Lisa Wexler, PhD, MSW is co-creator and Primary Investigator supporting PC CARES. Lisa has been working in and with northwestern Alaska as a therapist, community organizer, and researcher for over 20 years.Dr. Wexler is Professor of Social Work and a Research Professor for the Research Center on Group Dynamics at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Dr. Wexler’s participatory and applied research program aims to (1) translate research into strategic, self-determined community action; (2) describe and amplify sources of strength and resilience in rural Indigenous communities that promote youth wellness; and (3) develop feasible upstream youth suicide prevention models.
Tara Schmidt, MPH, is a PC CARES coordinator, providing program support based in Alaska. Raised in Nome and based in Homer, Tara communicates with project partners and community leaders to directly support local facilitators of the program, and organize and administer data collection activities, public relations, communication, and product development for PC CARES.
Josie Garnie’s traditional name is Poiyuna, after her great-grandma. She is Inupiaq, born and raised in Teller, the daughter of Joe Garnie and Helen Okbaok, and related to the Topkok, Kakaruk, and Okbaok families. She is also the mother to two daughters: Lauryn and Aubrina. Josie was hired as a Village Based Counselor in 1997 as part of a pilot project for Norton Sound Health Corporation. She still serves as the VBC for Teller and supervises half of the VBCs in the Norton Sound/Bering Strait region. She received her Rural Human Services Certificate and Associate of Applied Science in Human Services Degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Josie is a certified as a Behavioral Health Aide Practitioner and has been an LSC member since 2018.
Diane McEachern, PhD., LCSW, is PC CARES developer and Co-PI with Dr. Lisa Wexler. She has been a social worker and University of Alaska Assistant Professor in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Alaska for over 23 years. Currently she is Program Head for the Rural Human Service (RHS) and HUMS AAS degree programs at the University of Alaska, Kuskokwim Campus, in Bethel, Alaska.
Roberta Moto is the Wellness Program Manager for Maniilaq Association. She is a tribal member of the Native Village of Deering, Alaska. Her Inupiaq name is Anausuk. She is a wife, mother of 6, and grandmother of 8. She lives and works in Deering, Alaska. Her work experience includes: ICWA Coordinator, Tribal Administrator, and Village Based Counselor. She has a Bachelors in Social Work with an emphasis in Child Welfare from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She sits on the ANCHRR Research Steering Committee and the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council. Roberta is a co-creator of PC CARES and has guided its development since the beginning. She helps train new program facilitators, leads learning circles, and mentors communities starting and sustaining PC CARES.
