Connect Washoe County

Are you a community partner who wants to get involved or have questions about Connect Washoe County?

What is Connect Washoe County?

In response to community mental health needs, The Children’s Cabinet has partnered with Renown Health, Washoe County School District, and the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention to achieve 5 broadly defined strategic activities to strengthen networks of care for teens and adolescents and their families.

Combat deaths by suicide through the expansion of prevention, treatment, and family-centered support services
Develop a multi-tiered communication strategy, centering around developing non-traditional partnerships and joint messaging with an emphasis on eliminating the stigma of mental health
Advance linkages of community support services, government, and health practitioners
Strengthen, expand, and support interventions and programs within specific environments by building creative and non-traditional care avenues
Improve and support data collection, analysis, and dissemination efforts for behavioral health needs

Access the Resource Directory below, which will lead you to a comprehensive list of organizations in our area who support youth mental health needs.

We are just getting started with this exciting work. Partnerships have been established between The Children’s Cabinet, Renown Health, Washoe County School District, and Nevada’s Office of Suicide Prevention and we welcome more partners and participants in this important movement. Please contact us for more information on how you can be part of Connect Washoe County.

3rd Annual Washoe County Youth Mental Health Summit

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the 3rd Annual Washoe County Youth Mental Health Summit and Resource Fair on September 17th, 2024. We heard from incredible experts, youth engaged in our community, and many caring parents and other adults.

Photos from the day can be found below along with a link to the day’s presentations. Thank you to everyone who joined us for helping keep children safe and families together.

Photos

Meet Our Speakers

Keeli Killian

Keeli Killian, a Reno native with a love for the great outdoors, enjoys skiing, biking, paddle boarding, kayaking, rafting, or simply soaking up the sun at the beach. When she’s not out exploring, she’s off to Fort Worth, Texas, where she indulges in mouth-watering BBQ, cheers on TCU football, and spends quality time with her college sophomore son. With 25 years of experience in the Washoe County School District, Keeli has worn many hats—from teaching to counseling in both elementary and middle schools. Now, as a School Counselor Specialist, she channels her energy into supporting middle schools and overseeing the Signs of Suicide program. She’s a Nationally Certified Counselor, Nationally Certified School Counselor, and certified Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor. Keeli’s passion for school counselor advocacy shines through in her work, having served on the Executive Board for the Nevada School Counselor Association and co-chaired several committees, including the Government Affairs Committee. Her mission is to empower counselors in crafting programs that fuel students’ academic, career, and social-emotional growth.

Misty Allen

Misty Vaughan Allen, MA has served as the Suicide Prevention Coordinator of Nevada in since 2005. Over the 19 years, she implemented evidence-based prevention, intervention, postvention and recovery programs. Much of her work has included collaborating with local advisory groups and community coalitions, providing oversight and leadership to launch new suicide prevention programs in communities across Nevada. Ms. Allen graduated with her master’s degree in counseling and educational psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. She began her journey with crisis work as the coordinator for the Suicide Prevention Hotline of Nevada and serving in the Peace Corps.

Natalie Sanchez

Natalie is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is an AAMFT and NV approved supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapy Interns and Clinical Professional Counselor Interns. Natalie is a co-founder of Health Psychology Associates and is the Clinical Director of HPA. HPA is a community mental health clinic providing high quality behavioral health services with an emphasis on children and adolescents. Natalie is passionate about supporting quality access to mental health care by accepting Medicaid in addition to other commerical insurance plans within the clnic. She is the past Vice Chair of the Safe and Healthy Schools Commission for Washoe County School District and a current commisioner, and also the former President of the Washoe County Children’s Mental Health Consortium. The primary focus of Natalie’s clinical practice has been treating children, adolescents, and their families since 2006.

Dr. Chad Doerr

Dr. Chad Doerr is a licensed clinical and sport psychologist located in Reno, Nevada. Dr. Doerr is currently in private practice, providing mental health counseling and mental performance consulting. He previously served as the UNLV Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology Services, where oversaw and provided mental health counseling, performance enhancement/mental skills training for the UNLV Athletic Department. Prior to UNLV, Dr. Doerr was also an Athletic Psychologist for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. Dr. Doerr graduated from Feather River College in 2009 with an associate’s degree in liberal studies. He then went on to earn a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Nevada-Reno in 2012. Dr. Doerr earned his master’s degree in sport and performance psychology from the University of Denver in 2014, and his doctorate in clinical and school psychology, with an emphasis in sport psychology from James Madison University in 2018. Dr. Doerr was a doctoral intern for UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services with an emphasis in sport psychology.

