Roxanne Grobbel, JD, LCSW, RPT-S has an impressive career treating trauma and educating others on trauma treatment as a Certified EMDR Therapist, Consultant, and Trainer; Registered Play Therapy Supervisor and Trainer; and Infant Mental Health Specialist.  She travels nationally conducting workshops and lectures for clinicians on Trauma, EMDR and Play Therapy.  She has been an active advocate for quality services for a diverse range of clients with trauma related disorders.  Roxanne is also a compassionate and highly skilled therapist who helps clients heal from issues including depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, relationship difficulties, and other trauma related problems.  As the owner of Coast to Coast EMDR with offices in Florida, California, and Washington, she and her staff provide EMDR Trauma Intensives for first responders and others from all over the country.  Roxanne brings years of experience as a clinician, Clinical Director, University Instructor, and published author.

Dr. Andy Young is a retired Professor of Psychology and Counseling after 26 years, and has been a negotiator and psychological consultant with the Lubbock Police Department’s SWAT/Negotiator team since 2000. He has been on the negotiating team at the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office since 2008 and is on the team at the Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas Rangers, Special Operations Group, Regions 4 & 5). He is the author of, “Fight or Flight: Negotiating Crisis on the Frontline” and “When Every Word Counts: An Insider’s View of Crisis Negotiations.” He has been added as a third author for the 6th Edition of “Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections” and has been speaking internationally at law enforcement and hostage negotiator conferences since 2014, with his research and writings on negotiations and critical incident response widely published.

Dr. Ashley Stephens is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor, who is licensed in eight states and provides supervision to provisionally licensed social workers in five of them. She completed her doctoral degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University and uses this degree to marry mental health professionals’ well-being with the psychology of work. She earned her master’s in social work from East Tennessee State University and her bachelor’s in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

As a therapist, Dr. Stephens has worked with severe and persistent mental illness, substance abuse, trauma, homelessness, and has trained in a variety of therapeutic styles. The bulk of her training and experience was with Veterans Affairs, working with combat Veterans.

As a consultant and trainer, Dr. Stephens has taught courses in clinical supervision, cultural awareness and competency, mindfulness, burnout, and leadership development. She has coached executive leaders, managers, and front-line employees, while providing opportunities for individuals to grow in the areas of organizational development, burnout prevention, team building, executive development, and training.

Megan Volkov was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska. After graduating from the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) School of Nursing BS program in 2003, she worked as a registered nurse in medical-surgical units, cardiovascular step-down, catheter lab observation, pre-op and post-op, and home health. Obtaining her MS at Loma Linda University in 2009, she worked as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in Southern California and as a nursing educator at Loma Linda University for eight years. She also lived in Portland, Oregon for four years before moving back to Alaska in 2019 to be closer to her family. Achieving a post-master’s DNP from the University of Iowa in 2022, Megan uses her education in leadership and evidence-based practice to work as a nurse practitioner in the community. On her days off she enjoys quality time with her significant other, snuggles with her furbabies, conversations with her dad, and watching British shows with her mom.

Kathryn Arvidson champions accessible mental health treatment for people with disabilities.  Kathryn was diagnosed as a child with a rare degenerative neuromuscular disorder, Pompe’s disease, that impacts her mobility and pulmonary functioning.  Kathryn earned a master’s degree in social work and served as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and supervisor for licensed professional counselors in the fields of mental health, disabilities, and developmental disabilities.  With her professional background in mental health treatment and her lived experience, Kathryn weaves a compelling story about thriving, resilience, and hope.  As the current Ms. Wheelchair Alaska USA, Kathryn, uses her platform “Moving Beyond Surviving, to Thriving” to create positive change for people living with a disability.  Kathryn considers herself an advocate, changemaker, warrior, leader, truth teller, and optimist. 

Kristin Oberman is the Training Director at Alaska Behavioral Health and is responsible for multiple training initiatives with statewide and national impact. She works with an internal team of content experts in behavioral health and external national experts in behavioral health treatment to provide both external facing training (two or more conferences per year, multiple learning communities, several dozen training events) and internal clinical training using an implementation science approach. She supports the ongoing professional development of AKBH staff to implement best practices and evidence-based treatment.

Kristin’s training career has progressed from one-on-one employee training in retail and banking environments to District Training Manager, Regional Training Officer, and then organization wide Learning and Development Manager before joining Alaska Behavioral Health in 2023. Kristin earned certifications in Managing Learning Programs and Creating Leadership Development Programs from the Association for Talent Development in 2022 and 2023.

Outside of work, Kristin enjoys spending time with her family and pets at home or out and about enjoying all that makes living in Alaska great. Kristin has over fifteen years of professional employee and organizational training and development experience.

Troy is an Assistant Program Instructor with Paws for Purple Hearts, a former high school teacher and college baseball coach. His background of coaching and teaching fits nicely in the dog training world, working with clients, and during CAWT sessions.

His activities Include:

• Service dog training & canine assisted therapeutic program for our nation’s warriors.
• Relationship building with Alaska organizations to support Veteran & Military health.
• Coaching high school baseball
  Professional Affiliations:
• Paws for Purple Hearts

Joshua Arvidson, MSS, LCSW  is an expert in trauma-informed care for children, and established the Alaska Child Trauma Center at Alaska Behavioral Health. He has served on the Steering Committee for SAMHSA’s National Child Traumatic Stress Network and is the Principal Investigator for the Military Family Child Trauma Program. He’s also on the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and has presented at over 100 conferences on childhood trauma, including the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.  Joshua serves on the Board of Directors for FOCUS and has designed and taught courses on clinical practice with children and adolescents and childhood trauma for the University of Alaska Anchorage. Joshua has published in the journals, Child Welfare 360, Child Maltreatment, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and Trauma, Abuse and Violence.  He’s been recognized by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce as one of Alaska’s “Top 40 Under 40” and has received a Business Achievement Award for Healthcare from the Anchorage Daily News. Joshua currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Alaska Behavioral Health.

Dr. Dan Cheron is the Vice President of Programs, Implementation, and Training and Chief Psychologist at the Baker Center for Children and Families and an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. He is a licensed psychologist and is current president of the American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Dr. Cheron received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Boston University, where he worked extensively researching and treating children and adolescents experiencing anxiety and traumatic stress at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD). Dr. Cheron specializes in the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices in community provider settings and the use of progress monitoring to facilitate measurement-based care.  He currently leads multiple federal- and state-funded initiatives to train the mental health workforce across the country in the assessment and treatment of youth, including those with  anxiety disorders, traumatic stress, depression, and disruptive behavior problems.  He is the author and co-author of multiple journal articles and book chapters on the topic of anxiety disorders, traumatic stress, training, and implementation of evidence-based practices in children and adolescents.  He lectures locally and nationally to schools, parent organizations, and professional organizations about youth mental health treatment.

Dr. Tracy Neal-Walden (Colonel-USAF, Retired) is the Chief Clinical Officer for Cohen Veterans Network (CVN). She leads the development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines, training, quality assurance, and patient safety for CVN’s national network of clinics.  Dr. Neal-Walden is a clinical psychologist and served on active duty in the Air Force for 24 years in numerous senior leadership, clinical, and teaching positions, plus a deployment to Iraq. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Drexel University-Hahnemann Medical Campus in Philadelphia, PA, and completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in clinical health psychology at the Wilford Hall Medical and Surgical Center in San Antonio, TX.  Dr. Neal-Walden’s specializes in cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety, PTSD, suicide assessment and intervention, and treatment of behavioral health clients with co-occurring physical health conditions often related to trauma to include combat trauma.  Moreover, she is an active leader, advocate, speaker, and scholar in the mental health community and currently serves on numerous councils and boards to include the Editorial Board of APA Division 12’s journal, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association’s National Advisory Council, and Centerstone Military Services’ National Policy Committee.    

Carolyn is a clinician at AKBH with a strong background in human and social services. She graduated from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and earned a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Walden University. Carolyn served 9.5 years in the military and is a disabled Army wartime veteran. Carolyn is a passionate advocate for social justice, dedicated to creating positive change and fostering inclusivity within her local community.

She is also the owner, heart and soul  behind Greater Works Caring Center, leading with warmth and a deep commitment to providing culturally inclusive care. With over 20 years of experience, Carolyn has a rich history in Spiritual and Mental Health Counseling, offering support to individuals and families of all ages. Her therapeutic approach is grounded in compassion and includes a variety of modalities such as EMDR, DBT, CBT, the ARC framework, TF-CBT, and CPT. Carolyn takes a client-centered approach, partnering with each individual on their unique journey toward healing, growth, and recovery.

Dana Foglesong, MSW, LCSW, NCPS, CRPS is a nationally recognized leader in peer support and recovery-oriented systems transformation. With a deep passion for creating person-centered, trauma-informed and inclusive approaches to care, Dana has spent her career driving policy and practice changes that amplify the voices of those with lived experience.

A champion for peer support workforce development, Dana co-led the creation of the National Practice Guidelines for Peer Support Supervisors and played a pivotal role in advocating for the recognition of peer support specialists as a distinct occupational classification. She also led advocacy efforts that secured a dedicated reimbursement code for peer support services in Medicare. Dana received peer support services at a critical time in her journey and has provided peer support and supervised peer support specialists, experiences that have deeply informed her work and commitment to ensuring access to these critical services.

Dana holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Central Florida and is a licensed clinical social worker, as well as a nationally certified peer specialist (NCPS) with 15 years of experience in peer support. She has held national leadership positions in nonprofit and government sectors working to advance equitable access to recovery support services and foster meaningful collaboration between individuals, families and service systems.

In her role, Suzette is a Senior Member of the clinical team at the Anchorage Cohen Clinic and champion of targeted, measurement-based care. In addition to providing direct clinical care. She strives to ensure that our clients receive high-quality, client-centered care that adheres to the fidelity of proven evidence-based practices best suited for the military and veteran community. She is a provider of CBT, CBT-I, CPT, EMDR, Compassion Focused Therapy, and enjoys speaking to audiences of wide variety about building and maintaining mental/behavioral health and well-being, boosting resiliency, building helpful coping strategies, and creating space for Trauma-Informed supportive services and interpersonal interactions.

Anthony is a retired Air Force veteran of 23 years, and a Program Instructor with Paws for Purple Hearts. As a combat veteran he has seen first-hand how working with the dogs at PPH has helped his mental well-being and is passionate about doing this for other veterans. He aims to do this by supporting the PPH mission of training quality service dogs and working with Alaska’s military community.
His activities include:

• Service dog training and canine assisted therapeutic program for our nation’s warriors.
• Fostering relationships with Alaska organizations to support veteran and military health.
  Professional Affiliations, Licensure’s & Certificates:
• Paws for Purple Hearts
• Alaska SPCA
• Bachelor of Science from UAA

Melissa is a SR Program Instructor with Paws for Purple Hearts, an Air Force veteran, a retired Nurse, a Certified NATIONAL Crisis Response & registered Therapy Dog Team with her canine, Reagan. These roles have fortified a passion for connecting individuals and responders to support for recovery and resilience building before, during and after critical times. She aims to strengthen her community by sharing resources and empowering others to help themselves and those they serve.

Her activities Include:

• Service dog training & canine assisted therapeutic program for our nation’s warriors.
• Relationship building with Alaska organizations to support Veteran & Military health.
• Engagement with trauma support agencies and first responders to facilitate crisis intervention
  and the development of healthy coping mechanisms.
• Support survivors of abuse as they navigate the legal system.
  Professional Affiliations:
• Paws for Purple Hearts
• American Red Cross
• Registered Nurse AK, OK & MI
• Alaska Responds, volunteer emergency medical professional
• NATIONAL Crisis Response Canines, certified response team
• Alliance of Therapy Dogs Registered team and Evaluator
• International Critical Stress Foundation (ICISF)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC)
• JBER Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPRO)
• Hospice of Anchorage Grief Support
• Anchorage Police Citizen Academy
• FBI Citizen Academy
• APD Crisis Intervention Training

Leah spent 7 years in the United States Coast Guard, serving in Florida, California and Alaska. While in California she spent 3 years assigned on the high endurance cutter the USCGC Munro as a Telecommunications Specialist. Her Coast Guard career allowed her to travel to places like Mexico and Japan. Her secondary assignment was a law enforcement boarding team member, conducting maritime law enforcement operations.

Leah began a career with the Anchorage Police Department which lasted for 22 years. She recently retired from the Police Department in 2025 to begin her dream job of working with dogs, specifically working for the Non-Profit Organization Paws for Purple Hearts working with service dogs in training.

Leah’s love for dogs gave her the experiences to compete in dog sports such as confirmation and agility. Her love for hiking with her current pup allows them to have many outdoor adventures together in her time off.

MaryBeth Goodman is the Director of the Cohen Clinics at Alaska Behavioral Health, a grant organization of the Cohen Veterans Network supporting the SMVF community. With 28 years of clinical experience, MaryBeth earned her undergraduate degrees in mathematics, physics, philosophy, and education from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. She continued her graduate studies in counseling and psychology at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. She is a licensed mental health clinician and does licensure reciprocity advocacy to ensure military and veteran spouses have licensure portability.

As the spouse of an Air Force combat veteran, MaryBeth intimately understands the challenges faced by military families. Residing in Eagle River, Alaska, with her two children and a not-so-obedient basset hound, she navigates the complexities of military life with insight and empathy. Growing up as an Army brat, MaryBeth’s background strengthens her connection with the military community. Her clinical focus addresses various issues, including PTSD, trauma, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, divorce, addiction, and sensory integration issues.

Her enduring commitment to fostering healing reflects not only her clinical expertise but also her ability to navigate the delicate balance between personal and professional life with grace and professionalism. She works with adults, children, and families and has yet to find a corner of the world where hope does not exist.