Project Team

Ethan Dahl is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota and is an Experimental/Social Psychologist with expertise in rural health, behavioral health, and social identity/groups. Dr. Dahl works as part of UND’s Behavioral Health Strategic Initiative and is an expert in the application of social psychology in understanding rural and behavioral health. Much of his work focuses on understanding the impact of one’s social identity and experiences of exclusion, inclusion, and isolation on health.

Dr. Brett Harris is a behavioral health specialist with over 14 years of experience developing, directing, implementing, and evaluating mental health and substance use prevention projects. Dr. Harris is an expert in suicide prevention and leads efforts in surveillance, prevention, clinical intervention, postvention, and lethal means safety. Much of her work focuses on disproportionately affected populations including rural communities, veterans, and LGBTQIA2S+ youth.

Chad Pitts is a Veteran of the U.S. Army with over 10 years of organization and program management experience. Chad has previously held positions within the NDUS focused on equity and diversity initiatives for disproportionately affected populations including LGBTQIA2S+ and Veterans. While in the Army Chad served as the Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge (NCOIC) for multiple domestic and global missions with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Dr. Tracy McPherson is a research psychologist with 20+ years of experience leading evaluation, training, and technical assistance projects in behavioral health. As an expert in screening and brief intervention she works with organizations and health professionals to implement and evaluate an integrated model that addresses substance use and co-occurring risk for suicide with youth and adults in rural and tribal communities, schools, primary care, military, and other settings.

Hildie Cohen brings over 10 years of experience in research, evaluation, project management, and data governance for substance use prevention and intervention, mental health, and suicide prevention with a focus on adolescents and young adults.

Katie Gallant is an experienced public health macro social worker with five years of experience working in public health and suicide prevention. Katie previously led the implementation and evaluation of the Zero Suicide and Garrett Lee Smith grants in New York State.

Moriah Opp has spent the last 8 years working in suicide prevention, in both the private and public sectors. She holds a graduate and undergraduate degree from the University of North Dakota and resides in Grand Forks.

Maddie Liotta brings five years of experience in public health research, clinical applications, and health education across various fields including suicide prevention and wellness.

Misti Storie is a clinically trained psychotherapist in Atlanta, Georgia, with a specialization in addiction, trauma, and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. She provides technical assistance/training (TA/T) consultation to individuals, non-profits, and companies regarding mental health and substance use.