As Founder, President and CEO, Kevin M. Lynch created The Quell Foundation with the mission to reduce the number of suicides, overdoses, and the incarceration of people with a mental health condition. His drive to create a shift in the care of people who have a mental illness stems from the knowledge he gained and relationships he built while researching his graduate thesis, “Mental Health in Massachusetts: A De facto Criminal Offense.” This research acknowledged that the rates of suicide, opioid addiction, overdose, and incarceration directly correlate to the shortage and lack of access to mental health professionals. Kevin spent 17 years in health care on senior management teams and 12 years in the military as a member of the elite United States Submarine Force. He earned a master’s degree in Health Policy and Administration from The Pennsylvania State University and earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Lynn University, graduating with Summa Cum Laude honors.

Debra L. Ainbinder is a Professor and Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, Clinical Mental Health Program at Lynn University. She is a founding member, officer and executive board member of the International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling, a new division of the American Counseling Association. Dr. Ainbinder is the administrator for the Lynn University Resilience Toolkit, a series of interventions to inspire resilience in the higher education community. She is the Vice Chair of the Academic Resilience Consortium. Dr. Ainbinder also has a private mental health counseling practice in the community and has been on various editorial boards, academic committees, and presented Internationally and nationally on self-care, trauma, resilience, supervision, and counselor education. Debra’s focus is on counselor competency in working with the first responder community and the associated skills for crisis, trauma and resilience counseling.

A twenty-year veteran of the fire service, Michelle Fayed has an extensive background in first responder advocacy. As a firefighter/paramedic, she has firsthand knowledge and lived experience of the impact trauma can have on one’s mental health. As a content developer for the MHFA Fire/EMS program, she was called upon by the National Council for Behavioral Health to advocate for support and funding of mental health awareness education at Congressional Staff Briefing in Washington, D.C. No matter which role Michelle is in, her goal is simple, to combat stigma and empower everyone with the ability to help someone in need.

A former member of the Oklahoma City Fire Department, Chris Fields served Oklahoma City for 31 years, retiring as a Major in 2017. Captured in a photo that would become an iconic symbol of the Oklahoma City Bombing, Fields is committed to helping the first responder community through his own brutal realities of a life spent responding to citizens in their darkest hours. With firsthand knowledge, Fields recounts how 31 years of public service, coupled with the events of that day, combined to take a toll on his life and his family. Now he shares his journey out of the suffering in hopes of helping others avoid the failure and pitfalls, and encourages them to reach out. Chris is Co-founder and co-host of a weekly webinar Trauma Behind the Badge.

A former undercover narcotics agent and 16 year member of S.W.A.T., Doug Monda is an expert in tactical planning and leadership. A 2016 Officer of the Year award recipient, Monda played a critical role in ensuring the safety of his teammates and driving the success of countless missions, resulting in partnerships with the DEA, FBI, ATF, Border Patrol, U.S. Marshall’s Office, DHS, and NASA. After his own personal struggles with post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, leading to a failed suicide attempt, Monda founded Survive First in 2018 to bring awareness to the mental health challenges faced by many first responders. Today, he travels the nation, speaking about his story, and has dedicated his life to helping first responders acknowledge and address career related mental health issues afflicting the responder community. Doug is Co-founder and co-host of a weekly webinar Trauma Behind the Badge.