The TLC staff’s day-to-day operations are managed by a Project Coordinator responsible for general duties associated with the implementation of the TLC Project, which includes training, networking, advocacy on behalf of the project. The Trainer and Postvention Specialist is charged with gatekeeper trainings, assisting the Coordinator in creating resource directories and participation in and organization of advocacy activities. The Administrative Assistant handles the administrative aspects of the project, including bookkeeping and scheduling of trainings.
Michele Daniel, BBA, MA
TLC Project Coordinator
As Project Coordinator, Daniel manages daily operation of the program and oversees duties associated with implementation of TLC, including management of TLC staff, coordination of training sessions, inter-agency networking, and advocacy for suicide prevention within the realm of public policy.
Prior to her work with TLC, Daniel was a mental health clinician, program consultant, and trainer within the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies’ Center for Psychotherapy Research & Policy. Here she developed and supervised implementation of program materials and lesson plans for elementary-level social skills, character education, and behavior modification programs. She also provided individual and group counseling for elementary school students and their families. She has also worked as a family therapist and student advisor for the Carlbrook School in Halifax, Virginia, where she coordinated postvention services following the suicide death of a student, and at the Three Springs Outdoor Therapeutic program in Centerville.
Daniel was also a Senior Mental Health Case Manager at Dede Wallace Center Mental Health Agency (now Centerstone) from 1997 to 2002, ultimately serving as Team Leader and named Counselor of the Year. While working as a Family Literacy Coordinator for Americorps’s Read, Inc., program, she was elected by her peers to represent the agency at conferences and mediate corps conflict issues. Additionally, Daniel is certified in the CPI nonviolent crisis intervention program, Quantum Learning Training, and the Bullies to Buddies Program.
Daniel graduated magna cum laude from the Counseling Psychology master’s program at Trevecca Nazarene University, and she also holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Belmont University. She is a member of the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute and the Tennessee Psychological Association.
Daniel may be reached at [email protected] or at (615) 312-3115.
Christen Thorpe, MS, CRC
TLC Trainer and Postvention Specialist
As project trainer and postvention specialist, Thorpe delivers suicide awareness training to youth, young adults, professionals and other community groups and assists in the development of the postvention plan, delivery of postvention education, and provision of postvention consultations. Thorpe networks with existing professional conferences, trainings, and in-services to provide youth suicide prevention workshops.
Prior to her work with TLC, Thorpe worked as a case manager intern at Ridgeview Institute, a leading private hospital in the Atlanta area nationally recognized for its psychiatric evaluations, as well as treatment in addictions, crisis, general mental health, and eating disorders. Here, Thorpe provided daily individual counseling services to youth who engaged in self harming behavior, had suicidal ideation, and had engaged in suicidal behavior, and co-facilitated weekly family sessions with clients. Thorpe daily led group counseling sessions with an average of eight clients per group, and taught Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for an average of 15 clients. While at Ridgeview, Thorpe created and coordinated the development of Dialectical Behavior Therapy lesson plans for younger adolescents within the program.
Thorpe participated in Darkness to Light Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Training at the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy and went on to engage in research at Georgia State University on child sexual abuse and appropriate trauma-focused therapy. Thorpe presented at the Georgia College Counseling Association on the basics of Animal Assisted Therapy in action for practitioners and its relevance to trauma. Thorpe was a volunteer at Caminar Latino, a non-profit organization centered on holistically treating entire families affected by incarceration, sexual abuse, and domestic violence within the Atlanta Hispanic population. Here, she facilitated and led play therapy, art therapy, and group therapy for physically and sexually abused children ages four to seven.
Thorpe graduated magna cum laude from Georgia State University with a Master’s of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling, and went on to become a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. Thorpe holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Auburn University and is a member of the American Counseling Association, and the Rehabilitation Counseling Association.
Thorpe may be reached at [email protected] or at (615) 312-3117.
Tiffany Orth, BS
Administrative Assistant
As administrative assistant, Orth provides administrative support to the TLC project coordinator. This position maintains training records, material inventory and minutes from TLC Task Force meetings. Orth also uses her experience in design to create new brochures, update existing marketing materials and maintain the TLC portion of the TSPN website.
Prior to her work with TLC, Orth worked as a administrative specialist/web developer for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Here, Orth coordinated the daily operations of the Development office, maintained master calendars for three managers, ordered and tracked all supplies for the Mission Advancement office and served on the core committee for the annual picnic benefit. She worked closely with the director of Mission Advancement and provided computer training/troubleshooting to sisters and staff. While at the Ursuline Sisters, Orth spearheaded the website redesign, social marketing integration and online donation platform.
Orth volunteers with a variety of health, environmental and civil rights organizations. She volunteered with the American Red Cross Big Rivers Chapter after planning the Save Darfur Benefit Concert in 2007, an event that showcased five local bands and raised awareness of the genocide in Darfur on campus by 80%. At the Red Cross, Orth worked closely with the chapter president to recruit volunteers and create a sustainable marketing plan.
Orth graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College with a Bachelors of Science in Corporate Communications. In her senior year, she was the first Teaching Assistant and Leadership Program fellow for the Communications department. In this fellowship, she planned and implemented the Ed Ryan Lecture Series featuring Dr. Tony Brown and managed three interns.
Orth may be reached at [email protected] or at (615) 312-3118.
