Seminar Speakers
Seminar 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.
Make sure to also download the TAPS Events app. Recommended session schedules for different grief programming and speaker information are all built into the easy-to-navigate app.
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.
Charles Blankenship, MD
Dr. Charles Blankenship is the former Chief of General Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center Bethesda, Maryland. His three-decade military career included assignments to NRMC Oakland, Naval Hospital Groton, and NNMC Bethesda. He also served as general surgeon onboard USS Coral Sea and several other aircraft carriers. He was Chief of Surgery onboard USNS Comfort for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and Commanding Officer of the hospital onboard USNS Comfort for Operations Sea Signal, Uphold Democracy, Noble Eagle, and Iraqi Freedom. He served as Chief of Professional Services for Combat Logistics Regiment 15 covering all Forward Resuscitative Surgical Systems in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, and Chief of Trauma at the NATO Role #3 Hospital, Kandahar, Afghanistan, for Operation Enduring Freedom. Dr. Blankenship has led TAPS workshops and bereavement seminars for surviving families for over ten years.
Session: One-on-One with Dr. Blankenship by appointment
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.
Bob Delaney
Bob is an NBA Cares Ambassador, a member of the TAPS Board of Advisors and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Special Advisor Officiating Development/Performance. He served as the NBANBA's Vice President of Referee Operations and Director of Officials, after 25 seasons as an NBA referee. Prior to his career in professional basketball, Delaney was a highly decorated New Jersey State Trooper who went undercover to infiltrate the mafia; causing his post-traumatic stress journey. Delaney's firsthand experiences coupled with a passion to better understand mental health make him an expert on the subject. His efforts to educate and bring attention to the topic of post-traumatic stress have entailed visits to military troops around the world, including multiple trips to Afghanistan and Iraq. Described by retired General Robert Brown, U.S. Army Four Star Commander of the Pacific, as the "person who related to soldiers better than any visitor I have seen in my 36 years in the military," Delaney authored a book on the topic, Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post Traumatic Stress. He is also the author of Covert: My Life Infiltrating the Mob. His most recent book - Heroes are Human...Lessons in Resilience, Courage and Wisdom from the COVID Frontlines shares the emotional toll on our healthcare community as they fought an invisible enemy. He has been the subject of numerous media articles and shows including Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN. Delaney is with the University South Florida Corporate Training and Professional Education Office as Lead Instructor for Trauma Awareness, Resilience, Selfcare programs.
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.
Ange Marie Dwyer
Ange Marie Dwyer is a mixed media artist, teacher, tutu wearer and writer that currently lives in Colorado. Drawing on her life experiences as a woman and U.S. Army veteran, Ange Marie travels throughout the country teaching the healing power and fun of creativity and art to military service organizations and non profit groups. She has been a volunteer with TAPS for 4 years, teaching break out art sessions for the TAPS youth program during national and regional events. Her hobbies include making tacos, playing with her two dogs and exploring vintage shops. She is also a wife to a veteran and a mother to two young men.
Pamela Gabbay, EdD, FT
Dr. Pamela Gabbay is a nationally recognized author and trainer who has served the bereavement field in many capacities during her nearly 30-year career, including working very closely with bereaved children, teens, and adults. She was born on an Army post in Germany and spent her childhood living on military installations, as her father was career Army. Her sister also proudly served in the United States Army. Pamela is a national trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and is the co-author, along with Andy McNiel, of Understanding and Supporting Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals. As part of the training corps of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Dr. Gabbay travels throughout the country conducting trainings on their behalf. Dr. Gabbay has served in a variety of roles in her career, including being the Director of Operations and Training for The Compassionate Friends, the Director of The Mourning Star Center for Grieving Children, and the Camp Director for Camp Erin-Palm Springs. Dr. Gabbay holds a Fellow in Thanatology (FT) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and earned a Master of Arts degree in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University. Dr. Gabbay is a member of the TAPS Advisory Board.
