Vira Salzburn, virasalzburn@chlink.org

Vira Salzburn is the Program Director for Safety and Resilience programs at Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc. She is a Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Trained Teacher, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) Master Trainer, SafeTALK Trainer, Certified Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM) and Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TSY) Instructor, and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® Facilitator. Vira earned a Master of Science degree in Management, Organizational Behavior and Leadership from Troy University and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in Humanities from Auburn University at Montgomery. Vira is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® with Project Management Institute (PMI) and is currently studying human behavior at Harvard University. She is also a certified Group Fitness Trainer and Group Yoga Instructor with Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA).

Vira is the developer of the upstream suicide prevention approach that uses Mindful-Self Compassion programming for building resilience and enhancing emotional wellbeing.

Vira is a public speaker on suicide prevention, mindfulness, and self-compassion. She has presented at multiple local, state, and national conferences and symposia, and is the 2022 TEDx Savannah presenter.

As a Ukrainian-American and a world traveler, Vira recognizes the importance of overcoming cultural barriers and connecting with others for making a meaningful difference on personal, organizational, and community levels. Since moving to the U.S. in 2007, Vira has had the honor of volunteering as an interpreter and a liaison between Ukrainian orphaned children and American adoptive families, which has greatly impacted her perception of compassion and servanthood and helped her better understand the true meaning behind the idea of “changing the world one life at a time”.

♣  ♣  ♣

Jess Matthewson, Jessica.Matthewson@GatewayBHS.org

Jess Matthewson is the Youth to Adult Program Manager for Gateway Community Service Board and represents Gateway as a Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Trained Teacher.  Jess holds a Masters in Criminal Justice from Boston University, is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Professional, and received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Daniel Webster College.  As the Youth to Adult Program Manager, Jess is able to work with youth and families throughout Chatham and Effingham Counties to assist in accessing mental health resources and supports as well as creating and implementing programming to address gaps and barriers for these individuals.

Jess is passionate about addressing the needs of our community by addressing and preventing trauma for its most vulnerable population, our youth.  Through MSC, Jess is able to introduce techniques and tools for youth and youth serving adults that are trauma responsive and healing in a manner many have not been able to try before.  It is her hope that through this work we may heal the children we serve, heal the child within us all, and prevent future traumas for generations of children to come.

♣  ♣  ♣

Fausta Luchini, fausta@faustasplacetoponder.com

Fausta Luchini became a Whole Person Certified Coach in December, 2018, bringing over 20 years experience as a therapist to this new adventure.  As a therapist, she worked primarily with people who experienced lots of trauma in childhood, or ACEs, Adverse Childhood Experiences. She learned ways to help her clients work through the lingering impact of trauma on their lives and her clients helped her understand their pathways to healing. She is deeply grateful for the people who shared their experiences with her, and awed at the strength and resilience of her clients.  She brings a trauma sensitive lens to her work as a consultant and coach. You may learn more about Fausta’s private practice at faustasplacetoponder.com.