SAFE COMMUNITIES SAFE SCHOOLS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager of Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
- Manager, Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development Data Analyst, LifeSkills Training
Bio
Amanda Ladika is the Manager of Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development whose mission is to promote evidence-based interventions that are effective in reducing antisocial behavior and promoting a healthy course of youth development and adult maturity. She also serves as the Data Analyst on multi-state and local Colorado dissemination efforts of the Blueprints-certified LifeSkills Training program. Her long history at CU Boulder includes working on program evaluations and projects examining the etiology of delinquent behavior and successful adolescent development.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Manager and Process Specialist
- Implementation Manager, Safe Communities Safe Schools ( SCSS )
Bio
Amanda Matthews is an Implementation Manager and Process Specialist on the Safe Communities Safe Schools project. She has several years of experience working with schools and strives to create actionable tools that can support safe school environments.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Amy Ippolito graduated from West Virginia University in 2018 with a B.S. in Sport and Exercise Psychology and a B.S. in Human Nutrition and Foods. She is currently working to complete her Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyles from the Colorado School of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Center for the Study
- Director, Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence and Senior Research Associate
Bio
Dr. Kingston is director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. Her research interests focus on addressing the root causes of violence by creating the conditions that support healthy human development throughout the life course. She has designed, conducted and led several multi-million dollar school and community initiatives and research studies including a federally funded randomized trial focused on school safety.
Bradford Bogue, MA, has worked in the fields of corrections, mental health and alcohol and other drug addiction since 1971, when he started working in a therapeutic community based in NY. Mr. Bogue has an MA in Sociology from the University of Colorado. When not working, Brad practices meditation, Tai Chi and hikes on a near daily basis. Mr. Bogue owned and managed an adult as well as juvenile licensed addiction treatment program, Center for Change, from 1999 to 2006. Currently he is the Director of Justice System Assessment & Training, a national consulting company operating since 1997 that specializes in the implementation of evidence-based practices.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator for the Botvin LifeSkills Training
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Brittany is an Implementation Coordinator for the Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) program, an evidence-based violence and substance abuse prevention program for adolescents. Prior to joining CU Boulder, she worked as a dedicated professional in the special needs field both in education and nonprofit. She received her BA in psychology from Grinnell College. Outside of work, Brittany enjoys trying out new recipes and going on long hikes in the mountains.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Chloe supports Kentucky and Tennessee schools as an Implementation Coordinator, disseminating the evidence-based Botvin LifeSkills Training Program. She studied Psychology and Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Denver, where she also worked as a Research Assistant to a lab studying the intergenerational transmission of risk and resilience. Chloe is an advocate for social justice and otherwise spends her free time exploring the Rocky Mountains and attending live music.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Chris works on the LifeSkills project supporting schools in the southern United States to implement a drug and violence prevention program. He received his BA in Psychology from Fort Lewis College and MA in Contemplative Traditions from Naropa University.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Project Director of the YVPC - D
Bio
Dave Bechhoefer has been the Project Director of the YVPC-D since June 2018. Prior to working for the CSPV Dave worked at the Families Forward Resource Center for 18 years, and was the Executive Director for 9 years. Dave holds a Master of Public Administration, with a Nonprofit Concentration, from the University of Colorado - Denver.
Job Titles:
- Senior Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
David grew up in St. Louis where he graduated from high school and became interested in politics and history. He went on to graduate from the University of Missouri with a BA and MA in political science. He has previously worked as a certified social studies teacher in the St. Louis inner city, and wrote his MA thesis on the history of racial segregation and municipal fragmentation present in the area.
Job Titles:
- Project Director for the Blueprints
- Project Director, LifeSkills Training - Colorado
Bio
Diane Ballard is the Project Director for the Blueprints-certified LifeSkills Training (LST) program replication project in Colorado, and part of the management team for another project replicating LST in 17 additional states. She has been involved with sociology-based research projects for over two decades, having managed a comprehensive longitudinal survey of the U.S. adult population at the University of Wisconsin, a Colorado safe schools project, as well as two additional projects that replicated several Blueprints evidence-based programs around the country.
Job Titles:
- Research Analyst
- Data Analyst for YVPC - D
Bio
Dorian Wilderman has been a data analyst for YVPC-D since October 2016. Prior to working for the CSPV, Dorian was a Criminal Justice Planner, doing policy research and planning for Jefferson County Colorado. Dorian holds a Master of Sociology, with an emphasis in Juvenile Delinquency, from the University of Memphis.
