| Marizen Ramirez PhD, MPH Associate Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences School of Public Health, University of Minnesota Dr. Ramirez is an epidemiologist by training with experience in mixed methods and intervention evaluation. She has conducted school-based research since the 1990’s to study injuries to schoolchildren, disaster preparedness in schools, and school violence. She has evaluated a number of public health prevention and intervention strategies: policies to prevent and respond to face-to-face and cyberbullying; school- and hospital-based programs of psychological first aid and trauma-informed care to reduce the impacts of trauma; disaster preparedness programs; and policies and parent-based programs to prevent roadway traffic crashes especially among teens from rural communities. In her research, she uses methodologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and smart phone data collection to collect objective measures, as well as patient- and community-engaged strategies to build community-research partnerships. Her research has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the National Institute of Justice. | |
| Rebecca Rubin Program Manager for RULER, Elementary Schools Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence Rebecca Rubin, M.Ed. is the RULER Program Manager for Elementary Schools at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where she develops the research-based SEL approach, writes curriculum, and trains and supports educators. Currently, Rebecca is working on researching Restorative Practices and integrating some of those philosophies into her work at the Center. Prior to joining Yale, Rebecca taught special education at an elementary school in Washington, D.C. Then, she went on to teach first and second grade and develop curriculum at Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland, California. Rebecca spearheaded efforts to incorporate constructivist principles and Expeditionary Learning into the elementary curriculum at Lighthouse, and she also helped to train her peers. She received a B.A. in political science from the University of Virginia and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from George Mason University. | |
| Nicole Staubli Project Manager Nikki Staubli is a program manager at Facebook for their initiative, inspirED, and has been with the company for over 10 years. She began her career on the Community Ops team as a founding member of Facebook's Child Safety vertical, initially focused on the tools that help keep people safe. Later at Facebook Nikki was able to launch the Bullying Prevention Hub in 52 countries, and has been a long time supporter of the work IBPA is doing. This past year, Nikki led all of InspirED's Youth Engagement Leadership Lab (YELL) events where students go back to their schools ready to create positive change. InspirED has hosted 5 events to date with an additional 5 more scheduled through the end of the academic year! | |
| Michael Steele, Ed.D. Executive Principal Stratford STEM Magnet School Michael Steele is a former United States Marine, and retired law enforcement officer. He currently serves as the Executive Principal of an urban high school in Nashville Tennessee. Dr. Steele is an expert in human behavior, and motivation, with a B.A. in psychology, an M.S. in psychology & counseling, and a doctorate in leadership. As a highly sought after speaker, Mike has traveled the United States and abroad sharing his message of transformation and hope. Mike talks about things such as integrity, self-betrayal, ownership, and excuses, and he delivers his message to inspire your own journey of excellence. Dr. Steele has presented on bullying, aggression, emotional intelligence, and leadership. His transparent message motivates participants to see the changes they need to make in order to impact the lives of others. Mike just published his first book, "OoRah Leadership & Tip of the Spear Transformation" a book dedicated to helping others achieve excellence. Mike is passionate about spending time with his family, staying fit, and helping others receive happiness, peace and excellence in their lives. | |
| Beth Yohe Executive Director The Conflict Center Beth Yohe is an accomplished facilitator, consultant, and training designer with over 20 years of experience. She has written and delivered training programs on a variety of topic areas including addressing bias, ally-building, creating positive school culture, and developing facilitation skills. Beth is the executive director at The Conflict Center and is an adjunct instructor for University of Colorado at Denver’s Department of Education teacher licensure program. | |
