Speaker Bios

Kristen Antolini
Kristen D. Antolini, Esq. is a 2008 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, and she practices at Lyons Phillips Legal Group, PLLC, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Attorney Antolini brings a strong passion and love for the advocacy of children in her work as Guardian ad Litem to children in Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor Counties. She has previously presented at the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia’s Court Improvement Program for Guardian ad Litem training and programs. Attorney Antolini can be also be seen working on behalf of parents who struggle with substance abuse in the Netflix documentary, Recovery Boys.

Dr. Nora Baladerian
Dr. Nora Baladerian is a licensed psychologist in Los Angeles, CA who for over 40 years has focused her work on the issue of abuse and neglect of people with I/DD. She has developed resources such as books, films, brief “tip sheets,” for parents, caregivers, and individuals with disabilities. She provides training programs for people with disabilities, parents and caregivers, law enforcement, therapists, social workers, and others on reducing the risk of abuse, recognizing and responding to signs of abuse, and providing therapy to survivors and their loved ones.

Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson
Dr. Baldwin-Johnson is a Board-certified family physician and cofounder and volunteer medical director for The Children’s Place Child Advocacy Center for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska. Dr. Baldwin-Johnson served as the medical director for Alaska CARES, the Child Advocacy Center in Anchorage, Alaska from 2005 to May 2020 when she semi-retired. She has provided trainings for medical providers and multidisciplinary team members on child abuse topics in Alaska and nationally. She serves on the Alaska Children’s Justice Act Task Force, Alaska Children’s Alliance board, Maternal & Child Death Review Committee, and Medical Advisory Board for the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention. She graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine and Swedish Hospital Family Practice Residency program.

Dr. Barry Steiner Ball
Barry Steiner Ball graduated from The Citadel with a B.A. in Psychology and then from Duke University with a Master of Divinity.  Dr. Ball was then ordained as a United Methodist Minister. He served three different charges on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in Talbot County.  In 1998 Dr. Ball was offered a position with the Maryland Natural Resources Police (game wardens and marine police), working Talbot and Caroline counties and serving as the NRP’s chaplain when needed.  In 2008, Dr. Ball was moved into the investigative unit for NRP and worked boating and hunting accidents and larger commercial fishing cases. During this time he also served in the Air Force Reserves as a chaplain at Dover Air Force Base, supporting the work of the Port Mortuary.  Dr. Ball began a Doctor of Ministry program at Wesley Seminary in Washington DC focusing on Military Chaplaincy. In 2012 Dr. Ball’s wife, Sandra, also a United Methodist Minister, was elected into the office of Bishop and moved to West Virginia where she oversees all the United Methodist Churches in West Virginia and Garrett County MD.   With the move west, Dr. Ball was offered by the NRP a position on a Drug Enforcement Administration’s Task Force in Hagerstown Maryland. In this position Dr. Ball worked larger drug cases in Western Maryland and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. During this assignment he was exposed to the plight of Drug Endangered Children and changed his doctoral project and began working with local United Methodist Churches helping them discover how they can support these children.  Dr. Ball earned his doctoral degree, finally, in 2017! He retired from the Maryland Natural Resources Police on Oct. 1, 2017 to work full time with local churches in helping them find their ministry in response to the opioid epidemic. Dr. Ball and Sandra have two grown daughters, Sarah a high school math teacher in Talbot County Maryland and Becky, an aspiring princess at Walt Disney World.

Lori Garrett-Bumba
Lori Garrett-Bumba currently serves as the Director of Prevention Services for Youth Services System, Inc. She serves as the Region 1 Prevention Services Lead for West Virginia and leads the Community Impact Coalition and the Northern Panhandle Prevention Consortium. She currently serves on the West Virginia Certification Board for Addiction and Prevention Professionals. Ms. Garrett-Bumba also currently serves on the State Prevention Steering Committee, Expanded School-Based Mental Health State Steering Team, the SPF Rx State Advisory Group, and the PFS State Advisory Board. She formerly was a member of the WV SADD State Advisory Board. She is a West Virginia Licensed Social Worker and a Certified Prevention Specialist II. She has been working in the field of substance abuse prevention for 12 years after serving as Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Upper Ohio Valley and Information Helpline. Ms. Garrett-Bumba is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Wheeling. She has had extensive experience in grant writing, public relations, event planning and community collaborations.