Job Titles:
- Research Director
- Research Associate at the Center
Bio
Dr. Arredondo Mattson is a Research Associate at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research aims to reduce youth violence and other problem behaviors by bridging research and practice to implement evidence-based programs, practices and strategies in a feasible and culturally responsive manner. Currently, she serves as the Co-Principal Investigator of three projects that aim to implement the most effective programs and strategies known to promote violence prevention and positive youth development in schools and communities using a data driven approach.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology
- Founding Director, Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
Bio
Dr. Elliott is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, research professor in the Institute of Behavioral Science and founding director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. He directed a series of major longitudinal studies and published seven books on violence and delinquency. He was the senior science editor in 2001 of Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General and was presented the Public Health Service Medallion for Distinguished Service by David Satcher, MD, PhD, U.S. Surgeon General in 2001.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
- Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science
Bio
Dr. Kimberly Shipman is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS) at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Shipman is a licensed psychologist (clinical and developmental) with expertise in emotion socialization, children's social and emotional development, child mental health and child trauma as well as in the development and dissemination of evidence-based prevention and intervention programs for children and families. Based on her research in social and emotional development, she has co-developed an emotion-focused parenting program (Let's Connect) and a resilience and trauma-informed social and emotional learning program for schools (Resilience in Schools and Educators-RISE). Her current research focuses on implementation and evaluation of Let's Connect and RISE in collaboration with State and Federal partners. Dr. Shipman is currently Principal Investigator or Co-PI on several federally-funded grants as well as other contracts and grants.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Job Titles:
- Project Assistant, LifeSkills Training Project
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Project Manager, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Ginnie Hershbarger serves as a project manager on the LIfeSkills Training Project. Since 2016, she has applied her diverse training and work history in psychology and operations management to this enterprise. Ginnie holds an MS in Experimental Psychology from Central Washington University and a BS in Psychology from Truman State University.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Grace works on the LifeSkills project supporting schools in Colorado to implement a drug and violence prevention program. She received her BA in Sociology and Criminal Justice from Indiana University and her MA in Sociology from Colorado State University.
Job Titles:
- Gun Shop Project - Project Manager
Job Titles:
- Clinical Social Worker
- Director of Engagement and Equity, Center for Resilience & Wellbeing in Schools
Bio
Jessica is a licensed clinical social worker with expertise across major child serving systems in evidence based treatment approaches for children and families, child trauma and trauma sensitive practices, systems-improvement and creating and using eLearning products to increase knowledge and change practice. At CSPV, she serves as a mental health, trauma and social-emotional learning consultant on the Safe Schools Safe Communities Project, serving 46 middle schools across Colorado's front range in creating an evidence-based approach to comprehensive school safety. Jess's primary appointment is in the Center for Resilience and Wellbeing in Schools, also at IBS. In addition to CSPV and CRWS, she is also part of the team at the Renee Crown Wellness Institute.
Bio
Jody Witt is the Project Director for Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS). She is passionate about collaborating with schools to promote healthy and effective learning environments using practical approaches informed by research. Jody currently leads the implementation effort of a Comprehensive School Safety Initiative grant designed to integrate the SCSS model in 44 schools across Colorado funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director for the Multi - State Dissemination Effort of the Botvin LifeSkills Training
- Assistant Director, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Karen Drewelow is the Assistant Director for the multi-state dissemination effort of the Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) program, an experimentally-proven violence and substance abuse prevention program that develops healthy attitudes and behaviors in adolescents. This large-scale dissemination project has supported fidelity-based implementation of the Botvin LST program across 16 states and reached over 600,000 youth. Karen holds a Master of Criminal Justice from the University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor's degree from Loras College.
Job Titles:
- Director, Problem Behavior and Positive Youth Development Program
- Is Director of the Program
Bio
Dr. Hill is director of the Program on Problem Behavior and Positive Youth Development, the Principal Investigator of the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development registry, and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. The Program includes The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, and a newly funded resource center for trauma-focused school-based services in the Rocky Mountain region.
Job Titles:
- Professional Research Assistant at the Center
Bio
Kate Little is a Professional Research Assistant at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. She has worked on several projects at the Institute of Behavioral Science and has filled various research support roles including survey design, programming, data collection, data cleaning, and analysis. She has a bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of Montana and a GIS certification from the University of Louisiana.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Job Titles:
- Lead Researcher, LifeSkills Training Project
- Research Associate at the Center
Bio
Katie Massey Combs is a Research Associate at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder, and is the lead researcher on the LifeSkills Training (LST) dissemination project. Katie's research focuses on the health and well-being of vulnerable youth and on evaluating prevention and intervention programs. On the LST project, Katie utilizes over a decade of process evaluation data to understand what factors lead to successful implementation of evidence-based programs.
