition, Lincoln Human Services Federation, and Lincoln’s Child Advocacy Center, Nebraska Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), New Americans Task Force, Lincoln Lancaster Mental Health Foundation, State Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team, and the Disaster American Red Cross Mental Health Team.

Dr. Miers is a graduate of Leadership Lincoln Fellows 33 and was a member of the 2018-2019 Leadership Lincoln Program Planning Committee. He is the past Vice President for Acute Care Services and current member of the Nebraska Association of Behavioral Healthcare Organizations (NABHO) and on the board of the Seniors Foundation as well as the Nebraska Medicaid Advisory Committee. He is past member of the Bryan LifePointe Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Miers was awarded the 2021 Heroes of Hope Award by the HOPELNK Suicide Prevention Coalition. In 2024 he became a member of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center State and Territorial Advisory Committee.

Jesse Davy, MHP– Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department

Jesse Davy is a Nebraska native, currently living and working in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife Michel and four children. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Psychology in 2004 and received his MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health in 2014. He works as the Performance Management Coordinator for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, leading several initiatives including the Community Health Improvement Planning process, which partners with more than 100 community organizations.

Jennifer Sparrock, LCSW, LIMHP,– American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – Nebraska

Jennifer Sparrock is the Manager of Psychiatric Emergency Services at Nebraska Medicine.  After spending 25 years working in the mental health field in both hospital and community-based settings, Jennifer joined Nebraska Medicine in 2017 as the Manager of the system wide Social Work department.  Jennifer has a deep commitment to often underserved and vulnerable populations, most especially those living with mental health and/or substance use disorders.  Having spent her entire career working in Omaha, she has developed positive working relationships with many health and community-based systems which allow for collaborative approaches in providing the best care for those being served.  

Jennifer has served on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Nebraska, and is currently the Board chair for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Nebraska chapter.

Jennifer holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner.

Molly Verble, M.Ed.– The Kim Foundation

Molly Mullin Verble, the Executive Director at The Kim Foundation, brings over twenty years of nonprofit leadership experience to her role. Born and raised in Omaha, she returned to her hometown in 2012 after working in nonprofit administration in the Chicago area. Molly earned her B.S. in Psychology from Marquette University and her M.Ed. in Education (in Community Counseling and School Counseling) from Loyola University-Chicago. Her previous roles as a Program Director at the Youth Job Center of Evanston and Partnership 4 Kids focused on leading programming initiatives in education, mentoring, and youth development.

Molly has past training and experience in grant writing, stewardship, curriculum development, and program management. Annually, she presents the Molly Verble Peer Mentor of the Year Award at Partnership 4 Kids’ Goal Honors Achievement Ceremony, an honor given due to past achievements in leading mentoring program initiatives. She is a graduate of Leadership Evanston, Revela Management Program, and the inaugural LeadDiversity program. More recently Molly graduated from the local Nonprofit Association of the Midland’s NEI Program (Nonprofit Executive Institute) with the 2024 cohort. Her passions include suicide prevention and mental health awareness, educational equity, diversity, and inclusion. She began her work at the Kim Foundation serving as the Assistant Director. In November of 2024, she stepped into the Interim Executive Director role, which became permanent in January of 2025. Molly has been actively involved in the Nebraska Suicide Prevention Coalition, Metro Area Suicide Prevention Coalition and Nebraska and Middle America School Mental Health Leadership and Planning Committees.

Breakout Group Discussion Panelists

David Cates, PhD – Nebraska Medicine

.

Alison DeLizza, PhD – University of Nebraska Medical Center Munroe Meyer Institute

Dr. Alison DeLizza (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She completed her PhD at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI and her doctoral internship at the Munroe Meyer Institute.

Clinically, Dr. DeLizza practices at the Munroe Meyer Institute where she specializes in treating adolescents with anxiety and depression using behavioral interventions and working with LGBTQ youth and families. Dr. DeLizza also specializes in applying contextual behavioral principles into systemic practices and interventions to improve access and wellbeing in healthcare systems.

Dr. DeLizza is the Associate Director of Workforce Access for the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, a role in which she promotes initiatives to improve access for the behavioral health workforce in Nebraska.

Rose Esseks, PhD – University of Nebraska Lincoln, Veterans Administration

Rose Esseks, works as a psychologist in the mental health clinic at the Nebraska-Western Iowa VA and as a lecturer for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Rose is a graduate of the UNL Clinical Psychology Training Program.

Jerry Walker, PhD – ABPP, MSCP, TimelyCare

Jerry V. Walker, III, PhD, ABPP, MSCP is a licensed and board-certified counseling psychologist who presently serves as the Executive Director of Mental Health Services for TimelyCare, a national telemedicine organization which serves college students and faculty. Prior to his current position, Dr. Walker served as the Psychology Services Manager for Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, as the regional Disaster Mental Health Team Chief for federal Region 7 (Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri), and as a clinical and operational psychologist for the United States Air Force.

Dr. Walker has lived in Nebraska for the past 5 years and has served continuously on the NPA Board during nearly this entire time. He is active on the NPA RxP committee (having obtained his postdoctoral Master's in Clinical Psychopharmacology in 2021) and co- chairs the NPA Continuing Education committee, for which he has been instrumental in the planning and execution of NPA Fall and Spring conferences over the past 4 years. Outside of work and NPA, Dr. Walker coaches his oldest son's flag football team, is an active member of two Nebraska military veteran nonprofit organizations, and is currently pursuing his MBA from Rice University. He is passionate about advocating for the profession in Nebraska and hopes to enhance the positive impact of clinical psychologists throughout the state during his term as NPA President.

Ciara Warden, LISW –  University of Nebraska Omaha, Grace Abbott School of Social Work

Ciara Warden is a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) in the State of Iowa and member of the American Association of Suicidology. She attained her B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Kansas State University and her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Kansas. Ciara has professional experience in mental health crisis response, inpatient psychiatric care, clinical mental health therapy, and post-secondary instruction and management. Currently, Ciara is employed at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the Grace Abbott School of Social Work and co-owns a private practice. At UNO, Ciara serves as a full-time faculty member and the Director of BHECN East. Ciara specializes in crisis issues, primarily suicide research, education, risk assessment, outreach, and grief and loss.

Breakout Group Discussion Moderators

Nicole Baker, PhD – Munroe-Meyer Institute

Melissa Hunter, PhD – University of Nebraska Medical Center Munroe Meyer Institute

Christian Klepper, PsyD – Nebraska Medical Center

Lisa Logsden, PsyD – Mental Health Crisis Center

Anitra Warrior, PhD –  Morningstar Counseling and Consultation

Nancy Schoen – Schoen Music Studio

Nancy is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She received her Bachelor of Music in Education with a piano major and voice minor.
 
She has been an independent music teacher for 39 years and currently teaches 30 students in her home studio in Lincoln. Three of those students are over the age of 70! (Former students include both of Carmen Skare’s children.) She has also been a school accompanist and church musician, and for two years was an adjunct piano instructor at Concordia University in Seward.
 
Her favorite performance avenue is accompanying, which includes hundreds of instrumental and vocal soloists and two years with the Scarlet and Cream Singers at UNL. She currently freelances as a collaborative pianist for other independent music teachers’ studios and instrumental directors in area schools.

For her last piece, Nancy played her own arrangement of Amazing Grace. While the song is rooted in a Christian context, it also has a history of use in the abolitionist movement and as a way to express universal themes of liberation and freedom.

Thank you for attending the Spring Conference and for your

support of NPA through event attendance and membership!

###

To contact any NPA Board Member, visit the Leadership Page.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @NEPsychAssoc.