We recently connected with Corbin Standley and have shared our conversation below.
Corbin, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I’ve thought about this question a lot in my life. As I have, I’ve learned that many experiences have informed my purpose. My first job was as a janitor in an elementary school. Throughout high school and my first two years of college, I worked part-time after classes while living at home. I learned a lot from that job and am so grateful for the perspective and lessons I gained as a result. The friends and colleagues I got to work with made a real impact on my life. But it was the kids I saw and interacted with that helped inform my purpose. I worked in a Title I school, meaning many students were from low-income families. As I arrived for my shift, I would notice a kid waiting by herself amid small groups of friends making plans for their weekends. As I emptied garbage cans in the late afternoons, I would notice a kid staying in the classroom to get a little extra help from his teacher. As I vacuumed hallways in the early evenings, I would notice a kid still waiting outside for a parent or guardian to pick them up. These experiences taught me the importance of education and social support in children’s lives, and also taught me the importance of community–lessons that have informed my purpose and that I’ve carried with me in my research and career since.
During that time, I also lost my older brother, David, to suicide when I was 17 years old. Of course, that was a devastating experience for me and my family. After that, it took me a couple of years to find my voice and purpose. Over two years later, I attended the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Walk in Salt Lake City, and that’s when the spark was ignited. I don’t know if I fully realized it at the time, but that event helped me find my purpose–working to ensure that fewer families have to go through what mine had. I then began volunteering with AFSP along with my dad, and together we found a way to channel our grief into purpose.
After getting involved in community research during college, earning my bachelor’s degree, and starting graduate school, all of these insights merged together to inform my career trajectory. Since earning my PhD, my work and research continue to focus on community- and systems-level approaches to suicide prevention through the lenses of public health and equity. In working with school districts, I see many of the same kids I saw as a 16-year-old janitor–kids that just need support and deserve a world worth living in. When working with healthcare systems, I think about the experiences my brother had in and out of treatment programs. My purpose has been to transform grief into action to save lives, and I’m grateful to collaborate with so many amazing people in that work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a community psychologist, researcher, and evaluator whose work focuses on turning data and research into action to create change. My day job is as the Senior Director of Impact Communication and Continuous Improvement at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). With our Impact Measurement team, in that role, I lead the continuous improvement and evaluation of AFSP and partnership programs and initiatives, drive impact communication efforts to disseminate AFSP’s reach and impact, and drive organizational learning through needs assessments and evaluation. Being able to use research and evaluation to understand the impact AFSP is making in suicide prevention is incredibly rewarding. Recently, I led the development and launch of our new website highlighting this impact (afsp.org/impact).
I am also a researcher and consultant, working with community-based organizations and schools around the country to leverage data to inform strategic decisions and prevention initiatives. In this role, I work collaboratively with leaders, community members, and youth to understand how oppression and marginalization, intersectionality, and social support shape youth suicide risk and prevention, and how we can work together toward prevention.
What excites me the most about this work is seeing real, on-the-ground change happen as a result. In my most recent research study, I conducted focus groups with local high school students to understand their experiences related to personal identity and mental health, and what they would like to see in their schools. I then engaged the students as research partners as they analyzed their own data to develop themes and recommendations. Students identified the need for more affirming, accessible, and approachable mental health resources in schools. Based in part on these findings, a new school-based health center with full-time mental health professionals was opened at this high school in the fall of 2023. Not only was this rewarding for me as a researcher, but it was also rewarding for the students who partnered with me on the project. To see their voices heard and their insights used to make change happen was incredibly validating.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three skills that have been most impactful in my journey are leadership, empathy, and collaboration, and you truly need all three together to make a difference. Leadership is partially about how you move a team toward a shared goal, but it is also about capacity building, trusting others on your team, and knowing what you don’t know. The most valuable leadership lesson I’ve learned is to build a team of diverse skillsets and expertise to complement one another. Empathy is about recognizing others’ perspectives, feelings, and life experiences and seeing the value they have. This allows us to see other worldviews that can be instrumental in developing solutions to the problems communities are facing. Finally, collaboration is about engaging all the right people in developing and implementing a solution. In community-engaged work, that includes understanding that lived experience is its own kind of expertise that is necessary for a project’s success. Together, leadership, empathy, and collaboration have guided my work over the years and, though it can be more time and resource-intensive, it’s a process that is much more likely to result in success.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The book How Change Happens by Leslie R. Crutchfield was key in my professional development. I first read it during graduate school, and continue to come back to it often. In it, Crutchfield talks about why some social movements are successful, and the traits they have in common. I see my work as community-engaged public health, and the insights from this book have informed so much of how I approach that work.
In the first chapter, Crutchfield discusses the importance of collaboration and coalitions–“turn grassroots gold.” I’ve carried this wisdom with me throughout my career, engaging communities and leading coalitions to drive impact. In the third chapter, Crutchfield emphasizes that social change is about changing both hearts and minds–“Changing the rules never works unless you give people the idea that the change that you want is right.” This insight has been tremendously helpful in my policy work with legislators at the state and federal level. In the sixth and final chapter, Crutchfield discusses being “leaderfull”–empowering local leaders, bringing together diverse coalitions, and engaging those with lived experience as leaders. This shared leadership style has informed my approach and has resulted in very meaningful partnerships and relationships across the country.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drcorbinstandley.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corbinstandley/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corbinstandley/
- Twitter: https://x.com/corbinstandley
Image Credits
Main photo, Photo 2, and Photo7: Dee Hues Photography
