Meet the Dedicated Team of Churubusco Suicide Awareness & Prevention Task Force |
At the Churubusco Suicide Awareness & Prevention Task Force, our mission is driven by the passion and dedication of our team members. Let us introduce you to some of the key individuals who are committed to making a difference in the lives of those struggling with mental health challenges. Kert Resler, the president and co-founder, strives to bring hope to a hurting world, having experienced the tragic loss of his son to suicide. Alongside him, Scott Royer and Musange Hansen, veterans in their own right, each carry their own unique experiences and strong determination to support their community. And Sean Dreer, a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, brings his wealth of knowledge and passion to serve as the Treasurer. Together, our team aims to advocate, educate, and foster a compassionate community that stands united against suicide.
|
Kert Resler is the father of three children, the current president, and one of the founders of the Churubusco Suicide Awareness & Prevention Task Force. Kert was raised in a Christian home and did his best to provide a Christian home to his family. He says the only qualifications he needs to lead this group is because in 2017, his oldest son was tragically lost to suicide.
Kert’s goal is for this task force to be Christ centered and to bring hope to to a world that’s dying by suicide. He believes providing training like QPR and resources to the public will prepare them to help someone struggling. If they learn what he knows now, he hopes it can keep others from going through the pain of losing someone to suicide. He feels if he knew what he knows now, he might have been able to better help his son to find Hope and let Jesus finish writing his story. |
Sean F. Dreer served in the United States Navy for 27 years with several deployments to Kuwait, Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan under his belt.
Sean served in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, Operation Joint Guard/Endeavor in Rota Spain/Bosnia, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. While in the United States, Navy Sean has earned his Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist and Surface Warfare Pins. Sean enjoys spending time with his wife Belva Sutton and sons Dylan, Jean, and Willy, and the rest of his family, along with good friends like Deborah Millhouse. Sean has been volunteering at Parkview Home and Hospice doing pet visits and Military pinnings (Parkview’s way of thanking our veterans), and with PAWS (Pets Assisting Well-Being) Sean is also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 875 Disable Veterans of America. Sean also serves as the Treasurer for the task force. |
Musange HansenSuicide Prevention and Research specialist.
Musange is one of the founders and a member of Churubusco Suicide Prevention and Awareness Task Force. Musange has worked as a mental health community clinician for so many years in various organizations around the United States. Musange is originally from Uganda and migrated to the United States in 1996. Musange having come from a culture of less belief in Mental health has strengthened her passion for wanting to help people. A tragedy that took her daughter by suicide due to mental health a few years ago has given her the strength to fight for those that are struggling with mental health by advocating, teaching, researching, and spreading mental health awareness in our surrounding communities. Musange professionally, on a daily basis, provides direct outpatient services for families where she practices using evidence-based interventions such as CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) and TF-CBT (Trauma Focused) therapy for students to eliminate substance use in Fort Wayne Community schools. She also assists as a mental and medical health system navigator/mentor for her Churubusco community. Musange is also very passionate about her very small community of Churubusco, Indiana. She is happy to call it home. This is one of her biggest WHY’s to being a member of the Churubusco Suicide Prevention & Awareness Task Force. |
PhyllisPhyllis is a board member and one of the founders of the Churubusco Suicide Awareness Task Force, she serves as co-treasurer. She is an active member of Churubusco by birth and has lived here all of her life. She has worked in various professions over the years which all involved serving people. Although she has had several jobs in customer service that paid the bills and gave her the time to be a daughter, sister, wife, and mother, she always knew there was a void that she needed to fill.
