Some things are counted. Others are carried.

At the 2026 Summit on Behavioral Health in Energy Country, we are honored to welcome Melissa Markegard from North Dakota Health and Human Services. Her work centers on something many people avoid until it becomes impossible to ignore: the reality of suicide in our state.

Data can feel distant. Percentages, charts, and reports often sit quietly on a page. But behind every number is a life. A family. A moment where something could have gone differently.

In North Dakota, suicide remains one of the most urgent behavioral health challenges we face. The numbers shift year to year, but the weight does not. Communities feel it in ways that statistics cannot fully capture. A chair left empty. A call that never comes. A question that lingers long after.

Melissa’s work brings clarity to that reality without losing sight of the human cost. She looks closely at trends, at patterns that reveal where risk is rising and where intervention can make a difference. But more importantly, she asks what those patterns are trying to tell us.

• Who is most at risk

• What conditions make someone more vulnerable

• Where support systems are holding and where they are not

This kind of understanding matters because prevention does not begin in a moment of crisis. It begins much earlier.

It begins in the conditions we create.
In the relationships we strengthen.
In the way communities choose to respond before someone reaches the edge.

Melissa’s perspective moves beyond reaction. She focuses on what is often called upstream prevention, the quiet work of reducing risk before it becomes visible. Strengthening protective factors. Building environments where people feel connected, supported, and seen. Recognizing that behavioral health is not separate from community health. It is part of it.

This is not abstract work. It shapes real outcomes.

When communities understand the data, they can respond with intention instead of assumption. They can direct resources where they are needed most. They can build systems that do more than respond. They can prevent.

That is why this session matters.

It offers something many people are searching for: a way to make sense of what is happening and a path forward grounded in both evidence and care.

If you have ever looked at the numbers and wondered what they really mean, or what can actually be done to change them, this is a conversation worth being part of.

Join us at the 2026 Summit on Behavioral Health in Energy Country.

Purchase your ticket, explore sponsorship opportunities, or reserve an exhibitor booth to connect your work with those who are ready to act.

Because behind every statistic is a life. And what we choose to do with that knowledge matters.