James S. Gordon, MD
Dr. Gordon, a psychiatrist and former National Institute of Mental Health researcher, is a Clinical Professor at Georgetown Medical School and was Chair of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. He is the author of Transforming Trauma: The Path to Hope and Healing. In his role as the founder and executive director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), Gordon has created and implemented the world’s largest and most effective program for healing population-wide trauma. He and his 150 international CMBM faculty have brought this program to war-traumatized populations in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa; to first responders, military personnel and veterans and their families in the U.S.; to communities that have suffered climate-related disasters, endured school shootings, and struggled with the opioid epidemic; and to Native American children and their families—as well as to stressed out professionals, stay-at-home mothers, inner-city children, White House officials, health professionals and medical students, and people contending with severe emotional and physical illnesses. Dr. Gordon has authored or edited ten previous books, including Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-stage Journey Out of Depression. He has written often for popular publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The Guardian, as well as in professional journals. Dr. Gordon has also served as an expert for such outlets as 60 Minutes, the Today show, Good Morning America, CBS Sunday Morning, Nightline, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR.
Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann
Ashlynne is Deputy Director, TAPS Government and Legislative Affairs. She is the surviving daughter of SFC Jeffrey J. Haycock, who died in an Army training accident on April 12, 2002, and Nichole C. Haycock, an Air Force Veteran who died by suicide on April 25, 2011. She graduated with a bachelor’s in political science from American University in 2013. Before joining the TAPS staff, Ashlynne attended the Good Grief Camp for seven years and volunteered as a Good Grief Camp mentor for four years. Ashlynne advocates on behalf of surviving families on issues related to expanding benefits for all survivors. Some of her legislative achievements have included multiple expansions of education benefits for surviving families and the end of the Widow's Tax.
William G. (Bill) Hoy, DMin, FT
With more than 35 years of care for the dying and bereaved, Dr. Hoy is Clinical Professor of Medical Humanities at Baylor. He is widely regarded as an authority on the role of social support in death, dying and grief and his experience includes more than 20 years leading bereavement and pastoral care programs in hospice care. Dr. Hoy has authored more than 125 articles and book chapters as well as six books. His books include Road to Emmaus: Pastoral Care with the Dying and Bereaved (Compass, 2007); Do Funerals Matter? The Purposes and Practices of Death Rituals in Global Perspective (Routledge, 2013) and Bereavement Groups and the Role of Social Support: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice (Routledge, 2016). In addition to his role with students at Baylor, he is a frequent presenter among groups of professional colleagues in health care across the United States and Canada. Dr. Hoy is active in the Association for Death Education & Counseling on whose board he served from 2012 to 2020 including six years as an officer. He also holds advisory board positions with Our House Grief Support Center in Los Angeles, California, Pathways Volunteer Hospice in Long Beach, California, and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) in Washington, D.C.
Rayanne Hunter
Rayanne Hunter is a MindBody Coach, yoga instructor, and equine facilitated learning practitioner. Having grown up in a military family, she served in the Army National Guard and is the surviving spouse of SSG Wesley Hunter. Leading to a passion for working whenever possible with military, their families, and the fallen military families. Specializing in trauma, grief, anxiety, post traumatic stress and woman’s empowerment she uses her knowledge from a variety of training backgrounds, interests and personal experiences to guide those she works with individually or within a group. A yoga enthusiast for the majority of her life, she loves being able to combine it with other tools, like mindbody and equine assisted coaching, yoga, meditation, reiki, modern shamanism, woman circles, body movement, outdoor therapy, nutrition and eating psychology principles. Continuously looking for ways to inspire people in their growth, through their transitions, and in learning to find their strength. Embracing trust and love of theirSelf again. Creating spaces for people to heal while exploring the person they are meant to be. Rayanne has worked with TAPS since 2010. She hosts events, mentors, facilitates workshops and grief care groups, is a member of the TAPS Advisory Board, and the TAPS International Team.
