Jennifer Battle, MSW
President
Jennifer Battle is the Vice President of Community Access and Engagement at The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD in Houston, Texas. Jennifer is proud to help support Harris County and the surrounding region’s mental health by overseeing operations of 988 for 46 Texas counties, 24 hour Crisis Lines for 7 Texas Local Mental Health Authorities, and several other dedicated crisis and emotional support lines. Jennifer led the development of the first of its kind in the nation 911/Behavioral Health co-located response system in partnership with Houston Police and Fire Departments and the Houston Emergency Communications Center.
Jennifer’s team offers a robust mental health and suicide prevention training portfolio to individuals, universities, businesses, faith communities and non-profits as well as coordinates and delivers information and awareness about behavioral health in culturally appropriate and community centered ways across the county.
In addition to these projects, Jennifer serves in several national roles including the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the National 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. She also serves on the Clinical Advisory Council for Crisis Text Line, the Board of the National Association of Crisis Center Directors and the Board of the Texas Alliance of Information and Referral Systems.
Jessica C. Pirro, LMSW
Vice President
Jessica C. Pirro serves as the President/CEO of Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service, Inc. (Crisis Services) in Buffalo, NY. Jessica received her undergraduate degree in Child and Family Studies and her Masters of Social Work from Syracuse University. She is a NYS Licensed Master Social Worker and began her work at Crisis Services in 1999 overseeing the Advocate Program, the NYS Department of Health Rape Crisis Center, and a NYS licensed non-residential domestic violence provider. She then was appointed to the role of Associate Director and was charged with overseeing all agency clinical operations 24 hours a day.
In September 2014, she was the first woman appointed to Chief Executive Officer of Crisis Services and leads the agency’s crisis first responders helping those impacted by crisis with specialty areas around suicide prevention, emergency mental health, trauma, domestic and sexual violence. Under Jessica’s leadership, the agency has seen significant staff and financial growth resulting in the need to move the agency to a new expanded location. She is a member of Leadership Buffalo Class of 2003; recognized as one of Business First’s 40 under Forty in 2010, honored as a Business First Women of Influence in 2016 and Excellence in Health Care award winner in 2020. She is Chair of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County and is a Health Foundation of Central and Western New York’s Fellow. She serves on the board for the Anti-Stigma Coalition for Erie County, is a member of the WNED Advisory Board, a member of the National Association of Crisis Organization Directors (NASCOD) and the NYS Suicide Prevention Advisory Council. Jessica resides in Buffalo, NY with her husband, step-son and her sweet fur kid Nash.
Jared Auten, LMSW
Secretary
Jared Auten serves as Director of Crisis Communications at HealthSource Integrated Solutions based in Topeka, KS. He holds a Master’s of Social Welfare from the University of Kansas and has a background in suicide & crisis intervention, community mental health, and grief & loss support.
Jared has been a provider of suicide & crisis intervention services since 2013, and he began working on the implementation and operation of 988 in Kansas in 2020. He is passionate about access to high-quality and affordable crisis care for all. In his role at HealthSource Integrated Solutions, he strives to collaborate and innovate with partners to support a crisis continuum of care capable of responding promptly to the dynamic needs of individuals, families, and communities across Kansas.
Jared also serves on the board of directors of The Kita Center, a suicide bereavement organization located in Maine.
Jeremiah Mankin
Treasurer
Jeremiah Mankin serves as the Director of Text Services at Samaritans, Inc. in Boston where he oversees the Hey Sam peer to peer mental health textline for young people.
Jeremiah passionately finds innovative ways to leverage technology to enhance service delivery and reach people who might not otherwise utilize mental health services.
In addition to his work with Samaritans and NASCOD, Jeremiah serves as an accreditation examiner for the International Council for Helpllines.
When he is not working, Jeremiah enjoys going on coastal adventures with his corgi, Alwyn.
Shanay “Shay” Lett, MBA
Director
Shanay “Shay” Lett is a Director of Crisis Services for My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR Tarrant) in Fort Worth, Texas. With over 12 years of experience in Health and Human Services, including eight years specifically focused on Crisis Intervention, Shay brings a wealth of expertise and compassion to her role.
