Maryke van Zyl, PhD is a clinical psychologist with the San Francisco Veteran’s Administration. She primarily works with rural and underserved veterans using tele mental health, with a strong focus on program development and systems improvement. Maryke has been working as a paid consultant, developing and evaluating a mental health empowerment program and a clinical emergencies training program for Native American tribes. Most recently, Maryke is working on the cultural adaptation of the Reasons for Living Inventory and is studying the cultural differences of risk and resilience. Maryke recently completed an international study on the different risk and resilience factors among individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Maryke has published and presented on various projects related to suicide and cultural differences. In the past, Maryke has worked in a leprosy colony in India and as project lead in a campus-wide HIV/Aids awareness campaign in South Africa. Maryke has her MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and her PhD in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Diversity and Community Mental Health, specializing in the therapeutic treatment of chronically and acutely suicidal patients.