Tonier Cain
Tonier Cain is the CEO/Founder of Tonier Cain International. Tonier Cain works tirelessly to raise the awareness about trauma informed care around the world. She has trained providers in all 50 states. Ms. Cain is an advocate and educator, speaking all over the world on trauma, addiction, incarceration, homelessness, substance abuse and mental health. Her work has been used as a model in other countries for the establishment of their trauma informed care protocols. Ms. Cain was the former team leader for the National Center for Trauma Informed Care, with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Director. Currently she works to create international leaders in the field of Trauma Informed Care. She hosts an annual national conference to update and enlighten providers on current best practices. Ms. Cain’s methods have proven to be effective, resulting in numerous awards for her work. She has been honored by two governors, a mayor and a state attorney with proclamations naming days after her, because of her help to transform their city and state. Ms. Cain is the C.E.O. and Founder of Tonier Cain International, Founder and President of Neen Cares, Inc. A 501 C 3, Founder and Co-C.E.O. of M.E.T.-R Integrated Health, Global, as well as the Founder and C.E.O. of Purposeful Entertainment Production Company. She is an award winning Film Producer that is the Creator and Producer of the Upcoming TV Show “Restoration”, Executive Producer of the Film “Walking Thru Bullets”, subject and Co- Producer of the Award-Winning Film “Healing Neen”, along being featured in the Documentary “Behind Closed Doors: Trauma Survivors in the Psychiatrist System and advising on the film “Like Any Other Kid”. Ms. Cain is an author and serves as a Citygate Network Board Member. Her commitment to advocating for those who are often forgotten hasn’t gone without recognition. She has been featured in many articles including December’s 2014 Ebony Magazine and appeared on over 17 talks shows. Ms. Cain uses her life experiences to make a difference for trauma survivors.

Chelsea Carter
Chelsea Carter is the Program Coordinator/Therapist of Brighter Futures Substance and Mental Health Abuse Treatment Center in Madison, WV. She graduated in May 2016 from Concord University with her master's degree in social work. Ms. Carter, like many others has suffered from this horrible disease called addiction. During her time in active addiction, which was from the ages of 12 to 21, she became entangled in a web of lies, manipulation, and chaos which eventually led her to receiving a 2 to 20-year prison sentence for nighttime burglary and conspiracy. After she gained her life back, she decided that it was time to give back to the community what had been given to her, which was her recovery.

Cindy Chamberlin
Cindy Chamberlin is a physical therapist with over 25 years of experience working with children. She has worked in the Birth to Three program for more than 16 years and Clay County schools for more than 10 years. Prior to that she implemented the developmental care program in Raleigh General Hospital’s NICU. She has been working with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) babies since her NICU days and has seen the steady increase in numbers as well as observed these children as they transition into school and the impacts that it has had on our educational system. She is the WV Chapter President of To The Moon and Back, a nonprofit dedicated to providing support for the families and professionals working with these children.

Sharon W. Cooper, MD FAAP
Dr. Sharon Cooper is the CEO of Developmental & Forensic Pediatrics, P.A., a consulting firm which provides medical care to children with developmental disabilities, and provides medical care, research and training, and expert witness testimony in cases of child maltreatment. Dr. Cooper spent 21 years in the United States Army, retiring as a Colonel. Dr. Cooper holds faculty positions at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill-School of Medicine and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. She serves on the boards of several national and international organizations focused on violence against children. Dr. Cooper has lectured both nationally and internationally in well over 300 conferences, including many federal justice agencies, the National Judicial College, the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, INTERPOL, and academic conferences focused on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She has provided extensive training to representatives of more than 45 countries whose hotlines are focused on the rescue and identification of child and adolescent victims of sexual exploitation. Dr. Cooper is the lead author of two comprehensive texts on child sexual exploitation and is co-author of a book focused on the complexity of investigation, discovery and recovery of missing children and adults. She served on the International Working Group which published the landmark Survivor Survey of victims of abusive images, sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. She has testified before the United States Congress, the European Commission, the Manitoba Legislature, the Italian Senate and the Russian Duma (Parliament). Dr. Cooper has worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children providing victim-centered training for more than a decade and presently serves on the Board of Directors. Dr. Cooper served on the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence at the request of the Attorney General of the United States. She also served as a member of the bipartisan Homeland Security Advisory Council on Children and Families for Customs and Border Protection regarding migrating populations from the Northern Triangle. Dr. Cooper is the Executive Producer of the documentary Not Just Pictures, which delves into the extraordinary victim impact of abusive images and other types of sexual exploitation.

