Aimee Coughlin Johnson, LCSW

I strongly believe in spreading hope and working with people through pain and crisis to help them find recovery. I am passionate about advancing firearm suicide prevention. Crisis can pass. Our lives are worth living. I have seen countless people survive crisis and experience the miracles of recovery and newfound hope. Kids and youth need our help to be resilient, find hope and survive crisis.

I have more than 20 years of experience working as a clinical social worker. From direct clinical practice with youth, families and adults in crisis, working with military service members, Veterans and their families, I have the cultural competency to improve the military/civilian divide. I have worked both in the private sector and for the federal government, most recently at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs where I led a portfolio of work to include short-term strategies to reach high risk populations. I have served as a national subject matter expert with specific focus on firearm suicide prevention and lethal means safety strategies, creating and launching media campaigns, building, leading and implementing public private partnerships and leveraging innovation to bring new strategies to the field of suicide prevention.

The work I do is personal. My late grandfather and his brother survived the Holocaust after losing their immediate family and many others. American service members liberated them after a miraculous escape from the Nazi’s. I have always felt a need to be of service to our American military, Veterans and service members from any country who embody freedom and democracy. Those who serve for a mission greater than self-give so many people another chance at living. I believe people in crisis deserve another chance at life. I experienced my first suicide loss in high school and have always felt that people who are in crisis don’t want to die, they want the pain they are experiencing to end. Helping people over the course of my career find hope and recovery has been an honor.

We can do more. Every industry can implement suicide prevention strategies. I work alongside large corporate partners and non-profit organizations to develop comprehensive programs and advise about suicide prevention.

• BS from Whittier College

• MSW from the University of Michigan

• George W. Bush Institute, Veteran Leadership Program

I look forward to collaborating with your organization.