Shay supervises various crisis intervention programs, such as Crisis and Intake Lines, a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, Crisis Respite, Residential Units, and a LOSS Team. Her primary responsibility involves overseeing the Call Center operations, which consists of a 24-hour crisis line that serves 4 Local Mental Health Authorities, 988 coverage for 69 Texas counties, and several other specialized lines dedicated to offering resources and connecting individuals with Mental Health, IDD, Housing, Substance Use, and Emotional Support Services.
Beyond providing crisis intervention, Shay is deeply passionate about training and developing future leaders in crisis intervention, recognizing the critical importance of nurturing talent within the field, and passing on her knowledge and experience to the next generation of professionals.
Fueled by a profound desire to make a difference, Shay takes pride in transforming lives and empowering all individuals through her innovative approach to crisis intervention. She consistently seeks new ideas and methods to serve the community better, pushing boundaries and exploring creative solutions.
Helen Littrell, PsyD, LP
Director
Dr. Littrell’s career in suicide prevention and crisis intervention began in 2012, when she worked answering crisis calls for Lifeline Australia and realized her passion for this field. Dr. Littrell holds Bachelor’s degrees in Commerce and Science (Psychology) from the Australian National University, and Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver. She is a Licensed Psychologist in Colorado, Ohio, and through PsyPact.
Dr. Littrell has prior experience as a caseworker, therapeutic residential community coordinator, psychological assessor in private practice, suicide prevention coordinator, and as a therapist in community mental health, sliding scale settings, mobile crisis, and acute treatment unit settings. For 3 years Dr. Littrell worked for Colorado’s statewide crisis line vendor as the Crisis Program Director and was integral to the successful 988 launch across the state.
She then transitioned to work as the Chief Clinical Officer for Behavioral Health Link (BHL) in 2024. At BHL, Dr. Littrell is responsible for mobile crisis programming in 4 of the 6 regions in Georgia, compliance, program evaluation, training, and clinical consulting. Dr. Littrell centers her decision-making process on her own lived experience and “peoples the room” with the perspectives of those who receive services.
Levi Van Dyke
Director
Levi Van Dyke is the Senior Director of Behavioral Health at Volunteers of Levi Van Dyke is Chief Behavioral Health Officer at Volunteers of America Western Washington (VOAWW). He has spent the past 16 years working in crisis services throughout the State of Washington.
VOAWW operates a crisis contact center based in Everett, WA that answers over 20,000 inbound contacts per month across multiple lines of service. VOAWW is currently a national backup chat/text, and it covers the entire state of Washington for 988 chat and text services. The center also provides primary 988 phone coverage for 32 of the 39 counties in Washington, Regional Crisis Line services for three Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations, and operates the Native and Strong Lifeline, offering culturally informed and specific services from Tribal crisis counselors for Washington’s indigenous residents.
Levi currently serves as Vice President of the National Association of Crisis Organization Directors (NASCOD) board and sits on numerous national, state, and regional crisis and behavioral health committees. He has dedicated significant time working with leadership and professional development programs and spent six years as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. Levi is a Washington State University alumnus (Go Cougs!) and received his graduate degree from Eastern Washington University. Western Washington (VOAWW). He has spent the past 15 years working directly with crisis line services throughout the state of Washington. VOAWW operates a crisis center based in Everett, WA that has over 19,000 inbound contacts per month across multiple lines of service. VOAWW is a national backup text/chat center and covers the entire state of Washington for 988 chat and text. They also provide 988 phone coverage for 32 of the 39 counties in Washington, Regional Crisis Line services for three Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations, and operate the newly launched Native and Strong Lifeline, offering culturally informed and specific services from Tribal crisis counselors for Washington’s indigenous residents.
In addition to the NASCOD Board, Levi is a member of numerous national, state, and regional crisis and behavioral health committees. He has also dedicated significant time working with leadership and professional development programs and spent six years as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. Levi is a Washington State University alumnus (Go Cougs!) and received his graduate degree from Eastern Washington University.
Valerie Klein
Director
Lorraine Peragallo
Director