Noelle Beard, Suicide Prevention Specialist, MHAT Grant Director

Noelle Beard, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has worked in the field of mental health and suicide prevention for more than 17 years. She managed Highland Rivers’ Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant for seven years, and now manages the SAMHSA Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) grant which helped establish the Highland Rivers Connect Training Institute. Noelle is an expert in suicide prevention, intervention and post-vention, with experience in individual counseling, community education, outreach, and support. Noelle regularly provides a range of training programs tailored to meet the needs of the community including QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention training, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, CIT-Youth, Hearing Voices, Mental Health First Aid for youth, and Vicarious Trauma support for Law Enforcement.

Jennifer Smith, Director of Clinical Training and Implementation

Jennifer Smith, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has worked in the mental health field for over 14 years. She earned a Master of Science in professional counseling, and has experience as a trainer and as a counselor in higher education, residential substance abuse treatment, community, and hospital settings. Jennifer has facilitated training presentations on the Question Persuade Refer (QPR) suicide prevention program, Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR), overview of Trauma Informed Care (TIC), MindSet Training Curriculum, and more for Highland Rivers and other organizations. As Director of Clinic Training, Jennifer manages ongoing training programs for Highland Rivers’ clinicians, including managing continuing education credits, and evaluating and implementing new training curriculums as appropriate to ensure all clinicians have access to the highest standards of learning for clinical practice.  

Julie Bermudez, Assistant Training Coordinator

Julie Bermudez has been with Highland Rivers for nine years and provides training for the Community Resiliency Model, Mental Health First Aid for adults and youth, Question Persuade Refer (QPR) suicide prevention program, Hearing Voices, and Vicarious Trauma for law enforcement. Prior to her current position, Julie was program manager for Highland Rivers’ ROC (Reaching Our Community) youth resiliency clubhouse, where she facilitated social and life skills training for middle and high school youth with mental health diagnoses.

Rodney Moore, Vice President of New Market Innovation

Rodney Moore, LMHC, has worked in the mental health field for the past 35 years. A licensed mental health clinician, Rodney has worked in a variety of positions including adolescent residential treatment and other direct care settings, managed care support, as well as administrative and leadership positions, for both public and private providers. Before coming to Georgia in 2021, he worked with the State of Florida’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Agency where he served as a Children’s Mental Health Specialist, the agency’s first Chief Innovation Officer, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Commissioner for the state of Florida, where he oversaw the state’s substance abuse and mental health services and managed a $2 billion budget. Rodney is an experienced and engaging speaker who can facilitate trainings on a multitude of mental health and substance use related topics.  

Ansley Clark, Senior Director of Recovery Services

Ansley Clark, MA, CAADC, has more than 30 years’ experience treating substance use and mental health disorders. She has worked for Highland Rivers Behavioral Health for more than 20 years, and was instrumental in establishing the agency’s 38-bed women’s residential substance use treatment program in Floyd County, which she also managed for more than a decade. An expert in addiction, trauma, and co-occurring mental health disorders, she has extensive knowledge of the genetic-social-environmental factors that can lead to addictive disease, as well as the roles of those factors in fostering long-term recovery. Ansley received a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from Shorter University, and Master of Arts in Human Services Counseling: Addiction and Recovery from Liberty University, and is a Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor.

Amy Lasher, Senior Director of Mental Health Services

Amy Lasher, LCSW has been working in the of behavioral health field since 2012. In addition to working as a therapist with Highland Rivers, where she engaged in the treatment of adults and youth with severe mental illness and substance use disorders, Amy has facilitated trainings on multiple topics since 2018 – including ethics, trauma, Polyvagal Theory, Seeking Safety, documentation, and critical incident trainings. As Senior Director of Mental Health Services for Highland Rivers, Amy oversees the delivery of mental health services across multiple counties and locations. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Amy earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Georgia State University, and a Master of Social Work from Kennesaw State University.

Alexandria Sanford, Grant and Strategic Partnership Manager

Alexandria Sanford, MPA, manages Highland Rivers’ Workforce Connect program Recovery Friendly Workplace initiative, working with local employers to provide trainings and other resources to support individuals in recovery in the workplace. She is deeply involved in her community, serving as president of the Greater Dalton Young Professionals, a member of the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce Executive Board, a member of the CASA Recruitment Committee, and a member of NAACP. A former AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA), she remains committed to public service, ethical leadership, and nonprofit advocacy, and specializes in grant administration, program management, and strategic funding. Alexandria received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Cum Laud, from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Public Administration from Georgia College and State University. 

Brenda Albertson, Director of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services

Brenda Albertson, DDP, has been with Highland Rivers Behavioral Health since 2002. She has held various positions within the agency’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) services, including instructor and program manager, and was appointed IDD Director in 2024. Brenda graduated from Minot State University with a Bachelor of Science in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and is also a credentialed Developmental Disabilities Professional (DDP).