Job Titles:
- Project Director for the Multi - State Dissemination Effort of the Botvin LifeSkills Training
- Project Director, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
M. Amanda Lain is the Project Director for the multi-state dissemination effort of the Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) program, an experimentally-proven adolescent violence and substance abuse prevention program that develops healthy attitudes and behaviors in youth when implemented with fidelity. This effort has provided LST to over 500,000 middle-school students across 16 states. Prior to joining the University of Colorado Boulder in 2010, Lain earned Bachelor's degrees in Sociology and Social Sciences from Western New Mexico University ('03) as well as a Master's degree in Sociology from New Mexico State University ('04).
Job Titles:
- Professional Research Assistant
Job Titles:
- Senior Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Marian Håbesland supports a multi-state dissemination effort of Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST), an evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program for adolescents. Prior to joining CU Boulder, Marian moved from Norway to the US to pursue an education in public health. In 2018 she earned a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from University of Colorado - Anschutz Medical Campus.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate
- Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science
Bio
Monica is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science. She is faculty of CVSP and Director of the Center for Resilience & Well-Being in Schools, a center of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. She is Principal Investigator on federal, state, and local grants and values community-academic partnerships. Her work focuses on developing and evaluating prevention and intervention programs that build safe, supportive environments and strong adult-youth relationships in schools and families (e.g., programs RISE: Resilience in Schools & Educators and Let's Connect). Her work also focuses on the dissemination of evidence, based trauma focused treatments for youth and families. Her expertise is in the areas of childhood trauma stress, resilience, social emotional development, mental health and well-being in youth and adults, adult-youth relationships, and intervention development.
Bio
Ms. Angelia Baker holds a Bachelor of Science in Business/ Marketing degree from a historical black college/university (HBCU) in Tyler, Texas by the name of Texas College. Angelia brings more than a decade of service-learning experience to the community. Her passion and commitment to young people is evident through her leadership as a Research Affiliate with the Youth Violence Prevention Center with the University of Colorado - Boulder, The Steps to Success Montbello Youth Engagement Team, The Colorado Department of Human Services Family Voices Council, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc, Family Leadership Training Institute. Star Girlz Empowerment- Leadership Team and Community Outreach.
Angelia continues to develop new ways to connect with youth in the community and schools to improve low neighborhood attachment outcomes.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Administration
- Director of Finance and Administration at the Center
Bio
Nicole Bryant is the Director of Finance and Administration at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. She is Dr. Beverly Kingston's main administrative support and provides financial oversight and administrative support for all projects and grant activities at CSPV. Before joining CSPV, she worked as the Executive Assistant for the Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Student Support Services Department. Prior to that she worked with Dr. Kingston as the administrative support for the Adams County Youth Initiative, a countywide partnership that supports the success of every young person on their journey from cradle to career.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Bio
Rachel is an Implementation Coordinator for the Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) program and serves schools in Colorado, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Rachel received her MA in Social Work from the University of Denver and BA in Religious Studies from Chapman University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate in Violence Prevention With the Center
Bio
Sarah Goodrum is a Senior Research Associate in Violence Prevention with the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder. Formerly, she served as an A.M. and Jo Winchester Distinguished Professor and Department Chair in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Northern Colorado and as Associate Professor and Department Chair in Anthropology and Sociology at Centre College. Dr. Goodrum's research focuses on school violence prevention, homicide victimization, domestic violence, and the criminal justice system. Her co-authored Report on the Arapahoe High School Shooting, funded by The Denver Foundation, examined the lessons learned on violence prevention in schools. These lessons have been used to improve the violence prevention strategies for threat assessment, information sharing, and leadership in school settings. Recently, Dr. Goodrum extended this work on violence prevention to co-author the Colorado School Safety Guide for the Colorado Attorney General's Office and serve as co-PI on an evaluation of the training for the Colorado Threat Assessment and Management Protocol in partnership with the Colorado School Safety Resource Center. She is currently the co-PI and consultant on several violence prevention projects funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
Goodrum's publications have appeared in the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, Behavioral Sciences & the Law, Law & Social Inquiry, Symbolic Interaction, Sociological Spectrum, Sociological Focus, Criminal Justice Review, and International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory & Practice. Her book After Homicide: Victims' Families in the Criminal Justice System chronicles the experiences of families of murder victims from death notification to the trial, is available through Lynne Rienner Publishers (2019).
