Faculty/Staff Wellbeing Ambassador Program
The Faculty/Staff Wellbeing Ambassador Program is a new offering from Student Health and Wellbeing Services at Cal Poly Humboldt. Partially funded by a Federal SAMHSA Garret Lee Smith Grant, the Faculty/Staff Wellbeing Ambassadors are an integral part of the Humboldt Campus Connect Support Network which is aimed at understanding and addressing the disparities around physical and mental health that Cal Poly Humboldt Students face.
Selected staff and faculty members serve as beacons to guide colleagues in their area to vital health and wellbeing resources available to students. Each year they are offered special training opportunities each semester to ensure they are supported in this role.
Each Faculty/Staff Wellbeing Ambassador will be trained in the following areas:
Data & Basic Resources | Who do we serve? This module is aimed at introducing staff an faculty to what we know about Humboldt students' mental health, and the processes used to evaluate our student's need and to the health and wellbeing services offered on campus. After this module, Wellbeing Ambassadors should be able to articulate the unique mental and physical health and barriers facing our students and know what resources students can be referred too. |
Suicide Prevention Training | This module combines materials on suicide theory and postvention from the iCanHelp Faculty/Staff training materials developed by Cal Poly Humboldt's Dr. Brian Mistler. The experientially based training is designed to enhance participant’s knowledge, awareness, and skills concerning college student suicide. The aims of this component are to increase participant’s knowledge about empirically grounded suicide models including the Three Step Theory (3ST), suicide statistics, risk and protective factors, warning signs, and referral resources; to increase empathic listening skills, communication skills, and the ability to ask individuals if they are thinking about suicide; awareness of campus response consideration following a death; and to increase self-awareness concerning the potential emotional reactions participants may experience when interacting with students in crisis. |
What Each Wellbeing Ambassador Will Learn:
• What's available regardless of insurance in our campus health center and how to direct students who need an appointment.
• Data from local and national benchmarking research identifying the top issues faced by our students, the impact of limited community medical and mental health resources, and how our Oh Sure! program helps uninsured students enroll at no cost.
• How to recognize when a student is in crisis, ask directly about suicidal thoughts, offer support, and connect to resources including Counseling & Psychological Services 826-3236 or National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You will also learn about how a campus can best respond when a student dies.
• What counseling really looks like, how a brief-therapy model makes it possible to help the 50% of Humboldt students who meet with our small team of therapists on the way to graduation, and what makes group therapy more effective for so many of our students.
• Signs a student is struggling with alcohol or other drug issues, why the actual number of students who use on a regular basis is lower than many think, and where to refer those who want help.
• The range of on-demand health modules and campus events in areas like sleep, stress management, motivation, sexual health, belonging social support, and nutrition available from our peer health educators.
• Using the The Humboldt Wellbeing Map, an interactive guide to a healthier campus experience, to help students and families easily connect to the right programs for their needs and get back to class.
• How our nationally recognized bystander intervention program CHECK IT empowers action when we see acts of sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in our community and make clear to those who choose to commit acts of harm that it’s not acceptable.
• About the large group of food insecure students, why canned-food drives don't work, and how donating to Oh SNAP! Student Food Programs supports the student food pantry, CalFresh benefits signups, and other food and nutrition education.
Current Faculty/Staff Wellbeing Ambassadors:
| Name: | Department: |
| Julie Tucker | (CNRS) Dean's Office |
| Anna Thaler Peterson | (CNRS) Biological Sciences |
| Josh Smith | (CNRS) Chemistry |
| Ryan Rasmussen | (CNRS) Computer Science |
| Beth Eschenbach | (CNRS) Engineering |
| Gilly Black | (CNRS) Env Sci & Management |
| Andre Buchheister | (CNRS) Fisheries Biology |
| Lucy Kerhoulas | (CNRS) Forestry and Wildland Resources |
| Maurine Nicholson | (CNRS) Forestry and Wildland Resources |
| Laurie Marx | (CNRS) Geology |
| Brandon Browne | (CNRS) Geology |
| Christine Cass | (CNRS) Oceanography |
| Danielle Trapkus | (CNRS) Oceanography |
| Ruth Saunders | (CNRS) Physics & Astronomy |
| Micaela Gunther | (CNRS) Wildlife |
| Kelda Quintana | (CNRS) Academic Career & Advising |
| Jyll Jackson | (CAHSS) Anthropology, Philosophy, and Wildlife |
| Nikola Hobbel | (CAHSS) English |
| Lisa Bond-Maupin | (CAHSS) Dean |
| Kim Vincent-Layton | (CAHSS) Communication & Center for Teaching and Learning |
| Heather Madar | (CAHSS) Art |
| Brec Ronis | (CAHSS) Art |
| Karen Davy | (CAHSS) Music |
| Julie Alderson | (CAHSS) Art |
| Kyle Leitzke | Academic and Career Advising Center |
| Kevin Colando | (CPS) Psychology |
| Pamela Kirschner | Clubs & Activities |
| Travis Williams | Philanthropy |
| Kim Coughlin-Lamphear | Student Disability and Access Resource Center |
| Tay D Triggs | Student Engagement and Leadership Dean |
| Todd Larsen | Housing & Residence Life |
| Celeste B. Robertson | Educational Opportunity Program |
| Nicole Ryks | HSI STEM |
| Eli Pence | Educational Opportunity Program |
| Kristin Pitsenbarger | Philanthropy |
| Carly Strand | Housing & Residence Life |
| Alison Holmes | (CAHSS) International Studies |
| Amy Conlin | Housing & Residence Life |
| Dawn Goley | (CNRS) Zoology |
| Fernando Paz | Latinx Center for Academic Excellence |
| Lori Cortez-Regan | (CAHSS) Sociology |
| Nicki Viso | Housing & Residence Life |
| Sam Caudill | Sponsored Programs Foundation |
| Robin Miller | (CAHSS) Music |
| Nicholas Perdue | (CAHSS) Geography |
| Rob Keever | CARE Coordinator - Dean of Student's Office |
| Sarah Ingram | Athletics |
| Arlene Wynn | Athletics |
| Damaro Wheeler | Athletics |
| Shannon Childs | Athletics |
| James Harris | Athletics |
| Duncan Robins | Athletics |
| Paul Karver | Athletics |
| Steve Kinder | Athletics |
| Rich Mendoza | Athletics |
| Fred Jungemann | Athletics |
| Mark Ulbricht | Athletics |
| Michelle Bento-Jackson | Athletics |
| Kelly Kime | Athletics |
| Megan Hankins-Maldonado | Athletics |
| Ashley Donnell | Athletics |
| Robin Meiggs | Athletics |
| Kristin Olson | Athletics |
| Kelly Wood | Athletics |
| Sheli Sarchett | Athletics |
If you see any mistakes on this list please contact Ravin Craig, ravin.craig@humboldt.edu
If you are interested in becoming a Faculty/Staff Wellbeing Ambassador please email Mira Friedman, mira@humboldt.edu