Denise Bungard
Administrative Assistant-Senior
Denise Bungard joined The STRONG STAR Training Initiative in February 2022 as an Administrative Assistant-Senior. Denise provides support for SSTI operations. Ms. Bungard retired from the UTH San Antonio in 2020 with 19 years of service where she spent most of her career working as an Office Manager for the Research Protection Programs (IRB/OCR/IACUC). She will be providing administrative support for the Strong Star Training Initiative.
Dina Garcia, MSW
Project Coordinator
Dina Garcia, MSW, joined the STRONG STAR Training Initiative in 2022 as a Project Coordinator. Ms. Garcia provides administrative assistance for the Training Initiative leadership as well as the community-based mental health providers within the program. Some of her roles on the team include supporting our grant funded Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure workshops, managing enrollment for clinical consultation groups, and promoting SSTI through social media communications. Prior to joining the STRONG STAR Training Initiative, Ms. Garcia worked as a Behavioral Navigation Specialist for The United Way of Greater Austin, providing mental health resources to the residents of central Texas.
Debra Kichline
Senior Project Coordinator
Debra Kichline is a Senior Project Coordinator for the STRONG STAR Training Initiative working to develop their veterans suicide prevention initiative. Ms. Kichline earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. While working in her Master’s program, she assisted in multiple research projects with the developmentally disabled population at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna, Illinois. Ms. Kichline also conducted research in the field of organizational behavior management through Project 12-Ways in the Behavior Analysis and Therapy Department of Southern Illinois University. Ms. Kichline went on to apply her skills working with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury clients. After some significant life events, she moved into project management and program development. Prior to joining the STRONGSTAR team, she assisted in the development and launch of the Rural Telementoring Training Center at UTHSA. Her family consists of her son, Hunter, and entirely too many rescue dogs.
Jenny Postich
SSTI Operations Manager
Jenny Postich is an operations manager for the STRONG STAR Training Initiative. Ms. Postich organizes support for SSTI workshops and webinars, manages the portal, and provides tech support to the community-based mental health providers enrolled in learning communities. Prior to working for the Strong Star Training Initiative, Ms. Postich worked with small medical device companies to manage medical device design and development projects. Jenny looks forward to drawing on her project management experience to maintain and support an unparalleled provider portal for community-based mental health providers. Jenny holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
William Price
Research Assistant
William Price is a research assistant for the STRONG STAR research consortium. Will works on a project aimed at developing a web-based provider training for the behavioral treatment of nightmares. He also supports the CE Credit program for the STRONG STAR Training Initiative which provides dozens of workshops, webinars, and trainings in evidence-based treatments for PTSD and suicide risk to community mental health care providers.