Job Titles:
- Gun Shop Project - Project Manager
- Project Manager for the Gun Shop Project at the Center
Bio
Stesha Peacock is a Project Manager for The Gun Shop Project at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her prior professional accomplishments included working for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes. She dedicated over 13 years to her passion for working with high-risk pediatric populations in a clinical research setting. Her research interests have recently included violence prevention, firearm safety, mental health promotion, and research implementation and evaluation. She received her Undergraduate Degree from CU-Boulder in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health at the Colorado School of Public Health with a concentration in Population Mental Health and Wellbeing. In her downtime, she enjoys all the food this world offers, international travel, and a variety of outdoor activities.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Former Executive Director of the Safe2Tell
- School Safety and Prevention Expert, Founder of Safe2Tell
Bio
Susan Payne is the Founder and Former Executive Director of the Safe2Tell non-profit prevention initiative, developed as a response to the Columbine tragedy in Colorado. Susan, a 28-year law enforcement veteran, has assisted many states in establishing best practice intelligence gathering and information sharing initiatives to focus on violence prevention and early intervention.
Job Titles:
- Implementation and Evaluation Specialist
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator
Bio
Tara Streng Schroeter is an Implementation Coordinator for the Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS) program of CSPV. Tara has worked in the field of violence prevention since 2014, and is passionate about utilizing research to reduce violence. She has worked with a variety of organizations to address violence and support equity including police departments, mental health organizations, rape crisis centers, religious institutions, and schools throughout Colorado, Ohio, Utah, and Afghanistan. As a researcher, Tara is interested in policy and program evaluation, and working to understand how organizations respond to and measure victimization. Prior to joining CSPV Tara was the Sexual Assault Response Team Coordinator for Colorado's 17th Judicial District, and a graduate student within the Sociology Department at CU. Tara earned her Master's degree in Sociology from CU in 2020, and her Bachelor's in Sociology and International Studies from the University of Utah in 2015.
Tara's pronouns are she/her/hers.
Bio
Troy Grimes is currently the Partner Coordinator for the Youth Violence Prevention Center-Denver project at CSPV, and was the Program Director for Youth Mental Health Services at Struggle of Love Foundation. He is a former Commissioner for the Mayor's Denver African American Commission. Formerly, Troy worked for several years at Goodwill Industries where he worked as a Program Coordinator for their Healthy Relationships Program in the Career Services Department. Troy also has his own Fatherhood Program, Project PROUD Fatherhood LLC, where amongst other things he facilitates community events, contracts privately to assist families with systems navigation and serves as a court appointed Child and Family Investigator. Mr. Grimes has combined his education and his over 20 years of work experience in the Human services field to have a successful career empowering family. Troy has been commended for his work receiving many awards including, ‘Outstanding Individual Fatherhood Practitioner' by the Colorado Department of Human Services in 2008, ‘African Americans Who Make a Difference' from Urban Spectrum 2016. He has presented at national conferences such as, ‘International Prisoners Family Conference', ‘National Association of Black Social Workers conference', and many local venues as an expert in Fatherhood and Family Development. Troy prides himself on being a loving father of 8 children (5 boys and 3 girls), husband and caring member of society. In addition, Mr. Grimes coaches Varsity Basketball for the FNE Warriors, and assists in managing his youth athletics program, Parkhill Falcons. He attributes his deeds, his awareness and involvement in the community to his parents and the experiences he himself had, along with the positive impact the Parkhill Falcons had on him. One of Troy's favorite proverbs to live by is "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another…" Proverbs 27:17. #LLD
Bio
Uriel is a PhD candidate in Applied Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio and holds a Master's in Population Studies and a bachelor's degree in Economics.
Research interests include statistical and demographic methods, conflict and violence studies, critical demography, and the Mexican War on Drugs. He has presented his research at domestic and international conferences such as the Population Association of America, the Southern Demographic Association, and the Latin American Association of Sociology. He also likes to ride his bike, read ethnographies, and fútbol.
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project
Job Titles:
- Director of Training and Technical Assistance
Job Titles:
- Implementation Coordinator, LifeSkills Training Project