Emma White

Emma White is an Author, Professional Speaker, Podcast Host, and Founder and President of the Life Is Worth It Organization. n her day job, she is the Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Nevada Department of Education and the Project Aware Manager for the Office of Suicide Prevention, where she specializes in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention strategies on local, state, and federal levels. Among many accomplishments, Emma is proud to have been selected as USA Today’s Woman of the Year Award for 2024, was the 2022 Winner of the Young Professional’s Network 20 Under 40 Award, and the winner of the Jersey Mike’s Sub Abover 2021 Award.

Joe Ernst, Superintendent, Washoe County School District

Washoe County School District Superintendent Joe Ernst has been an active member of the Northern Nevada community for more than 25 years. He has held the positions of teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, area superintendent, and Chief Continuous Improvement Officer. Throughout the entirety of his career, he has demonstrated exemplary leadership and academic excellence within all educational capacities. Superintendent Ernst is proud of the work being done in Washoe County Schools, and feels there is tremendous positive momentum upon which staff and students can build a successful and productive school year. In the months ahead, WCSD will capitalize on that momentum and ensure the district is meeting the needs of each and every student. Mr. Ernst graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan with a bachelor’s degree of science in elementary education. He also holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Phoenix.

Dr. Takesha Cooper, Department Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, Chief of Behavioral Health, Renown, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

Previously, Dr. Cooper served as associate medical director for the Riverside University Health System and Riverside County Department of Mental Health providing clinical and operational oversight for four regional psychiatric county clinics, and as an adjunct instructor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. As a double board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, she also established a successful solo private practice serving patients from diverse backgrounds. At UC Riverside, Dr. Cooper held significant academic and leadership roles including vice chair of education, residency program director, chair of the Admissions Committee and equity advisor. Dr. Cooper earned her Doctor of Medicine Degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and completed her residency at San Mateo County and fellowship at Stanford University. Prior to medical school, she obtained a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Riverside and her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Cooper’s research explores the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on mental health outcomes in children and adults. She served as a clinical co-PI on a U54 funded grant aimed at reducing health disparities by engaging in community-based participatory research partnerships. Dr. Cooper is recognized for her passion for high-quality patient care and supports future practitioners through rigorous and culturally informed undergraduate and graduate medical education, research, and community collaboration. A 2022 graduate of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program offered through Drexel University, she also maintains active involvement in national and state committees and journal editorial boards.

Ryan Gustafson, Director, Washoe County Human Services Agency

Ryan serves as the Director of the Washoe County Human Services Agency, where he has worked since 2017. Prior to that, he worked for the State of Nevada, Division of Child and Family Services for 14 years, and served as the Deputy Administrator over Children’s Mental Health. Ryan is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has over 24 years of child welfare and mental health experience.

Dr. Samuel Ehrenreich

Dr. Ehrenreich is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development, Family Science & Counseling at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on how adolescents use digital communication in their daily lives. He studies how smartphones and social media affect adolescents’ texting and social media use relates to depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and aggression, as well as romantic relationships, parent-child relationships, and the development of identity and autonomy.

Dr. Kristen Clements-Nolle

Dr. Clements-Nolle is a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health. Broadly, Dr. Clements-Nolle’s research focuses on social and psychological factors that contribute to and mitigate poor health outcomes across the lifespan. Much of her current research focuses on understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on a range of adolescent health outcomes. Grounded in positive youth development, she also investigates social, community, family, and individual-level factors that can buffer the impact of ACEs on behavioral health outcomes. Dr. Clements-Nolle’s research requires extensive collaboration with community-based organizations and large public systems such as school districts, child welfare organizations, and juvenile justice agencies. Findings from this body of research have been used to develop and evaluate national and state-level policies and programs for children, adolescents, and families.