Meet the AFSP National Capital Area Chapter Leadership
9 min read
AFSP National Capital Area Chapter Board of Directors
Larita Goodwin, Board Chair
pronouns: she/her
Witnessing the impact of mental illness and suicidal ideation on a loved one in 2018-2019 ignited a fire in Larita, propelling her to volunteer at the AFSP National Capital Area Chapter's Out of the Darkness Community Walks. In 2020, she became more involved and had a specific interest in raising awareness and reducing stigma in communities of color. Today, Larita not only continues to support our Walks, but she is also a member of our chapter’s DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility) Committee as well as our Education Committee, and is a trained presenter of AFSP’s “More Than Sad” program for parents and educators.
Professionally, Larita is a corporate trainer for a regional staffing agency headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metro area. In her spare time, she is pursuing an advanced degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and enjoys swimming, yoga, attending shows/concerts, and trying new restaurants.
Email: [email protected]
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Ally Bullian, Board Secretary
pronouns: she/her
Ally is a fundraising consultant at O'Brien Garrett in Washington, D.C. where she raises money for large, national non-profit organizations. Suicide prevention and education have been a passion for Ally for over a decade, first training as a volunteer hotline listener for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and now as an AFSP-NCAC Board Member. As a suicide loss survivor, losing her younger brother in 2021, Ally is excited to do her part to help educate about suicide prevention and support other loss survivors. In her free time, Ally loves going to live theater, is an avid reader, and is a huge fan of the WVU Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dave Matthews Band.
Email: [email protected]
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Greg Merritt, Board Treasurer
pronouns: he/him
Greg is a product manager at CARFAX and a passionate Virginia Tech alumnus who served on the Alumni Association National Board of Directors and was President of the local National Capital Region Chapter. He discovered the Loudoun Walk event in 2021 and, as a loss survivor with friends and family who've struggled with suicidal thoughts, immediately connected with AFSP's mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide. Wanting to raise awareness and support for suicide prevention across Loudoun County, Greg joined as an AFSP-NCAC volunteer for the Loudoun Out of the Darkness Walk in 2022 and served as Chair from 2023 - 2025. He now looks forward to applying his many years of volunteer leadership experience to support the broader chapter community. In his free time, Greg enjoys playing tennis, pickleball, and frequenting Loudoun wineries with friends.
Email: [email protected]
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John Sener, Board Member | Volunteer Chair
pronouns: he/him
For almost 20 years, John ran an educational consulting practice focused on co-creating knowledge leading to positive change in education, learning, and society. He is committed to applying his experience, knowledge, and skills toward promoting more meaningful societal awareness and understanding of mental health and suicide. John discovered AFSP as part of his grief journey after losing his son Chris to suicide in 2017. He started his activities with AFSP as a participant/fundraiser in the DC Out of the Darkness Walk in 2018 and the National Out of the Darkness walk in Boston in 2019. John joined the AFSP NCAC board in November 2020, and he has also worked as a volunteer with NCAC’s Marketing and Loss & Healing Committees. In addition to his various volunteer activities, John enjoys spending time training for triathlons and other fitness pursuits, performing improv on a local indie team, dabbling with comedy sketch writing, and who knows what will come up next.
Email: [email protected]
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Carolyn Mooney Board Member | Education Chair
pronouns: she/her
Carolyn is a dedicated advocate for mental health education and a passionate voice for reducing stigma by transforming the way communities talk about mental health. She believes deeply in the power of education—sharing research-informed knowledge and practical strategies—to empower individuals to support those who may be struggling. This work provides her with a strong sense of purpose, connection, and community.
Carolyn began volunteering with the AFSP National Capital Area Chapter (NCAC) Education Committee in 2021. Shortly after joining, she became trained to deliver AFSP’s Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention (TSL) program and soon took on the role of TSL Program Lead. Her commitment and leadership continued to grow, and today she serves as Chair of the NCAC Education Committee. In this role, she oversees all community education programming and tabling events across the National Capital Area.
For Carolyn, the most meaningful aspect of her work is helping create environments where people feel safe, supported, and reminded that they are not alone. This sense of connection is what makes volunteering with AFSP so powerful and fulfilling for her.
Learn more about AFSP's Community Programs.
Email: [email protected]
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Matthew Schojan | Advocacy & Public Chair
pronouns: he/him
Matthew is a global mental health leader with over a decade of experience advancing mental health and psychosocial support across research, policy, program implementation, and systems strengthening. He has worked at and with academic institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, and for international humanitarian nongovernmental organizations to support the integration and scale-up of evidence-based mental health interventions in diverse settings.
Matthew brings both professional and lived experience to his work. He has navigated his own mental health challenges, lost two uncles to suicide as a child, and more recently lost his 19-year-old nephew to suicide in 2023. These experiences inform his commitment to improving access to suicide prevention, care, and support for individuals, families, and communities.
He has held several leadership roles, including Co-Chair of a national Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Technical Working Group, and currently serves as Board Chair of Sweet Tea & Chai Society, a community-based initiative focused on teen mental health, wellness, and belonging. He is actively engaged in suicide prevention advocacy and policy through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s National Capital Area Chapter.
Matthew holds a Master of Science in Public Health from King’s College London and is based in the Washington, D.C. area.
Take action and learn more about how you can advocate for suicide prevention!
