Colleen Luna has been the Executive Director since August 2016.  She has served on the board of directors twice and was our previous board chair.  She has worked with families traumatized by homicide, suicide and accidental death in her over 32 years of law enforcement experience with the St. Paul Police Department. She retired from St. Paul in 2016. Colleen personally experienced the accidental death of her father in 2007. Colleen earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Mankato State University and her Master of Arts degree in organizational management from Concordia University. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends

On staff since 2007, Julie has helped hundreds of our clients navigate through the early days after a traumatic death of a loved one. She is an experienced grief support facilitator and guide for our volunteers. We feel that it was no coincidence that Julie’s first day of employment coincided with the Interstate-35W bridge collapse, calling for swift action to support its many victims. Julie became a volunteer at Survivor Resources (then VIPI) in 1995 while working in both business administration and in social services. Having experienced the loss of her husband to suicide in 1987, she is well-versed in the unique needs of our clients. Julie earned her bachelor degree from St. Catherine University. She is involved in her local church and enjoys spending time with her two sons.

Toni recently joined the staff of Survivor Resources and feels truly blessed to be given the opportunity to work for an organization doing such important work. She lost her 15 year old daughter to suicide in 2016 and has volunteered as a grief support facilitator since 2018.  Since her daughter’s death, she helped form a non-profit for parents of kids dealing with mental health issues, wrote articles on suicide loss, and together with another Survivor Resources group member, created a non-profit podcast for those dealing with the loss of someone to suicide. Toni is passionate about helping others heal from the tragic death of a loved one. She believes that the healing process can be eased by Survivor Resources, in particular by being in group with others who have been through the same thing. Toni has a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead. She lives with her husband and 2 dogs, Humphrey and Bogart. She enjoys reading books on mental health, walking her dogs and traveling with her husband—particularly to visit their son in New York City.

Mädchen (she/her) is beyond excited to be joining the Survivor Resources team. She lost her Mom to suicide in 2016. She has been attending groups for the last two years and it has made a huge impact in her life and grief journey. Mädchen has her Associates or Arts degree from Inver Hills Community College and plans to return to get her bachelor’s degree in the near future. She is very passionate about advocating for mental health and is so happy to get into this field with such a niche group as Survivor Resources! Mädchen grew up in Woodbury, but now lives in North Minneapolis with her wife, two dogs, and two cats. She loves to be outside, drink coffee and tea, try new things, and read. Mädchen believes that she has unique experience and will be able to help navigate and outreach to more people in her neighborhood, LGBTQIA+, and young adult communities.