Meet the Analysts

Ms. Schnell is an expert in the field of suicide prevention, intervention, and post-suicide depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. She has received numerous awards for her activism in suicide prevention from county, state, and federal agencies. Janet is the President of Survivors of Suicide of Dubois County (SOS) and was chosen by the Indiana Suicide Prevention Network for their prestigious Torchbearer Award. She is a suicide prevention instructor for Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), and a trainer for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). As a public speaker, Janet shares her experience as a suicide loss survivor, becoming a social worker after her brother's death by suicide. She is a founding member of the National Association of Retrospective Fatality Analysts.

Dr. Sundararaman is a public health physician and leading expert in suicide prevention in the United States. She attained her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Sundararaman started the Massachusetts Suicide Prevention Program and provided guidance to all 50 States and U.S. territories on their suicide prevention program. Since 2010, she has been leading sucide prevention policy, research, and program evaluation for military and Veteran suicide prevention. Dr. Sundararaman has co-developed standardized processes for military and civilian death reviews and led two large research studies using the psychological autopsy process. She has trained researchers across the country and internationally. 

Dr. Staley is the suicide prevention research coordinator at the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner. He conducts near-real time surveillance of suicide mortality, conducts equivocal death investigations, and suicide mortality research. He also oversees other epidemiological work. Staley is currently working on the Utah Youth Suicide Research Project, a major study on teens who died by suicide in Utah. Staley earned his PhD in sociology from the University of New Hampshire.

  Dr. Kelly is the dean of the College of Leadership and Public Service and Chair of the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Dakota Wesleyan University, where she has taught since 2000.  She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research focuses on the causes, treatment and prevention of suicide, the psychological mechanisms underlying suicide ideation, and the cognitive and social factors that influence detection of suicide risk in others. 

Brett began his career in Medicolegal Death Investigation in 1988 and now serves as the Chief Deputy Coroner with the Ada County Coroner’s Office in Boise Idaho. Mr. Harding is a Fellow with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, and the International Association of Coroner’s and Medical Examiners. He is an Affiliate member of the National Association of Medical Examiners and serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Homicide Investigators. Mr. Harding also consultants on psychological autopsy investigations.

Dr. Miskowiec has worked as a licensed independent clinical social worker and suicidologist for nearly 15 years. She has extensive experience working with the law enforcement, first responders, veterans, and people with suicide experiences. Brittany has worked as the Director of Psychological Health at the Minnesota Army National Guard, Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention Subject Matter Expert and developed a national program that services law enforcement, first responders, and veterans. She’s continued to focus on training, education, therapy, and program development for these populations. Brittany incorporates humor into her work while maintaining a deep respect for their unique experiences and emotions.

Dr. Harrison works as a Senior Project Analyst supporting  the Department of Defense Office of Suicide Prevention, located in Alexandria Virginia.  She has been a practicing clinician for 27 years, including ten years at Ft. Carson’s Warrior Transition Unit, and Evans Army Hospital’s Child and Family Behavioral Health System. Having worked most of her career in acute care mental health settings, her valuable experience has inspired her to focus her clinical expertise in the area of suicide prevention. She is a Board Certified Diplomat, accredited as a School Suicide Prevention Specialist,  a Certified Advanced-Child, Youth, and Family Social Worker, and a founding member of the National Association of Retrospective Fatality Analysts.

 In 1958, while examining ambiguous deaths for the LA County Coroner's Office, Dr. Ed Shneidman developed a death review process that he termed the "Psychological Autopsy." In 1968, Dr. Shneidman founded the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) to promote research, public awareness programs, public education, and training for professionals and volunteers. AAS later developed a process to certify Psychological Autopsy Investigators.

On December 05, 2019,  thirty-seven Certified Psychological Autopsy Investigators (PAIs) virtually met to form what would later become the first PAI Committee, established under the sanction of the AAS.

In 2021, seven original PAI Committee members separated from AAS to create their own certifying body,  the Certified Retrospective Fatality Analysis-Consultants. The  Consultants also formed a new post-mortem research and investigative instrument: The Retrospective Fatality Analysis (RFA).