WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, May 7, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) concluded their 52nd Annual Conference, held from April 24 - 27, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The conference saw more than 1800 attendees (a nearly 50 percent increase from last year’s already record-breaking attendance) and speakers from a variety of fields, industries, and research disciplines, including Dr. Robert Sapolsky, world-renowned biologist and neuroscientist.

“We’re at a clear shift of momentum in suicide prevention and AAS leads the way in directing the conversation,” said Colleen Creighton, Executive Director of AAS. “Through awareness building, collaboration with legislators, dissemination of critical research, and lifting the voices of loss survivors and those with lived experience of suicide attempts, AAS is moving the field toward more effective outcomes and messaging. Our members continue to be the driving force in this paradigm shift, and our recent conference was absolute proof of their energy and power to save lives.”

AAS unveiled its upcoming website redesign and membership networking system, which will greatly increase the productivity of collaboration between members. The organization has worked tirelessly to assist its committees and members in creating products such as toolkits for crisis centers, resources for media professionals, policy papers, and tipsheets for parents and providers. The updates to the website will serve to make AAS members more effective in rapid, real-time responses to current events or social issues related to suicide, as well as being more proactive in upstream approaches.

The AAS board of directors also met at the annual conference to discuss key association priorities and elected three new members to its board of directors, along with reappointing the current board chair, Anthony Wood.

“We’re grateful and thrilled to have such an incredible group of people make up our board of directors,” said David Covington, President of AAS, and CEO of RI International. “Their never-ending dedication to the mission of suicide prevention certainly reflects the energy and passion of our membership. AAS is happy to bring aboard new faces to help us all in this mission.”

The newly-elected board members include:
Megan Rogers, M.S., Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology, Florida State University
Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD, Professional Speaker
Becky Stoll, LCSW, Vice President, Crisis & Disaster Management, Centerstone

For the Media: Responsible reporting on suicide, including stories of hope and resilience, can prevent more suicides. Please visit the Suicide Reporting Recommendations for more information.

About AAS: Founded in 1968 by Edwin S. Shneidman, PhD, AAS promotes the research of suicide and its prevention, public awareness programs, public education and training for professionals and volunteers. The membership of AAS includes mental health and public health professionals, researchers, suicide prevention and crisis intervention centers, school districts, crisis center volunteers, survivors of suicide loss, attempt survivors, and a variety of lay persons who have in interest in suicide prevention. You can learn more about AAS at www.suicidology.org.

Colleen Creighton
American Association of Suicidology
202-237-2280
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