Dr. Dolores ‘Gavi’ Gaviola-Feck is a published author and earned her Doctorate from Northcentral University in 2016. Dr. Gavi brings over 45 years of distinguished and diverse service with the Air Force. A proud U.S. Air Force veteran, with 30 years of military service and 15 years of Air Force civilian service. In addition to her military and federal career, Dr. Gavi has devoted more than a decade to serving as a volunteer chaplain. She is licensed and certified through the International Fellowship of Chaplains (IFOC) and has deployed with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BGRRT) to support communities affected by natural disasters. She has also served as a Suicide Prevention Facilitator and a Master Resiliency Trainer for the Air Force at Kirtland AFB.
For the past five years, Dr. Gavi has focused her efforts on partnering with churches to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicidal ideation. She developed The Voice of Kindness, a biblically grounded crisis intervention strategy designed to train anyone to become a crisis interventionist. Crisis intervention is simply being kind. Kindness has a way to de-escalate someone in crisis to safety. This approach is structured around the “ 3-2-1” framework and the “BE KIND” model, both of which emphasize clarity, connection and care.
Dr. Gavi advocates for a cultural shift within faith communities to foster open dialogue around mental and behavioral health, breaking silence and shame with empathy and truth. For her, kindness is more than a virtue—it is a bridge to hope, help, and healing.