Summary:

Kacie Kelly oversees and manages policy, operational, and programmatic efforts on veteran health and well-being, including the Warrior Wellness Alliance.  She manages strategic efforts to promote the partnerships, collaboration, and alignment among organizations that are so crucial to fostering the health and well-being of post-9/11 Veterans.

Prior to this role, Kacie served as the National Director for Public-Private Partnerships in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office for Suicide Prevention where she was responsible for developing a comprehensive and integrated public health approach to prevent suicide among the 14 million Veterans not engaged in VA healthcare. Throughout her 15-year career with VA, she led innovative programs to serve more Veterans and their families through strategic partnerships within government and across public and private sectors.  In addition, she has had leading roles to promote military culture competence in the community, outreach efforts to reduce stigma associated with seeking mental healthcare, and to enhance provider proficiency in evidence-based mental health care.  She earned her Master of Health Sciences (MHS) at Louisiana State University and has a Graduate Certificate in Women in Public Policy and Politics from the University of Massachusetts – Boston. Kacie has also been an active volunteer in the New Orleans community where she served as a Commissioner on the BioDistrict Board of New Orleans and on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross.

In This Particular Episode You Will Learn:

  • Kacie’s background and experience
  • The 2016 VA Suicide Prevention Report
  • Rates and Numbers of Veteran Suicide
  • Bridging the gap between VA mental health and community mental health
  • The Warrior Wellness Alliance
  • Connecting mental health to veteran organizations
  • Mental Wellness instead of Mental Illness
  • The support of President and Mrs. Bush for veteran mental health
  • Warrior Wellness Alliance Social Media Repository

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

The Warrior Wellness Alliance

2016 VA Suicide Report

Kacie Kelly on Twitter

 

 

 

 

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Duane France

Duane K. L. France is a combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a mental health counselor practicing in the state of Colorado. Do you want to join the conversation regarding veteran mental health? Share, like, and comment. Read Duane's previous posts and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep the conversation about #veteranmentalhealth going.