University of Michigan
Principal Investigator
Lisa Wexler, Phd, MSW
Lisa Wexler is a Professor of Social Work and a Research Professor in the Institute of Social at the University of Michigan. Her work creates hopeful opportunities for prevention, innovation and respect to prevent suicide and harmful substance use and promote wellness. For three decades, Dr. Wexler's work with families, organizations, and Indigenous communities focuses on strengths. Her practical interventions are tailored to the needs of under-resourced settings; and her action research mobilizes social connectedness to reduce risk of suicide and harmful substance use, promote safety, and support mental and relational wellness in people's daily lives.
PC CARES Research Team
Tara Schmidt, MPH
Tara Schmidt is a PC CARES coordinator, providing program support based in Alaska. Raised in Nome and based in Homer, Tara communicates with project partners and community leaders to support coordination of research efforts and contracted work in Alaska. She also organizes data collection activities, public relations, communication, and product development for PC CARES.
University of Michigan
Elizabeth Evans, DHA, MSW
Elizabeth Evans is a community-engaged researcher with over 20 years of experience working with tribal communities and managing program initiatives aimed at health and wellness. She holds a Doctorate in Health Administration and a Master’s in Social Work, focusing on macro and mezzo systems. Dr. Evans serves as a Research Investigator at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research- Research Center for Group Dynamics, where she is dedicated to research initiatives that enhance health outcomes, promotes cultural relevance, and fosters community engagement. She has also served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Social Work and has extensive experience in program evaluation, strategic planning, and community collaboration.
University of Michigan
Guiying (Angel) Zhong
Angel came to the PC CARES team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked as a Research Analyst at the Center for Health Disparities Research after graduating from the University of the Pacific in 2023. As a pre-doctoral research associate, they are taking a participatory, strengths based-approach to suicide prevention and helping translate research into actionable products and takeaways for community members.
Miriam Midoun
Bio to come.
Yasmine Skalli
Bio to come.
Co-Investigator
Diane McEachern
Dr. Diane McEachern is PC CARES developer and Co-PI with Dr. Lisa Wexler. She has been a social worker and University of Alaska Assistant Professor in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Alaska for over 25 years. Currently she is Program Head for the Rural Human Service (RHS) and HUMS AAS degree programs at the University of Alaska, Kuskokwim Campus, in Bethel, Alaska.
University of Washington
Lauren White, PhD, MSW, MPH
Lauren White is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a graduate student of Social Work and Psychology at the University of Michigan.
Her research focus is community driven approaches to mental wellness for rural and indigenous peoples. She has been involved with the PC CARES project since 2018 and is interesting in identifying successful strategies to support facilitators and community members as they host learning circles and implement wellness practices in their communities.
Analysts
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Holly Laws, phd
Holly Laws has been the Director of Methodology at the Center for Research on Families since 2017. Her research focuses on using novel statistical methodologies to examine processes within close relationships implicated in mental and physical health. She conducts analysis of nested longitudinal data to assess within-person change over time. In other words, Dr. Laws’ analysis tells the PC CARES team if and how behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs change for each PC CARES participant during and after their participation in the program.
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Patrick Habecker, PHD
Patrick Habecker is a research assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has a PhD in sociology and a minor in survey research and methodology. Today he works on projects that focus on social networks, community health, and substance misuse. For the PC CARES project, Patrick works with the social network data in order to show how social positions in communities interact with each other.