Jenna Larson

Jenna Larson, MEd., serves as Verve's Project Manager for the national-level Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) operational technical assistance and training team. Jenna holds a Master of Education from Grand Canyon University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Prior to her work in suicide prevention, she spent five years teaching in the Anchorage School District and the Mat-Su Valley, where she instructed Sociology, Early Childhood Development, and AP Psychology; giving her a direct and practical understanding of the educational environments in which critical prevention programs must operate.

As Wellness Project Coordinator for the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (2020–2025), Jenna implemented federally funded suicide prevention programming through both the SSG Fox SPGP and the IHS Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention Grant, delivering evidence-based curricula including Mental Health First Aid, QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), and PRIME for Life to youth and adults across rural, underserved Indigenous communities. In this role, she wrote grant narratives to secure federal funding, managed daily program operations, coordinated traditional healing gatherings and training events, and maintained rigorous monthly federal reporting on case management and programmatic achievements. Prior to that, she served as a Group Therapist at NorthStar Behavioral Health (2019–2020), an inpatient psychiatric facility, where she provided daily crisis intervention and therapeutic support to high-risk youth ages 4–17 experiencing acute suicidality, complex trauma, and severe mental health challenges. Her clinical work included designing and implementing age-appropriate PTSD recovery programs across three developmental cohorts, conducting suicide risk assessments, facilitating therapeutic groups, and developing safety plans for youth at imminent risk.

Jenna brings a rare combination of direct service experience, federal grant management, and training delivery expertise; along with certifications as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and various therapeutic facilitator credentials, that positions her exceptionally well to lead the complex, multi-year coordination of technical assistance, training, and stakeholder engagement demands this initiative requires.