Guest Speakers
Conference
February 3, 2023, 9am - 5pm
Dr. LaDonna Butler (she/her/hers) is an Associate Program Director for the Family Study Center and an Adjunct Faculty member in Psychology on the St. Petersburg campus. From 2018-2020 she served as the Family Study Center’s Learning and Development Facilitator for the Foundation for a Healthy St Petersburg sponsored-project “Trauma-Informed Infant-Family Mental Health”, and subsequently served as PI for an expansion of that initiative, Reckoning with Race and COVID-19 in Infant-Family Mental Health. Currently, Dr. Butler is the project lead for the Family Study Center's subcontract with the Pinellas County Department of Human Services, Opioid-Affected Youth Initiative: Aiding Drug Impacted Children in Out-of-Home Care. In the St. Petersburg community, Dr. Butler serves as Executive Director and CEO of The Well for Life, an alternative healing space serving individuals in need of mental health counseling, wellness, and self-care resources.
Miguel Sierra SPPM, Fort George G. Meade (he/him/his)
Miguel is an Army veteran from Cleveland, Ohio who spent 10 years on Active Duty serving as a Behavioral Health Clinic Non-Commissioned Officer-In-Charge (Missouri, Virginia, and Hawaii), Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Provider Resiliency Program Manager, Drug and Alcohol Counselor and Sexual Assault Victim Advocate. While in the Army, Miguel developed a passion for helping and motivating Soldiers to excel by providing them with the skills and tools necessary to make sound decisions, take care of themselves and their Battle Buddies, and face adversity head on and fearlessly. The result was more cohesive units which accomplished each mission effectively, in a timely manner and with a sense of pride in their work. As a Staff Sergeant, Miguel Conducted over 900 trainings in the National Capital Region (Fort Belvoir, Quantico, The Pentagon, Fort Myer) and Hawaii (Schofield Barracks, Tripler Army Medical Center).
Medically retired since 2017, Miguel has brought that same passion to the civilian sector, helping organizations and schools bring the best out of their employees, members, students and faculty. He has continued to conduct Suicide Prevention workshops for several military units, schools, youth leadership and community organizations like The Marion Barry Leadership Academy, Old Dominion University and Jack and Jill of America. In 2020, Miguel founded My Brother’s Keeper (MBK Tribe), a support group and healing space for men whose mission is to create the greatest generation of men ever by deconstructing historically toxic societal expectations and behaviors. In October 2021, Miguel Returned to his military roots and became the Suicide Prevention Program Manager for Fort George G. Meade (Maryland). Tasked with the most important mission of overseeing the training of military personnel in suicide prevention, intervention and postvention techniques, and creating a culture of understanding and connectedness throughout the military community.