Vira Salzburn is the Program Director for Prevent Suicide Today program at Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc. She is a Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Trained Teacher, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) Master Trainer, and SafeTALK Trainer. Vira earned a Master of Science degree in Management, Organizational Behavior & Leadership from Troy University and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in Humanities from Auburn University at Montgomery. Vira is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) with Project Management Institute (PMI) and a Certified Group Fitness Trainer and Group Yoga Instructor with Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA).

Vira is a public speaker on suicide prevention, mindfulness and self-compassion. She presented at the 2018 3rd Annual Chatham County Mental Health Symposium, 2018 Georgia Suicide Prevention Conference, 2019 Southeastern Behavioral Health Schools Conference, 2019 Memorial Health 4thAnnual M. Gage Ochsner Trauma Symposium, and 2019 Georgia Association of Community Service Boards Conference.

As a Ukrainian-American and a world traveler, Vira recognizes the importance of overcoming cultural barriers and connecting with others for making a meaningful difference on personal, organizational, and community levels. Over the ten years she has lived in the U.S., Vira has had the privilege of volunteering as an interpreter and a liaison between Ukrainian orphaned children and American adoptive families, which has greatly impacted her perception of compassion and servanthood and helped her better understand the true meaning behind the idea of “changing the world one life at a time”.