ABOUT BLUE PEAK
targeting mental health at its source
Blue Peak Consulting was founded in 2012 by Dr. Margaret Gavian’s deep desire to better serve those that have experienced significant stressful life experiences. From executives and civilians to public safety personnel like firefighters, law enforcement, EMS and dispatch, Blue Peak’s mission is to target mental health at its source. Gavian brings a strengths-based approach to all of Blue Peak’s services.
Everyone deals with stress; No one is broken. We just need the right tools and strategies to deal with what life throws our way.
Through professional training, consultation, agency resilience and therapy, Blue Peak provides organizations and individuals with the skills to stay calm, confident and in control. Through offering professional training to providers and public safety agencies, and individual and group approaches to leaders and first responders, Blue Peak addresses stress, trauma and other life challenges at their source with compassion and practical solutions.
MEET THE TEAM
Dr. Gavian is a licensed Psychologist in the state of Minnesota and received her PhD in Psychology from the University of Minnesota. She serves as Medical Director of the Minnesota Fire Initiative (www.mnfire.org), leading their emotional wellness programming for the 22,000 firefighters in Minnesota. For the last 5 years she has been training fire departments throughout the state about staying mentally healthy on the job, and has responded to departments and firefighters in crisis. She maintains a private practice, primarily serving MN firefighters and law enforcement officers. Dr. Gavian completed her training at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis, Hazelden Foundation and focused on delivering evidence-based care.
Gavian’s style is practical, solution focused, compassionate and direct. For over 20 years, she has worked with a variety of populations who have experienced extreme stress including in Israel, Gaza, Kosovo, with the FDNY after 9/11, refugees, gang members, firefighters & police, school shooting communities, as well as with executives, professionals, teachers and those with a variety of chronic medical conditions. She has held leadership positions in healthcare, designing and delivering care for health systems and has served as a consultant and trainer to community and healthcare organizations nationwide. She has enjoyed teaching psychology at the University of Minnesota and also serves as Faculty for The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (www.cmbm.org), an organization focused on providing resilience skills to communities affected by stress and trauma.
As a mother of two boys (whose grandfather is a retired firefighter) and daughter of a military veteran, Gavian is 100% committed to helping clients live their lives with confidence, calm and control. She understands first hand the courage it takes to face fear head on and lead with humility in order to create massive change.
Frankie Jo is the backbone to all Blue Peak programming. She helps run the PAR360 & HarborBlue programs specifically and is the primary contact to ensure the programs run smoothly in departments we work in.
Frankie Jo comes with both a rich history professionally and personally in the first responder community. She previously served as the Administrative Assistant for the Ramsey Fire Department and as the Lead Admin and Fire Chaplain for the Brooklyn Park Fire Department. She has been the Intake Coordinator for the MnFIRE Initiative since the program’s inception. Frankie’s husband Kevin is a 15-year firefighter/Captain with the Andover Fire Department and her daughter Dani is also a firefighter on that same department. Kevin and Frankie Jo are MnFIRE Trainers and Peer Supporters and have both served on the ACPSPS (Anoka County Public Safety Peer Support) Team. She also currently serves as Board Secretary for ACPSPS. Additionally, Frankie Jo leads the F.A.S.T. Team (Fire Administrative Support Team), which is a networking resource for metro fire department admins.
Frankie Jo’s passion and dedication to the first responder community is next to none. She gives her all to helping first responders get the support they need. In her free time you will find her with family and friends either enjoying time at home, in her camper or paddling the BWCA.
With his previous experience in the entertainment and athletic world, Johnny brings energy and passion to serving the first responder community both locally and nationally.
Johnny has worked with multiple addiction treatment centers throughout his career as a placement consultant outreach director. Most of these programs, however, did not have specialized programs for the first responder community, so he has made it his goal to better serve this community. Over the past 4 years. he has focused on building his relationships with police and fire departments, frontline workers, addiction specialists and treatment centers in the state of Minnesota and nationally. He understands the struggles that these individuals are going through and can relate to being in recovery as well.
Johnny has spent the past year and a half working closely with the Minneapolis Police Department wellness team. His direct role serving as high-level consultant with vetting and finding the proper therapists, treatment centers, workshops and other trusted medical professionals for the police department.
His elite athletic pursuits (over 12 Ironman triathlons and 17 marathons) makes him especially attractive to this community, and demonstrates that he has the endurance needed to combat the ongoing addiction and mental health epidemic in first responders.
Christian is passionate about working with public servants and driving the mission of Blue Peak forward. He has over 15 years experience in operations in both the military and civilian business world. Previous experiences include global supply chain operations, demand planning, production operations, forecasting, and people management. He has a combined 12 years of service in the US Army in both the active and US Army Reserve components. He has commanded two units during this time and deployed in a combat mission overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He has extensive experience in working with soldiers and their families, and as a soldier himself, knows first hand the obstacles that public servants and their families face.
Christian’s strong passion for public service and volunteering is a trait that the first responder community knows first hand. He is an active father of three who volunteers coaching youth hockey in his spare time. Christian is also obtaining his doctorate in business administration which will help Blue Peak support and reach more first responders even better in the future.