About Us
Mission
CALM teaches clinicians, gun owners, and the general public strategies to reduce an at-risk person’s access to highly lethal means, especially firearms. We use collaborative methods that preserve life, liberty, and the at-risk person’s decisional autonomy.
We aim to create a new clinical and social norm: when a client or someone you know is distressed enough to consider suicide, conversations about reducing access to firearms and dangerous medications should become a routine part of care and support. Alongside clinical or social support, these collaborative discussions can protect individuals until they have recovered.
Our History
CALM was developed in New Hampshire to equip mental health providers with collaborative and effective counseling strategies on reducing access to lethal means – especially firearms – that can be shared with patients and families. When someone is at risk for suicide, focused, compassionate conversations can save lives. CALM methods were also designed to help providers – many of whom are not gun owners–have respectful, culturally appropriate ways that resonate with gun-owning families and individuals. Since then, CALM training has been provided thousands of times across the country through both in-person workshops and multiple online adaptations, including a version specifically tailored for pediatricians and hosted by the American Academy of Pediatrics. CALM training has also been provided in live virtual sessions, offering access to CALM training programs while encouraging interactive experiences with both instructors and colleagues.
Principals & Trainers
President
Catherine Barber
Catherine Barber, MPA, is a Senior Researcher at Harvard Injury Control Research Center. She led the pilot for what is now the National Violent Death Reporting System, directs Means Matter, co-founded the Gun Shop Project, wrote the country’s first suicide prevention training for firearm Instructors, co-developed the current version of CALM, and leads the writing of online versions. She has also published extensively on suicide and firearm injury.
Executive Director
JP Jameson, Ph.D.
Dr. John Paul “JP” Jameson is a Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in North Carolina. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 and completed a post-doctoral residency at the Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. His clinical and research interests focus on suicide prevention and adolescents in school-based mental health settings. In addition to his work in mental health, JP is an avid outdoorsman, firearms enthusiast, and NRA-certified Range Safety Officer.
Program Manager and Master Trainer
Jennifer Myers
Jennifer Myers, MA, LPC, holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from Ball State University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Jen brings passion and expertise in suicide prevention, resilience, and mindfulness. She is a highly experienced therapist, trainer, and curriculum designer. Jennifer is also the CALM America Program Manager. She is a certified mindfulness teacher and trainer for Tactical Brain Training®: Mindfulness for First Responders. Most recently, she served as the associate director of mental health promotion, trauma recovery, and violence prevention at the Education Development Center, supporting the National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide and other initiatives focused on veteran and first responder suicide prevention. Jen also provides consultation to helpers, first responders, educators, and health care professionals through What If Now Training and Consulting.
Master Trainer
Rick Strait
Rick Strait has more than 23 years of experience working in the substance use field and 13 years working in suicide prevention. He’s a faculty member for the National Zero Suicide Academy and chair of the Missouri Suicide Prevention Network. Rick is a board member of United Suicide Survivors International. Rick is a Master QPR trainer and CALM trainer.
Master Trainer
Kurt Michael
Dr. Kurt Michael retired as the Stanley R. Aeschleman Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University and is now the Vice President, Prevention & Crisis Response at The Jed (JED) Foundation, a national suicide prevention non-profit. Kurt received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Utah State University and completed his internship in Child Clinical Psychology at Duke University Medical Center. For the past 28+ years, he has established and sustained a nationally recognized program for funded research and clinical practice in school mental health, adolescent suicidology, postvention, and rural healthcare. Kurt is a licensed psychologist in Utah, a CALM Trainer, a national consultant for the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), and a shooting sports enthusiast.
Master Trainer
Elizabeth Makulec
Elizabeth Makulec has been working in the field of suicide prevention since 1994, working specifically in youth development, mental health advocacy, and prevention skills training. She is a Master Trainer of ASIST, CALM, QPR, and safeTALK suicide prevention models, and an instructor of all three Mental Health First Aid Core components: Teen, Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid.
Master Trainer
Angela Damon
Angela is passionate about helping people of all backgrounds recognize warning signs, talk openly about difficult topics, and raise awareness around Postvention. She has presented to top Air Force leaders, the Columbus First Responders Conference, the Veterans Affairs Women’s Behavioral Summit, the Columbus Public Health Department, and multiple schools, businesses, and churches. Thanks to her personal experiences and relationships, Angela has witnessed the power of hope in the darkest times and believes it’s the most precious gift that any person can offer another.
Board
Cathy Barber
President
Morisa Henn
Vice President
Steve Eliason
Treasurer
John Paul Jameson
Secretary
In Memory of Elaine Frank, MHS
Elaine Frank was a pioneering leader in injury prevention whose work helped shape the national conversation at the intersection of firearm safety and suicide prevention. For more than fifteen years, she dedicated her career to building meaningful, life-saving connections between public health and firearm communities.
Elaine was the co-developer of CALM (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means) and the Gun Shop Project—two groundbreaking initiatives that have empowered thousands of individuals and organizations to engage in practical, respectful conversations about safe storage and suicide prevention. Through her work in program development, training, and consultation, she brought people together across disciplines, always with a focus on shared goals and mutual respect.
Her approach was thoughtful, collaborative, and deeply human. Elaine believed in meeting people where they are, and in the power of partnership to create lasting change. Her influence continues to be felt in communities across the country through the programs she helped build and the countless lives impacted by them.
We are profoundly grateful for Elaine’s vision, leadership, and unwavering commitment to prevention. Her legacy lives on in the continued work of CALM and in all those who carry her mission forward.