Professional Development Day

Chad Pitts is a Program Manager for ND HOPES, a suicide prevention project spanning a 21-county jurisdiction in Western ND. ND HOPES focuses on Suicide prevention initiatives within the LGBTQIA2S+, Veteran, and rural resident communities. Prior to joining the ND HOPES team, he was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Liberty, NC. He has also worked in various Higher Education positions focusing on Diversity and Equity initiatives across ND.   

With a passion for advocacy, Chad has 10 years of experience in Diversity and Equity Initiatives. He has a deep understanding and personal connection to many of the struggles that the LGBTQIA2S+ and Veteran community faces which he utilizes to advocate for change and creative innovative solutions to complex issues within marginalized communities.

Katie Gallant, MSW, is a Senior Research Associate in the Public Health department at NORC at the University of Chicago. With nearly seven years of experience in public health and suicide prevention, Ms. Gallant provides subject matter expertise on various suicide prevention projects focused on implementation, technical assistance, evaluation, community engagement, and resource development. She is a seasoned trainer in Zero Suicide; Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment - Suicide Care (SBIRT-SC); and Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR).  Ms. Gallant currently leads the provision of technical assistance and evaluation support for health and behavioral health settings implementing SBIRT-SC, with a focus on reaching disproportionately affected populations in North Dakota.

Dr. Andréa Kaniuka (she/her) is a research scientist in the Public Health department at NORC at the University of Chicago. She is a behavioral health researcher, with expertise in LGBTQIA+ mental health and suicide prevention. She has over a decade of research experience in the fields of clinical psychology and public health, spanning university, state agency, and federal government partnerships. At NORC, she supports the suicide prevention research portfolio, including the CDC-funded project ND HOPES. Her role on ND HOPES includes facilitating the project’s LGBTQIA+ community workgroup and creating LGBTQIA+ resources for youth-serving professionals in the state.

She has published nearly 50 peer-reviewed research papers on topics related to suicide prevention, mental health, and LGBTQIA+ health. Her work has appeared in academic journals including LGBT Health, Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, and Crisis, among others.

Faye Seidler is an award-winning suicide prevention advocate that specializes in LGBTQ+ populations. She was born and raised in North Dakota and has a decade of experience in education, public speaking, and community organizing. She is known for connecting and uplifting others, bringing communities together, and always keeping hope in focus. 

Dr. Tiffany Russell is a licensed clinical psychologist in Texas and North Dakota. Her clinical specialties include empirically-supported individual psychotherapy for serious mental illness, assessment and treatment of LGBTQIA+ adolescents and adults, and forensic assessment. Dr. Russell joined the faculty of Sam Houston State in August 2020 and moved to the University of North Dakota in August 2023.

Dr. Oliver obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Idaho State University, Pocatello. She completed her APA accredited doctoral psychology internship at the Fargo VA, her residency, and remained on as a staff psychologist after obtaining licensure. She is now a psychology manager overseeing six programs and the staff within those programs. Dr. Oliver is the Assistant Training Director of the Doctoral Psychology Internship program, providing supervision and training to practicum students, doctoral interns, and residents at the Fargo VA HCS.

While a generalist, she focuses on posttraumatic stress and other trauma disorders, co-occurring trauma and substance use disorders, and LGBTQ+ therapy services. Dr. Oliver provides several evidence-based therapies (e.g., COPE, DBT, CBT, ACT) and is VA Certified in Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). She developed the Resilience Skills-Based group for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals when she was in her residency and continues this group today. Dr. Oliver provides assessments for psychodiagnostic, capacity determination, cognitive disorders (e.g., neurocognitive/dementia), developmental (e.g., ADHD), and evaluations for hormonal therapy and affirmative surgery. Dr. Oliver is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and has implemented the usage of this tool in training programs and with the executive leaders at her local VA to foster intentional reflection and intercultural development growth using the intercultural development plan.

She is passionate about education and advocacy as seen through her VA and community outreach. Dr. Oliver provider VA trainings on diversity topics, fostering safe space, and evidence-based treatments and assessments. Personally, she is a wife, “fur mama” of two dogs (Lucy & Chewie) and one cat (Nala). She loves dancing, Pilates, reading/learning, traveling, cooking, and spending time with loved ones. Random factoid: enjoys, and is good at, axe throwing.