Rachel Kodanaz
Rachel is a heart-minded author, speaker, and consultant helping her audiences embrace life’s challenges at work and at home. Overcoming her own adversity following the sudden death of her husband coupled with her experience in the management of large corporations, she is fully aware of the seesaw created when personal and professional challenges collide. Rachel was instrumental in creating and supporting all programs at HeartLight Grief and Loss Center in Denver as a facilitator, board member, and executive director. She has served as a Board of Director on numerous not-for-profits including Soaring Spirits International (Camp Widow) and Denver Grief Network Alliance and is a member of TAPS advisory board. Rachel has been speaking passionately to national audiences for 20 years, her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including Good Morning America, and her books (Finding Peace, One Piece at a Time, Living with Loss, One Day at a Time, and Grief in the Workplace) have received international acclaim.
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).
Sessions: Friday, 1:30 p.m. Let's Talk Grief - Young Adults Cohort I | Friday, 3:00 p.m. Let's Talk Grief - Young Adults Cohort II | Saturday, 9:15 a.m. Realistic Expectations After Loss - Young Adults Cohort I | Saturday, 10:45 a.m. Can Anybody Hear Me? - Young Adults Cohort II | Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Build Your Ladder - Young Adults Cohort I | Sunday, 9:15 a.m. What's in the box? - Young Adults Combined Cohort I & II | Sunday, 10:45 a.m. I am ... Enough - Young Adults Combined Cohort I & II | Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Gratitude & Art - Young Adults Combined Cohort I & II
Christine Lynn Norton, PhD, LCSW
Dr. Norton received her PhD in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. She has a Master of Arts in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a Master of Science in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University-Mankato. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Board Approved Supervisor in the State of Texas. She has over 20 years of experience working with youth and young adults in a variety of settings including therapeutic wilderness programs, juvenile justice, schools, mentoring and campus support programs. She has taught as adjunct faculty at The University of Denver, Prescott College, and Naropa University. Her areas of practice and research interest and expertise are in positive youth development; innovative interventions in child and adolescent mental health; adventure therapy; outdoor behavioral healthcare; experiential education; foster care support in higher education; and international social work. Dr. Norton is a Research Scientist with the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center and she helped launch Foster Care Alumni Creating Educational Success (FACES) at Texas State. She is the Foster Care Liaison Officer to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and is the founder of the Foster Care Adventure Therapy Network, an international group of programs and practitioners who utilize adventure therapy with current and former foster care youth and young adults. Dr. Norton has over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles, has edited three books, and has authored over ten book chapters. She has secured over $3,162,154 in internal and external research funding as Principal Investigator (PI) and co-investigator, is a leading social work scholar who has presented her research nationally and internationally. Dr. Norton is active in study abroad and is also a Fulbright Scholar, teaching adventure therapy in the Department of Civic Education and Leadership at National Taiwan Normal University.
Denise Hall Brown Rollins, PhD
Dr. Rollins is a master life coach, speaker and executive director of the Whole Heart Grief & Life Resource Center in Frederick, Maryland, where her team offers one-on-one coaching and group support services. She holds a doctorate in marriage and family therapy and a masters in thanatology. In addition, at the Gary L. Rollins Funeral Home in Maryland, she partners with her husband, Gary, in managing the business and providing aftercare services. She has more than 20 years of experience in corporate America, where her roles included training, human resources and diversity. Denise's personal experience with loss changed her career path. She is author of 2Grieve 2Gether: A Journal from the Heart Helping Survivors & Supporters Navigate the Healing Process, an autobiographical account of her own grief journey. Denise teaches a course on Death, Dying and Bereavement at Frederick Community College. She serves as a member of the TAPS Advisory Board and also serves as an Advisory Board member for the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation Autism and Grief Project.
