"Karen VanderSluis is the Senior Manager of the 9-8-8 Network Quality Team and the 9-8-8 National Hub at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada. With a career that began in the late 1990s as a volunteer crisis responder, Karen has dedicated her professional life to suicide prevention and crisis intervention. She brings her expertise to all facets of the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline service, including education and training, branding and communications, technology, data analysis, and reporting.
In 2017, Karen was instrumental in launching the Canada Suicide Prevention Service—Canada’s first national suicide prevention helpline—which evolved into Talk Suicide and ultimately became the foundational platform for the national rollout of 9-8-8. Karen has continued to play a key role in the expansion and transition to 9-8-8, supporting national service quality, training, service delivery, and interest holder engagement."