Our Team
Sara Kohlbeck, PhD, MPH
DIRECTOR
Sara is the Director of the Division of Suicide Research and Healing. She is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. Sara received her PhD in Public and Community Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2022, her Master of Public Health from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2015, and her Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2000. Sara’s research interests focus on understanding suicide from a public health perspective. Specifically, she is conducting research that focuses on better understanding suicide among disproportionately affected populations, including farmers, veterans, and youth of color, to facilitate the development of appropriate prevention strategies. She is also engaged in community-based research with communities across Wisconsin who are implementing suicide prevention activities. Sara is also a faculty member in MCW’s Institute for Health and Equity, where she teaches courses in the Public and Community Health PhD program. Sara is a Certified Psychological Autopsy Investigator and is a Certified Mental Health First Aid trainer. In her spare time, Sara enjoys spending time with her husband, Aaron, her two children, Grace and Harrison, and her two rescue pups, Brisco and Ollie. Sara also loves to knit, attend concerts, and spend time outdoors with friends and family.
Tricia Monroe, MEd, MA, CHES
PROGRAM MANAGER I
Tricia Monroe began her professional career as a special education teacher working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. While teaching, she facilitated support groups for students living with diabetes. She went on to receive her master’s in Health Education & Promotion and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. She has worked at the Medical College of Wisconsin since 2019. Her work has included research related to health inequities, chronic illnesses, school based mental health programming, and suicide prevention. She has training in Mental Health First Aid and received Grief Support Specialist training from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, she serves as the Suicide Postvention Program Manager. She conducts active outreach to survivors of suicide loss within Milwaukee County, identifying best practices for supporting individuals after a loss and developing a community-wide response that considers cultural and linguistic needs. Her research and professional interests include postvention practices within a social justice framework, grief experiences after a suicide loss across racial and ethnic populations, and community empowerment through collaborative academic partnerships. In her free time, Tricia enjoys being active outside, reading a variety of books, and going to the beach with her family.
Neal Davis, BA
COMMUNITY PROGRAM COORDINATOR I
Neal currently serves as a Community Program Coordinator. He conducts outreach to families that are coping with a loss due to suicide, offers resources, and maintains the relationship over the course of a year. Previously, Neal was a Community Engagement Coordinator for a telecommunications company, where he developed relationships within underserved communities and served as a mentor in several schools within the Metro Milwaukee area. Neal also serves his community in varying capacities that include: Co-Leader of youth programming at ECMKE Ministry and as a Milwaukee’s Finest Scholarship Foundation Board Member. He also serves as a consultant for a youth-led nonprofit organization.
Neal possesses expertise in community engagement, mentorship, and networking. His interests include social justice, equity, education and addressing the holistic needs of underserved families. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications in 2005 from the University of Wisconsin. In his free time, he enjoys being the public announcer at Helfaer Field for the Milwaukee Brewers, reading and spending time with his family full of creatives.
Rachel Glassford, MPH
RESEARCH PROGRAM COORDINATOR III
Rachel Glassford currently serves as a Research Coordinator. She supports the Division by implementing and evaluation suicide prevention programming within the MCW community via the Seeking Peer Outreach (SPO*) program. Rachel also helps to evaluate statewide suicide prevention programming in partnership with the WI Department of Health Services and area nonprofits. She received her MPH with an emphasis on Health Promotion from George Washington University and her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She has worked with the Medical College of Wisconsin since 2020. Her work has included research related to health inequities, diabetes, and suicide prevention. Rachel’s research and professional interests include building collaborative community and academic partnerships, and wellness for rural, adolescent and LGBTQ+ populations. Beyond work, Rachel enjoys being active outdoors, improv, and spending time with loved ones.
Jacey Kant, BS
RESEARCH PROGRAM COORDINATOR II
Jacey started as a Research Coordinator in July 2022 and came to us from the Department of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery where she worked as a Clinical Research Assistant for 1.5 years. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May 2020 with Bachelors of Science degrees in Psychology and Biological Sciences. Jacey’s career goals include gaining entrance into a PhD program in Clinical Psychology and eventually conducting her own research and working clinically with underserved populations. While she is open to any clinical setting, she believes either an adult Level I trauma center or an adult corrections facility would be great fits for her. Her research interests broadly include suicidology and suicide prevention, implementation and evaluation of culturally competent mental health care, and forensic psychology. Specifically, she is interested in the impacts of involvement in the criminal justice system and incarceration on mental health and suicide risk, discrimination as a mediator for suicide risk and behavior among minority populations, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community, and the effects of repeated concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) on long-term mental health and suicide risk. She is passionate about implementing upstream suicide prevention measures and leveraging data to influence policy change, increase access to mental health care for marginalized groups, and enact systems-level change. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her rescue pitty, Carmen, reading, watching reality TV, cheering on the Chicago Cubs, and attending concerts, music festivals, and drag shows.