Carla Stumpf Patton, EDD, LMHC, NCC, FT, CCTP
Dr. Stumpf Patton serves as the Senior Director of Suicide Prevention & Postvention Programs at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), where she oversees programs and services provided to military community members and families after a suicide loss. She is a suicidologist and subject matter expert in the areas of grief, trauma, and suicide prevention, intervention, and Postvention, is a registered ASIST trainer in suicide first aid, and is trained in Psychological Autopsy Investigations and Crisis Response Planning. Dr. Stumpf Patton holds a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Guidance Counseling, and a Doctorate of Education in Counseling Psychology. Her dissertation research focused on military families bereaved by suicide, and was a key contributor in the development of the TAPS Suicide Prevention Model™. Dr. Stumpf Patton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a Certified Fellow Thanatologist, a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, a Florida Qualified Supervisor, and a counseling educator in higher academia. She is the surviving spouse of Sergeant Richard Stumpf, an Active Duty U.S. Marine Corps Drill Instructor and Gulf War Era Combat Veteran who died by suicide in 1994, several days before their only child was born. She is remarried to a retired U.S. Marine, who was also a suicide survivor widower, with whom she shares five children.
William Wagasy
William Wagasy, a former Notre Dame football player under Coach Lou Holtz, William graduated with an accounting degree and a second major in philosophy in 1996. He went on to receive his Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University in 2000 and his master's in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine in 2001. Following the attacks of 9/11, he enlisted in the Navy. He is a decorated U.S. Navy SEAL, having completed four combat tours from 2002 to 2012, three to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. After his time in the Navy, he served as the Director of Veterans Outreach for the Gary Sinise Foundation and continues to be an official ambassador for the foundation as well as sitting on the Advisory Board for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the Board Council for Hope for the Warriors, the West Coast Host Committee for the Navy SEAL Foundation and also on the Selection Committee for the Orange County Community Foundation's veteran initiative. Today he is the Vice President of National Sales, National Commercial Services for Commonwealth Land Title Company as well as for Fidelity National Title Group for Home Builder Services.
Candace Wheeler
Candace Wheeler is Director of TAPS Government and Legislative Affairs. As a staunch military family advocate with over 30 years’ experience, Candace is committed to strengthening the military and veteran community, their families, caregivers, and survivors. On behalf of TAPS and as the Co-Chair of the Toxic Exposure in the American Military (TEAM) Coalition, Candace was instrumental in helping pass the historic PACT Act, signed into law on August 10, 2022. The PACT Act ensures 3.5 million veterans of multiple generations exposed to burn pits, toxins, and airborne hazards while deployed are provided immediate, lifelong access to VA health care, and benefits for their survivors. Candace also led efforts to finally eliminate the “Widow’s Tax”, which was signed into law in December 2019, and she currently serves on the VA Federal Advisory Committee on Cemeteries and Memorials. As the former President of The Military Coalition and Chairman of the Board for the National Military Family Association, and Spokesperson for the Save Our Benefit Coalition, Candace has championed military and surviving families before Congress, State Legislatures, Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA). Candace holds a Master’s in Political Management from George Washington University, an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Southern California.
Justin M. Yopp, PhD
Dr. Yopp is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a member of UNC’s Comprehensive Cancer Support Program, Dr. Yopp offers psychotherapy, assessment, and consult-liaison services for both pediatric oncology and adult oncology populations at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital. Dr. Yopp also co-leads the Widowed Parent Program, which supports parents who have lost a spouse or partner and are raising children on their own. In addition to offering support groups, the program has a website resource for parents and professionals and conducts research to learn how best to support grieving families. Dr. Yopp co-authored the book, The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life (Oxford University Press), which weaves together contemporary thinking on grief, adaptation and resiliency with the story of the men from their first parent support group. After earning his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University and his doctoral degree from Central Michigan University, Dr. Yopp completed his internship and fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, Dr. Yopp served as a psychologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.