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    Wendy Martinez Farmer, LPC, MBA

    Vice President 988 Strategy, Grants and Clinical Standards
    Vibrant Emotional Health
    New York, New York

    Wendy Martinez Farmer, LPC MBA from Vibrant Emotional Health is Licensed Professional Counselor with over 26 years of crisis experience in the public and private sectors, Wendy holds a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Marquette University and a MBA from Georgia Southern University.

    Since April of 2024, she has served as the Vice President for 988 Strategy, Grants and Clinical standards responsible for 988 program leadership, strategic management, financial oversight and clinical leadership for Vibrant as the 988 Administrator. Prior to joining the Vibrant team, Wendy held positions as the RVP for the Crisis Center of Excellence at Carelon Behavioral Health and the President and CEO of Behavioral Health Link in Atlanta, where she oversaw daily operations of the statewide line as well as 24/7 mobile crisis response services in 104 Georgia counties.

    A suicide prevention leader, she sat on the Standards Training and Practice Committee for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline from 2016 to 2019 has been a member of the Care Transitions Workgroup with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention since 2018 and continues to serve as a member of the Autism and Suicide Workgroup. She served on the Board of Directors for NAMI Georgia from 2020-2023 and also belongs to the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

    Wendy is passionate about ensuring individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis receive the same predictable care individuals with medical emergencies receive. “The response to chest pain is predictable no matter where you live. We demand it. This is not the case for behavioral health emergencies which can also be fatal. Unlike the bystanders and first responders who knew exactly what to do for a heart attack for instance, our family, friends coworkers and even medical professionals are much less likely to know what to do when the emergency is related to mental health or substance use.” She is very invested in the successful launch and ongoing oversight of 988 and believes that community collaboration and the connection between key crisis services are key to ensuring individuals receive life-saving behavioral health care in their moment of need.

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