She wanted to fill that void by serving our veterans. She is a bartender, however more importantly a service member that serves everyday by providing a clean, quiet environment for the veterans to come to at the end of the day and enjoy a beverage while socializing. She sees the pain that has been planted in our veterans’ eyes every day. “The most important lesson my dad taught me was being grounded, he said there will be a lot of noise in life, quiet that noise around you and focus on what needs to be done”. My favorite father memory was him saying “Always stay humble and kind”. You never know what battle they are fighting! Her daily focus is helping veterans, and she cares about the impact her work has on veterans, she knew she could not do this alone, that’s why she joined the Task Force which in big part focuses on veterans PTSD that leads to suicide! |
Chrissy is first and foremost a child of God, a wife, and a mother of 2. She is a “Busco transplant” as she
moved to the farm that her husband grew up on just 2 years ago. She has experienced some hard times in life and knows what it’s like to feel isolated and hopeless. Thankfully God placed some amazing people in her life who helped her through it. Because of that, she has made a promise to God that she will pay it forward and use her mess as her message to help others who are struggling. |
Scott Royer10 years U.S. Army Indiana Army National Guard. Staff Sergeant Cavalry Scout Iraq 2008 National Aid-De-Camp Veterans of Foreign Wars Past District 4 Commander Veterans of Foreign Wars. Commander Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3846 since 2018 Married since 1999 to Tammy Royer. Father of 3 National Archery in the Schools assistant coach – Smith Green community school Lost my mentor from the military to suicide. Diagnosed with PTSD. I am committed to curbing Veterans mental health issues and in doing so, showing those in the community we all are better together and talking is not weakness. |
Brian has lived in Churubusco since 2010. He has been a corporate trainer in the public and private sector for 8 years and has served as a member of the Smith-Green School Board since 2022.
Brian is the father of four, two sons having graduated from Churubusco High School. Brian became involved with the task force because this issue has affected everyone in our community in the last few years and his hope is that we can provide the right resources to prevent this from happening again. |
Julie is the mom of three and wife of Kert (our president). She was a SAHM until her daughter (the youngest) started school, then worked in the Churubusco IGA for almost 11 years. A couple years after losing her oldest son to suicide in 2017, she felt led by God to find a job where she could “make a difference.” In January 2020, Julie started as a paraprofessional at Churubusco High School, where she feels she can do that, indeed. While the job has come with challenges such as Covid and the school’s loss of three to suicide in less than two years, she loves the job and working with these youth.
She is driven by her Faith and knowing that Jesus is with her every step of the way. Her goal is for people to learn what they need so that nobody must feel the pain of suicide loss and so those struggling can find the hope they need. Julie is a founding member and serves as secretary for the task force. |
Molly Rao became passionate about mental health, suicide awareness, and prevention after losing her sister and a close friend a couple months apart in 2014. She started out volunteering for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in 2018. In 2020, she joined their walk committee, which is how she had met Julie Resler, our co-founder and secretary. Molly went on to lead the walk committee as walk coordinator for 2 years. During that time, she also trained to be a Suicide Loss Survivor Support Group Facilitator. In 2024 Molly was no longer involved with AFSP, so Julie asked her to join the Task Force to help with coordinating the Task Force annual Journey of Hope Walk. In 2025, Molly was nominated to be Vice President of the Task Force, will be completing the training to become a QPR trainer to continue to help others recognize the warning signs of when someone is struggling with their mental health and how to help them find the resources they need to find hope, as well as be a support group facilitator for We The Living at the Peggy Murphy Grief Center in Fort Wayne.
|
Cynthia Wiersema is a seasoned healthcare professional with over 18 years of experience in the perioperative field. She currently serves as the Director of Nursing at NANI Vascular in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she oversees surgical center operations and leads multidisciplinary teams to ensure high-quality patient care .
In addition to her leadership in healthcare, Cynthia is the proud owner and operator of Blooming Love, a flower company that brings beauty, comfort, and joy to her community through thoughtful floral arrangements. Her commitment to mental health advocacy is further demonstrated by her involvement with the Churubusco Suicide Awareness and Prevention Task Force, which she joined in 2024 to help equip individuals with tools to prevent suicide and provide hope to those in need. Cynthia is a devoted wife, mother of three and, most importantly, a follower of Jesus Christ. Her faith is the cornerstone of her life, guiding her actions and inspiring her to serve others with compassion and love. |
Ryan WiersemaRyan Wiersema is a devoted Christian, loving husband to his wife Cynthia of 25 years, and proud father of three—Alyssa (24), Julia (22), and Tyler (21). After moving to Churubusco, Indiana, Ryan developed a deep passion for supporting his community and became actively involved with the Churubusco Suicide Awareness and Prevention Task Force, where he works to promote hope, awareness, and mental health support. Professionally, Ryan serves as the Labor Relations Manager for KONE, bringing leadership, compassion, and integrity to his work. Guided by faith, family, and a commitment to service, Ryan strives to make a meaningful difference both professionally and within his community.
|
|