Franklin James Cook, MA, CPC,* is owner of Unified Community Solutions in Boston, Mass. He is an experienced peer support specialist and trainer and has worked in addiction recovery for more than 30 years and suicide grief support for more than 15 years. He began his career in suicide prevention as a volunteer in 1999.
- He has served the cause in a number of roles:
- Co-founder and executive director of the Front Porch Coalition, a grassroots task force in Rapid City, S.D.
- Co-author and implementation consultant for the South Dakota Strategy for Suicide Prevention
- Project manager and consultant for two S.D. statewide suicide prevention projects funded by the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act
- Master Trainer for ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills)
- Member of the Survivor Council of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
- Member of the board of directors of the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA), prior to its merger with AFSP
- Director of Survivor and Bereavement Programs for SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education)
- Franklin currently serves in the following roles:
- Trainer with AFSP's Facilitating Suicide Bereavement Support Groups workshop.
- Member of the Survivor and Prevention Divisions of the American Association of Suicidology (and was named AAS Survivor of the Year in 2013)
- Member of the Consumer Survivor Subcommittee of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
- Co-lead of the Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
- Member of the Board of Directors of Alliance of Hope for Suicide Survivors
- Project manager of a statewide men's suicide prevention project -- MassMen.org -- funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (and featuring "Man Therapy")
- Owner of Personal Grief Coaching, a one-on-one telephone support service for people grieving a traumatic death
- Owner of After a Suicide, the premiere online clearinghouse for resources for the suicide bereaved and those who care for them
*Master of Arts degree (MA) in the humanities, Certified Professional Coach (CPC)