Email: [email protected]
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Julie Jubeir, Board Member | Strategic Relations
pronouns: she/her
Julie’s journey with AFSP began in 2018 when she participated in an Out of the Darkness walk to honor a close friend’s daughter. This led to her role as a Strategic Advisor for Camp Jojo, a camp for teens who have lost someone to suicide. Julie’s mission to bring suicide prevention training to youth groups and communities was inspired by a lack of such resources in her nephew's activities. AFSP became her ideal partner for this work. In 2025, she joined the AFSP Board as the lead for Strategic Partnerships, expanding the reach of AFSP’s programs.
Julie holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Her career includes consulting, nonprofit work focused on environmental integration, and extensive experience in private equity. She also serves as a Spouse Officer for the Washington/Baltimore Gold chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).
Email: [email protected]
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Hillary Phillips, Board Member | 2026 Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Walk Chair
pronouns: she/her
Hillary found AFSP years after experiencing suicide loss. She lost her brother, Travis, to suicide in 2006, as well as friends during college. Hillary went looking for a community that understood this type of loss. Her first Out of the Darkness Walk was in 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, she has participated in over 10 Out of the Darkness Walks and 6 Overnight Walks.
Hillary is passionate about the feeling of community and support that exists at AFSP events. They are places where everyone just gets it. And nobody goes alone.
Hillary is a digital marketing and user experience professional. She has an MBA from George Washington University.
Support the Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Community Walk.
Email: [email protected]
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Scott McDonough, Board Member | 2026 Loudoun Out of the Darkness Walk Chair
pronouns: he/him
Scott grew up in Fairfax County and always felt a calling to help others. He received a BA in Psychology and Sociology from Wake Forest University and a MA in Industrial Psychology from UNC-Charlotte and has spent the last 20+ years managing teams and projects supporting recruiting/staffing, human resources, and business operations. He has lived in Loudoun County since 2001, where he was heavily involved in the community as a mentor for at-risk youths, a youth sports coach for a dozen years, and a Scout leader. Scott started volunteering for AFSP in 2024 after losing a close friend to suicide; after serving as the Deputy Chair for the Loudoun Walk in 2025, he stepped into the role of Loudoun Walk Chair in January 2026.
In his spare time, Scott enjoys hiking and biking, attending concerts and local events, and is a big DC sports fan.
Support the Loudoun Out of the Darkness Community Walk.
Email: [email protected]
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AFSP National Capital Area Chapter Volunteer Leadership (Non-Board Positions)
Ali Walker, DHSc, PA-C, Bold Goal Chair
pronouns: she/her
Ali Walker is a long-time volunteer and former Chair of the National Capital Area Chapter (NCAC) of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), a practicing Physician Assistant in Washington, D.C. in adult critical care medicine and clinical quality, and an adjunct instructor at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences Physician Assistant program.
She has been actively engaged in community suicide prevention efforts for the past 14 years following the loss of a friend to suicide. Her early engagement focused on suicide prevention among college students at The Ohio State University, securing annual funding for the ongoing campus-wide suicide prevention event, “RUOK? Day”. In 2017, she joined the NCAC board and served as Chair from 2018-2022. In that time, she has overseen grassroots suicide prevention efforts across Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia, encompassing public education, engagement with local and federal elected officials, peer support for loss survivors, and fundraising for suicide-focused research.
Her current role is focused on bridging system-level gaps in healthcare systems, corrections facilities, and the firearms community through relationship-building and collaboration. Ali also serves on AFSP’s National Chapter Leadership Council and the Leadership Council for the Suicide Prevention Alliance of Northern Virginia. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, yoga, and spending time with friends and family. She lives in Alexandria with her husband Chris and their very spoiled dog Otie and cat Louie.
Email: [email protected]
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Mary Mandell, 2026 Fairfax Out of the Darkness Walk Chair
pronouns: she/her
Mary is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker who brings a deep passion for connecting knowledge with need and empowering individuals through collaborative relationships. Her professional dedication to mental health and community well-being led her to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), where her involvement began through one of her best friends and became personal following the loss of a childhood friend to suicide. Mary has supported AFSP through the Washington, D.C. and Fairfax Out of the Darkness Walks, participated in the D.C. Advocacy Action Day and National Capital Area Construction Hike for Hope, as well as walking with AFSP in the Capital Pride and Fairfax 4th of July parades. She is committed to raising awareness, fostering hope, and supporting others who have been impacted by suicide.
In her free time, Mary enjoys being with family and friends, traveling, biking, and being outdoors. Her experiences and professional insight continue to drive her commitment to AFSP and the communities she serves.
Support the Fairfax Out of the Darkness Walk.
Email: [email protected]
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Regina Ham, 2026 Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Walk Chair
pronouns: she/her
Regina is a global business show producer for an international television station and a sports writer at Philly Sports Network. She first got involved with AFSP-NCAC in October 2021, volunteering at the Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Community Walk. Since then, Regina has served for several years as Chair of our chapter's Paws for Prevention community event and now serves as Deputy Chair of the 2026 Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Walk on October 17th at the Lincoln Memorial.
Regina is a global business show producer for an international television network and a sports writer for the Philly Sports Network. She became involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's (AFSP) National Capital Area Chapter (NCAC) in 2021, volunteering at the Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Community Walk. Since then, Regina has taken on a variety of leadership roles within the chapter, including serving for several years as Chair of the annual Paws for Prevention community event. She currently serves as Deputy Chair for the 2026 Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Walk, which will take place on October 17 at the Lincoln Memorial. Through her volunteer leadership, Regina is committed to advancing AFSP's mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide.
Support the Washington, D.C. Out of the Darkness Walk.
Email: [email protected]
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