Paul Lawson

Morning Keynote

Workplace Wellbeing • Construction & Blue-Collar Industries • Suicide Prevention

For nearly 90 years, blue-collar trades have made tremendous strides in physical safety. Paul Lawson brings that same safety mindset to another challenge facing the workforce: suicide, overdose, and mental wellbeing. This session will share practical strategies and program ideas employers can use to build a culture of care and make wellbeing and suicide prevention part of workplace health and safety.

What You’ll Learn

• Why suicide prevention and wellbeing belong within workplace health and safety

• Ways companies can partner with the wellbeing sector to develop proactive mental health programs

• How blue-collar industries can apply their history of safety innovation to mental wellbeing

About Paul

Paul Lawson is an award-winning speaker, trainer, and consultant specializing in workplace mental health, suicide prevention, and culture development within the construction industry. He is Founder & CEO of Paul Lawson Helps LLC, where he works with leadership, safety, HR, and field operations to strengthen workplace mental health.

Paul previously served as Risk Management Coordinator and Lead Mental Health Advocate for Mid-City Electric and currently serves as an At-Large Director for the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

Jason Hughes, Jared Combs & Scott Light

10:15 AM

What happens when humor, culture, and suicide prevention come together? This panel explores two different campaigns with one common goal: reaching more men and helping them open up about mental health. Presenters will discuss Man Therapy, which uses humor to challenge stereotypes about men, and Life Side Ohio, which reaches firearms owners and communities including veterans, retailers, and first responders.

What You’ll Learn

• How gender norms, masculinity, stigma, and cultural expectations influence men's willingness to seek help

• How firearm ownership, mental health, suicide prevention, and community identity intersect

• Strategies for reducing stigma and increasing pathways to support through targeted outreach and culturally responsive communication

About Jason Hughes

Jason Hughes is Director of Training and Veteran Relations for the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, where he directs Man Therapy Ohio, the Workplace Prevention program, and the Ohio Department of Health Adult Male Suicide Prevention grant. He also co-leads the Ohio Governor's Challenge Team focused on suicide prevention among service members, veterans, and their families.

A retired U.S. Army veteran with 22 years of service, Jason is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant, QPR Master Trainer, and certified instructor in several suicide-prevention programs.

About Jerrod Combs

Jerrod Combs is a Program Coordinator with the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, supporting Life Side Ohio and Man Therapy and working with agricultural communities and outdoor enthusiasts to expand access to mental health programs and resources.

A former U.S. Army medic, Jerrod brings personal and professional experience to his work with veterans and also works to strengthen mental health supports within first responder and agricultural communities.

About Scott Light

Scott Light is a communications professional, storyteller, and public speaker whose work through Lighthouse Communications includes supporting nonprofit organizations in mental health, suicide prevention, and other community issues.

Before entering communications consulting, Scott spent more than 25 years in television news as an anchor, interviewer, political specialist, and public-affairs host. His broadcasting career included assignments across four continents and earned him seven Emmy Awards.

Jake Ross, LISW-S, LCSW | The Ross Wellness Group 

11:15 AM

MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH • APPALACHIA • MEANING & PURPOSE • SUICIDE PREVENTION

Appalachia is deeply familiar with survival—pushing through, carrying the weight, and doing what needs to be done. Jake Ross explores what happens when survival becomes the strategy for getting through not just a difficult week, but years of hardship.

Drawing from his work in men’s mental health and his experience in behavioral health, Jake will examine meaning and purpose as protective factors, the small internal systems that can help sustain people between crisis points, and the systems organizations build around them. The session challenges attendees to think beyond reacting to crisis and toward creating supports that help people—including men who may be accustomed to simply pushing through—stay connected to meaning and support.

The core session content focuses on survival, meaning, and systems in Appalachia.

What You’ll Learn

• How survival-oriented coping, deeply rooted in Appalachian culture, can protect in the short term while increasing risk over time

• How meaning and purpose can serve as protective factors

• Small, repeatable practices that help sustain meaning between crisis points

• Four no-cost organizational changes that can move agencies from crisis response toward sustained prevention

About Jake

Jake Ross, MSW, LISW-S, LCSW, is a licensed therapist, clinical operations leader, speaker, and founder of The Ross Wellness Group. With more than 15 years in behavioral health, Jake has made men’s mental health and reducing the stigma surrounding men's mental wellness a significant focus of his work. His areas of expertise also include trauma-informed care, suicide prevention, emotional regulation, and workplace wellness.

The Ross Wellness Group specializes in working with millennial men navigating stress, relationship strain, identity shifts, and the pressure to hold everything together. Jake has also delivered more than 60 speaking and training engagements on mental health and related topics.

Bridget Britton & Lori Criss, MSW

1:45 PM

RURAL HEALTH • AGRICULTURE • COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Learn about The Ohio State University Appalachian and Rural Center for Health (ARCH), why it was created, how it connects with the communities it serves, and where the work is headed. Bridget Britton and Lori Criss will also explore the relationship between physical and mental health and how ARCH works with local resources to support farmers and people living in rural communities.

What You’ll Learn

• What ARCH is and how it is being implemented

• How ARCH connects with rural communities

• Ways to better communicate with people living in rural areas

• Opportunities to support rural communities and the work of ARCH

About Bridget Britton

Bridget Britton holds bachelor's and master's degrees in social work and has more than 17 years of experience in the field. She has extensive experience in suicide prevention and mental health within rural and agricultural communities. After 10 years with OSU Extension, Bridget joined The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to support ARCH as the OSU Extension Liaison.

About Lori Criss

Lori Criss, MSW, is originally from Appalachian Ohio and serves as Executive Director of The Ohio State University's Appalachian and Rural Center for Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She has worked in healthcare since 1992 and is the founding director of ARCH.

Before joining Ohio State, Lori served for five years as Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, where she led strategic planning for Ohio's behavioral health system. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from The Ohio State University.