Featured Speakers
Featured Speakers
During the seminar, you will have the opportunity to hear from national experts in grief, trauma, health and wellness and more. Below is a list of the speakers and presenters who will be in attendance.
Bonnie Carroll
Bonnie Carroll is the President and Founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the leading national Military Service Organization providing comfort, care, and resources to all those grieving the death of a military loved one. Ms. Carroll founded TAPS following the death of her husband in an Army plane crash. She is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer, and she has served in the White House under three Presidents.
Session: God Winks
Audri Beugelsdijk
Audri Beugelsdijk serves as the Vice President of Survivor Services for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), overseeing immediate and long-term survivor support and outreach, and survivor programming. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology. She came to TAPS as a survivor in March 1997 after her husband CTRSN Jason Springer, USN, was lost at sea in the Pacific from the USS Kinkaid. As a Navy veteran as well, Audri is passionate about supporting our military families. Her work in honor of her late husband is a testament to her passion for the TAPS mission and her desire to offer safe places of hope and healing for all those grieving a military loss.
Session: Creating Meaning from Loss
Frank Campbell, PhD, LCSW, CT
Dr. Frank Campbell is the Executive Director Emeritus of the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center, where he is developing the first National Training Center for Suicidology. He is also Senior Consultant for Campbell and Associates Consulting where he consults with communities on Active Postvention efforts and Forensic Suicidology cases. During his more than thirty years of working with those bereaved by suicide he introduced his Active Postvention Model (APM) in 1997 it is most commonly known as the LOSS Team (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors). His work with survivors and victims of trauma has been featured in three discovery channel documentaries, multiple professional journals, and several book chapters. Frank has been a consultant to TAPS for years, beginning with the very first National Military Suicide Survivor Seminar in 2009.
Ken Doka, PhD, MDiv
Dr. Doka is a Senior Vice President of Grief Programs at Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) and recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). He serves as editor of HFA's Living with Grief® book series and its Journeys bereavement newsletter and numerous other books and publications. He is a prolific author, editor, and lecturer; a retired graduate school professor at The College of New Rochelle; past president of ADEC; a member and past chair of the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement (IWG); and a member of the TAPS Advisory Board. In 2018, the IWG presented Doka with the Herman Feifel Award for outstanding achievement in thanatology. He received an award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Death Education from ADEC in 1998. Doka is an ordained Lutheran minister and a licensed mental health counselor in the state of New York.
Andy McNiel, MA
Andy McNiel is the Senior Advisor of Youth Programs for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). He is an author and trainer on topics related to grief, bereavement, and end-of-life. Andy has been an advocate for healthy children, teenagers, and families throughout his career. He brings his dedication and expertise to TAPS, where he oversees, develops, and facilitates programming for young military survivors. He is co-founder and an executive partner of The Satori Group, LLC, a national education, management, and consulting company focused on grief and loss. He is the former CEO of The National Alliance for Grieving Children, Executive Director of The Amelia Center at Children's of Alabama, and Director of Counseling Services for Hospice of Martin and St. Lucie (now Treasure Health) in South Florida. Andy is a trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; a co-author of Supporting and Understanding Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals; and he previously served on the Board of Directors for the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). Andy holds an M.A. in counseling and a B.A. in religion.
Renee Monczynski, MAOL
Renee is the creative director of the TAPS Young Adult Program that was established in 2016, specifically for surviving children and siblings. Since the sudden death of her husband when they were both active duty, she found healing and new purpose among her military family and peers at TAPS. Renee has a passion for education and volunteerism, earning multiple undergraduate degrees in education and psychology with a concentration in child development, culminating in a MA in Psychology - Organizational Leadership, from Southern New Hampshire University. She has spent her life in service to others through volunteering in several organizations including Young Marines as a training officer, Gold Star Wives Inc. as the Education Chair, National Board, Marine Corps League and TAPS as a military mentor and group leader. Renee has presented the TAPS Young Adults Program to the professional communities of Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and the National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG).