Jabari Addae
Officer Jabari Addae has spent 13 years in law enforcement in both the Washington State Patrol and the Seattle Police Department. He is currently assigned to SPD’s Crisis Response Unit and Hostage Negotiation Team. He was a CIT coordinator in 2023. A Seattle native, he is dedicated to serving our Seattle communities with humility.
Zee Andrignis
Zee Andrignis (they/them) is the mental health professional supervisor with the Seattle Police Department’s Crisis Response Team, where they have worked since 2016. They have a master’s in social work from the University of Washington. With a passion for supporting others doing co-response work, they are currently working on the creation of CROA’s Peer Support Team.
Brook Buettner
Brook Buettner is the inaugural executive director of the groundbreaking Regional Crisis Response Agency, which is transforming the first response system in North King County by deploying crisis clinicians to people experiencing behavioral health emergencies. Buettner is an experienced human services professional with a focus on policy advocacy and program implementation for high-needs populations.
Throughout her career, Buettner has consistently served populations experiencing chronic homelessness, substance use disorder, and severe and persistent mental illness. She is passionate about diversion and transforming systems to better meet the needs of individuals in crisis. She holds master’s degrees in public administration and social work from the University of Washington, and she is a licensed independent clinical social worker.
David Busz
David Busz has been involved in the fire service for more than 30 years, starting as a volunteer resident firefighter, then spending 30 years with the Seattle Fire Department and the last few as the fire chief in a combination career/volunteer fire department in Washington state.
He had the good fortune to be surrounded by amazing people his entire career and was able to experience many of the opportunities presented by a metro fire department. He served as a firefighter, engine driver and a lieutenant. Being a perpetual student, he took advantage of every opportunity, working in human resources, training and operations. Through collaboration that recognizes problems and creates solutions, he has been able to navigate the juncture of tasks and politics. “I have the energy to really push the status quo and keep things moving even when it gets uncomfortable and difficult. Of course, I’m striving to do this with professionalism and humor,” he recently observed.
David coordinated the creation of a countywide Special Operations Rescue Team. He is a member of an Incident Management Team and sits on several E911 boards. He is currently involved with the Grays Harbor E911 radio upgrade project, which is tasked with upgrading/replacing the existing 911 system. He enjoys working on co-responder curriculum and is determined to help create a better path forward so that we truly take care of the caregivers.
Off work, he spends time with his family on their small farm. He loves training his hunting dogs, bird hunting and coaching fastpitch, baseball and basketball.
Stephanie Butler
Stephanie Butler is a licensed clinical social worker currently serving the cities of Snoqualmie and North Bend as a mental health professional and co-responder. Early in her career, she established a private practice dedicated to supporting youth and children facing behavioral health challenges stemming from childhood trauma. With a strong foundation in compassion and advocacy, she has developed a robust expertise in crisis intervention and trauma-informed care.
Stephanie recognizes the critical importance of collaboration among mental health professionals, fire departments, law enforcement and other first responders in crisis situations. She advocates that connection is the most valuable tool on the scene, and she emphasizes that active listening leads to identifying the least restrictive environment for individuals in distress.
In addition to her clinical work, Stephanie has extensive experience in curriculum development and instruction. As the lead architect for the BHCore’s Co-Response Training Academy at the University of Washington, she plays a pivotal role in shaping training programs that enhance the effectiveness of crisis response teams.
Natasha Grossman
Natasha Grossman, MSW, is the program manager for Bellevue Fire CARES, a co-response program in the Bellevue Fire Department that responds and provides resources to vulnerable populations served by fire and police during and after 911 calls. In addition to responding to calls in progress, CARES MHPs staff the Community Crisis Assistance Team Co-Response unit with Bellevue Police officers.
Before joining Bellevue Fire CARES in 2013, Natasha was a faculty member and program director at the University of Washington, School of Social Work. She has over 25 years of experience in
direct service, policy advocacy, program implementation, management, and evaluation
as well as grant writing and grant making. Natasha served for two years on the Social
Justice Board for the National Association of Social Workers and currently serves on the
board of the Co-Responder Outreach Alliance.
Joel Grow
Joel is a clinical psychologist and mindfulness facilitator based at the Seattle Mindfulness Center. A member of the development team for the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) program, he continues to lead MBRP groups and trainings. He is also a certified teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). He facilitates MSC groups both in-person and online, serves as a member of the Center for MSC’s “Circles of Practice” teacher community, and co-facilitates the monthly MSC for Men groups.
His background includes providing behavioral health care and trainings/workshops in community agencies, VA and private hospitals, specialized medical settings, corporations, and government agencies. Before graduate school, he spent six years as a software engineer and in-house trainer/instructor at Amazon.com. He also co-developed and served as lead instructor for a nine-month University of Washington certificate program for nine years, and was awarded the UW Award for Teaching Excellence.
He is excited to share mindfulness and self-compassion practices, which have been so helpful in enriching his own life and relationships, and he especially welcomes folks who are skeptical or uncertain.
Kimberly Hendrickson
Kimberly Hendrickson is director of the City of Poulsbo’s Housing, Health and Human Services Department where she works on projects increasing access to healthcare, housing and social services. She oversees that city’s Recovery Resource Center—a friendly, low-barrier hub for health and recovery services in North Kitsap County. Kim helped to develop the City of Poulsbo’s police navigator program, the Poulsbo Fire Department’s CARES program and Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue’s CARES program. From 2018 to 2023, she encouraged the growth of co-response programs throughout the state through the Co-Responder Outreach Alliance (CROA). She is the co-founder of the University of Washington Center for Behavioral Health Crisis Outreach Response and Education (BHCore) where she promotes fire department-based behavioral health initiatives.
Wendy Lustbader
Wendy Lustbader, MSW, is the author of several books that have earned her a national reputation in the field of aging. She is also a popular speaker at conferences throughout the United States and Canada, using storytelling to animate complex subjects. Additionally, she is a skilled psychotherapist, having worked almost 20 years with people from all walks of life at a community clinic in downtown Seattle. Currently, she is a clinical professor at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work.
Wendy’s first book was co-authored with Nancy Hooyman, Taking Care of Aging Family Members. Her second book, Counting on Kindness, helps readers comprehend the complex feelings which arise when we become dependent on others for help. Her latest books are What’s Worth Knowing, a collection of pithy insights gathered from older people, and Life Gets Better, which explores how life improves as we get older on every level except the physical.
Chelsea Parsons
Chelsea Parsons is the senior director of implementation at Everytown for Gun Safety. In this role, she leads the Everytown Implementation Center, an initiative to provide comprehensive support and guidance to state and local leaders on the effective implementation of lifesaving gun laws.
With more than a decade of experience leading the development of innovative gun violence prevention policies, she has helped policymakers across the country to craft legislative and executive action measures to strengthen gun laws and reduce gun violence at the federal, state and local level.
Before joining Everytown, Parsons led the gun violence prevention policy program at the Center for American Progress and previously served as general counsel to the New York City Mayor’s Office and as an assistant New York state attorney general.
Nicole Picknell
Captain Nicole Picknell has 36 years of fire-ground experience, including wildland and structural firefighting, 30 years as a paramedic, and 30 years in the exercise, fitness and nutrition industry. She has spent the last five years overseeing the Community Resource Paramedic team at South Snohomish Fire and Rescue Regional Fire Authority (South County Fire). In the last five years, she has expanded the CPR program staff from two people to more than 15, including 24/7 CRPs, care coordinators (CHWs), adult family home/senior advocates, and a buprenorphine response program. The South County Fire team is also involved in the new UW COAST behavioral health training program.
Nicole is dedicated to supporting firefighters, police officers and first responders in health and wellness. She supports people in health and nutrition as a personal trainer, exercise instructor, nutrition coach, yoga instructor, Yoga for First Responder instructor and Buti yoga instructor.
Matt Quackenbush
Matt Quackenbush has been an advocate for change within the mental health community for nearly two decades. He has more than 1,000 hours of on-stage speaking experience and is known for his delivery of thought-provoking ideas. Matt is currently engaged in a national speaking tour with Deer Hollow Recovery and 1st Watch Wellness, where he educates first responders, veterans and their families on the profound impact of stress, trauma and PTSD. His popular training program showcases the most up-to-date best practices for addressing the mental health crisis within the first responder and veteran communities.
In addition to his speaking engagements, Matt hosts the critically acclaimed Finding Strength podcast, where he explores mental health, resilience and personal growth, providing valuable insights to thousands of listeners. He is also a certified Mind-Body Bridging therapist, specializing in a range of evidence-based trauma treatment models, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), psychodrama and mindfulness techniques. With more than 15,000 hours of trauma-focused therapy, he brings extensive expertise to his work.
Matt was recently honored with the Outstanding Leadership Award at the Health 2.0 International Healthcare Conference for his innovative work creating widespread change across the healthcare landscape. He is currently pursuing a PhD in psychology, studying neuroscience and trauma, with a focus on first responders. His dedication, expertise and dynamic speaking style continue to make him a highly respected professional in the mental health community, empowering individuals and promoting healing and resilience in the face of trauma.
Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
Ali Rowhani-Rahbar is the Bartley Dobb Professor for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Professor of Epidemiology, Professor of Pediatrics, Adjunct Professor of Public Policy & Governance, and Director of the Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program at the University of Washington. He evaluates community-based interventions, social programs and public policies for their impact on multiple forms of violence with a particular emphasis on preventing firearm-related harm. Specifically, he has led and contributed to numerous studies and projects on the use and impact of Extreme Risk Protection Orders in Washington and several other states.
In recognition of his impactful research, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2023 and Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2024. He received his MD from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran, MPH from Yale University and PhD from University of Washington. He completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University and a research fellowship at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.
Jennifer Stuber
Dr. Jennifer Stuber is a professor at the UW School of Social Work, who transformed her professional trajectory due to her lived experience as a suicide-loss survivor. Dr. Stuber co-founded and directed Forefront Suicide Prevention and for a decade championed several state laws in suicide prevention. Today, she is on the CORE faculty at the UW SMART Center, supporting workforce development for school-based behavioral health professionals and suicide prevention in schools. She recently launched BHCore or Behavioral Health Crisis Outreach Response and Education, a new initiative to support front-line responders and the people they serve. She dreams of a day when people in crisis in Washington state can experience a well-organized and compassionate crisis response system that sets them up for long-term recovery.
Juliana Wallace
Juliana Wallace, a passionate advocate for trauma-informed care and recovery, has more than two decades of experience in social services, healthcare leadership and behavioral health policy. She has held pivotal leadership roles at organizations such as Outside In, OHSU, Unity Center for Behavioral Health, and served as director of a behavioral health initiative in the Office of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. Currently, Juliana serves as the senior director of behavioral health at Central City Concern.
A lifelong learner dedicated to the power of love, resilience and healing, Juliana has more than 15 years of experience as a trainer and national presenter. She has taught trauma-informed care in Portland State University’s Graduate School of Social Work and is recognized for her dynamic, compassionate approach to education and leadership.
Her clinical practice centers on the interplay of trauma, stress and coping, emphasizing self-reflection, vulnerability and creating safe spaces for growth. Rooted in a humanistic and somatic-based approach, Juliana weaves these principles into her work as a clinician, leader and trainer, fostering open-hearted, impactful connections across all aspects of care and service.
Kimberly Wyatt
Kimberly Wyatt is a senior deputy prosecuting attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Kim has worked on cases involving domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and other crimes of violence. Since 2018, she has been part of the Regional Domestic Violence Firearms Enforcement Unit, where she advises law enforcement and families on all aspects of Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
In 2023, Kim was selected as a subject-matter expert on Extreme Risk Protection Orders for the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions grant from the Department of Justice. That same year, she was selected to serve as a member on the Washington State Byrne SCIP Advisory Board. In 2022, she was appointed to the Illinois State Firearms Restraining Order Commission. In 2021 and again in 2019, she testified before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, regarding Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
Kim is also the co-author of a Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) publication, Practitioners’ Perspective on Extreme Risk Protection Orders, published in June 2020. She received a B.A. from Pepperdine University and a J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.