This conference is at capacity and we are no longer accepting registrations.
Emergency Management and Crisis Conference
This event will bring together first responders, emergency preparedness and management professionals, county health professionals, crisis providers, community stakeholders, and the Regional Behavioral Health Authority. Participants will hear from experts in the field of crisis and first responder integration. Participants will discuss the crisis system, crisis response, emergency response, and the interplay with local emergency response systems. Small group tabletop scenarios and facilitated discussions will round out the day.
Coconino County – High Country Conference Center
201 West Butler Avenue | Flagstaff, AZ 86001
AUGUST 29, 2024
There is no fee for this conference
Check-in for the conference: 8:00 and 9:00 am. The conference will begin at 9:00 am and last until 4:00 pm.
Speakers:
Margie Balfour, MD, PhD
Dr. Margie Balfour is a psychiatrist and national leader in crisis care, quality improvement, and law enforcement responses to behavioral health emergencies. She is Chief of Quality & Clinical Innovation at Connections Health Solutions and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona. Dr. Balfour was named Doctor of the Year by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing for her leadership at the Crisis Response Center in Tucson, Arizona, and received the Sam Cochran Criminal Justice award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness for her work to help law enforcement better serve people with behavioral health needs. She co-authored Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System: Essential Elements, Measurable Standards, and Best Practices, and her work on crisis outcome measurement has been cited as a national standard. Dr. Balfour is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and serves on the APA Council on Quality of Care. She has also served on the boards of the American Association for Community Psychiatry, American Association for Emergency Psychiatry, and numerous expert panels for SAMHSA, the DOJ, and others. A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Dr. Balfour received a BA in Biology at Johns Hopkins University and then her MD and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati. She completed residency and fellowship in Community Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Joel Bunis
Mr. Joel Bunis is the Outbreak Response Division Manager for Coconino County Health and Human Services. In this role, he is responsible for the epidemiology, communicable disease investigations, and public health emergency preparedness programs for Coconino County. Prior to joining Coconino County, Mr. Bunis was employed by the Arizona Department of Health Services in a variety of roles. Most recently, he was a Lean Coach implementing a version of lean management at the health department and other state agencies by reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Previous to that, he was the Bureau Chief for Long Term Care responsible for regulating the long-term care industry in Arizona, and the Office Chief for public health emergency preparedness ensuring the Arizona health care system was prepared for all hazards. He holds a BA in Business Management, an MBA in Public Administration, and is a graduate of the Harvard University National Preparedness Leadership Institute, Cohort IX.
Amy Devins
Ms. Amy Devins leads the First Responder Services and Urgent Engagement teams within the Crisis Services and Justices Services Division of Arizona Complete Health-Complete Care Plan, the Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) in seven Southern Arizona counties and five Northern Arizona counties. In this role, Ms. Devins and her staff are responsible for developing partnerships with first responder agencies to increase first responder confidence in, and usage of, crisis system alternatives to detention and emergency departments. With 15 years of experience as a detective and patrol officer in Colorado and Wyoming, Ms. Devins understands the need for robust crisis services ready to serve their communities. She is a proud University of Iowa alumna and a passionate advocate of emergency services peer support programs, Critical Incident & Crisis service delivery, Resiliency: 5 Skills training, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT). Additionally, Ms. Devins serves as Chair of the Hearts of Gold Police Family Outreach Foundation.
Geoff Kuhn
Mr. Geoff Kuhn has served as a dedicated and experienced professional in the 911 emergency services and communications fields for over 25 years, acting in various leadership and executive roles. Geoff has been at the forefront of developing and implementing innovative services in the 911 environment, including police and fire communications consolidation, crisis call diversion, and various alternative response initiatives that include 311 integration into the 911 system. As a seasoned emergency communications professional having held Registered Public Safety Leader and Emergency Number Professional certifications, Geoff brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insights to the table. As a Public Safety executive, Geoff has navigated high-pressure situations, worked closely with first responder agencies of all disciplines, and understands the complexities and demands faced during critical and large-scale emergency responses. Having served as the regional 911 system administrator for Pima County and executive sponsor of various alternative response initiatives, Geoff has been instrumental in implementing innovative programs enhancing emergency resources availability while providing improved service delivery to the community by placing the right work in the right hands starting with the initial 911 call. Geoff continues to advocate for continuous improvement by empowering and mentoring future emergency communications leaders and sharing a desire to rethink workflows, protocols, and approaches in the 911 environment.
William “Bill” Mitchell
Bill is a former Military Police Officer with the Arizona Army National Guard and a Retired Patrol Corporal with the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office. He was stationed in the Tusayan/Grand Canyon District that covers approximately 7000 square miles and he continues to teach even in retirement at the Northern Arizona Regional Police Academy and teaches Resiliency/PTSD in Law Enforcement class. Bill has made an impact in his role with Arizona Complete Health as a First Responder Liaison for Coconino and Yavapai counties. With this new opportunity Bill gets to continue to use his knowledge, experience and passion to help his community by coordinating crisis services for first responder agencies throughout Northern Arizona.
Sgt. Jason Winsky
Sgt. Jason Winsky is a 20-year veteran of the Tucson Police Department, where he has led the creation and growth of mental health programs that serve the community’s most vulnerable populations. He supervises TPD’s pioneering Mental Health Support Team, a squad of officers, detectives, and co-responders dedicated to positive, compassionate responses to persons experiencing a mental health crisis, and he assisted with the development of the Substance Use Resource and Homeless Outreach Teams. Each year these teams have thousands of interactions with individuals in crisis and are able to defuse the crisis, divert and deflect away from the jail, and transport individuals to treatment, without using force. A skilled educator, Sgt. Winsky trains police officers in communication and de-escalation techniques across southern Arizona. He is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and has taught over 1,000 officers in Crisis Intervention Team Training. Under his leadership, TPD was designated a Police-Mental Health Collaboration Learning Site by the US Department of Justice and won the Mental Health First Aid Community Impact Award from the National Council for Behavioral Health. The Arizona Capitol Times named him the 2016 Healthcare Leader of the Year, and in 2021 he received the St. Thomas More Award for his lifelong dedication to community service and integrity in the field of law enforcement. Sgt. Winsky is a native of Tucson, where he graduated from the University of Arizona prior to joining the Tucson Police Department.