Adam Lesser, MSW

Adam Lesser is a licensed clinical social worker, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatric Social Work in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a Deputy Director for the Columbia Lighthouse Project at the New York State Psychiatric Institute where he assists with all suicide prevention activities related to public health including the international dissemination and implementation of the Columbia Protocol and has trained over 100,000 individuals on the Columbia tools. Previously, he was the youth suicide prevention project director at the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, where he directed the statewide implementation of the Columbia Protocol and other suicide prevention tools and efforts through their Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant from SAMHSA. He has published, presented internationally and consulted to state and local governments on best practices for suicide risk identification and prevention. His work has been featured in Social Work Today Magazine and on Atlanta National Public Radio, CNN-espanol, Univision and other local print and television media outlets. He has a master’s degree in social work from Smith College and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tufts University.