Sergeant Tony Craigo
Sgt. Tony Craigo is a 19-year veteran of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. Sgt. Craigo currently works as the Domestic Violence Investigator for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department specializing in domestic violence and sexual assault investigations, elder abuse, stress management and training various disciplines on the aspects of domestic violence and non-fatal strangulation. Sgt. Craigo also fills in as a Batterers Intervention Prevention facilitator for the Putnam County Day Report Center. Sgt. Craigo sits on the Putnam County STOP Domestic Violence Taskforce, West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, and is a trainer on the WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence Law Enforcement Training Team, International Association Chiefs of Police (IACP), and the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL). Sgt. Craigo consults for other national stakeholders on rural abuse investigations.

Emily Daniels
Emily Daniels is the founder of HERE this NOW, a trauma-informed consulting firm that provides technical assistance to those seeking to build capacity for being trauma-informed and trauma-responsive. Ms. Daniels has a B.A. in Sociology and Women Studies and a Master of Education in School Counseling from the University of Delaware. She also holds an MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability from Antioch University New England.  She is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) through the NBCC (National Board of Certified Counselors) and is in her second year of a three-year certificate program in Somatic Experiencing.™  She’s trained in SMART (Sensory-Motor Arousal Therapy) and has trained with Dr. Tina Champagne in Trauma-Informed Sensory Modulation.  She is a trained Reiki practitioner and completed a certificate in the Penn Program for Mindfulness. She is the author of The Regulated Classroom: “Bottom-Up” Trauma-Informed Teaching and is a nationally recognized trauma specialist in the trauma-informed movement providing training and consultation in NH and across the US.

Andrea Darr
Andrea Darr is the director of the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice which promotes and supports a statewide trauma informed response to child maltreatment and children’s exposure to violence.  The Center, housed in the Crimes Against Children Unit at the WV State Police, streamlines resources and minimizes duplicative efforts to address challenges, barriers, gaps and needed improvements in working child maltreatment cases.  The Center includes the WV Children’s Justice Task Force and the WV Handle with Care Initiative. Before devoting her work full time on children’s initiatives, Ms. Darr served as the Coordinator of Victim Witness Services for the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Institute from 2005-2015.  In that capacity she coordinated with prosecution-based victim witness assistance programs as well as community-based programs to improve their collective knowledge concerning available resources and information and to establish a bridge between local, state, and federal agencies regarding victim issues.  Ms. Darr has also worked in direct services with victims of crime, violence and abuse while serving as the Victim Liaison at the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Bonnie Dunn
Bonnie Dunn was born, raised, and educated in Kanawha County, West Virginia. Ms. Dunn received a BS in Education Comprehensive Vocational Home Economics from West Virginia State (College) University and an MS in Vocational Education /Minor Adult Education from Marshall University. Her career spans 58 years in the field of education and her life-long passion has been teaching. She has worked as a middle-school teacher, an entrepreneur, teacher-educator, vocational evaluator, single parent, an Extension Agent, statewide coordinator for the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, and finally returning to her roots at West Virginia State University where she now serves as an Extension Specialist for Family and Consumer Sciences. Her passion for the last five years has been working with Grandparents who are raising grandchildren. She is currently specialist for the statewide WVSU Healthy Grandfamilies Program that covers all 55 counties in West Virginia. Her passion for this program comes from her maternal grandparents who sacrificed 25 years of their lives to give her life!

Rita Farrell
Rita Farrell serves as the Director of the ChildFirst® program of the Zero Abuse Project. Ms. Farrell has been in the field for more than 20 years and manages the ChildFirst® Forensic Interview Training Program, ChildFirst® Arkansas state program, and the development of advanced training courses and programs for forensic interviewers. Ms. Farrell is a certified law enforcement instructor and provides training and technical assistance for child protection professionals. Ms. Farrell currently conducts forensic interviews and has interviewed more than 1,500 children. She serves as an expert witness on child sexual abuse, authored many peer reviewed articles specific to forensic interviewing and has trained nationally since 2005 on issues relating to child maltreatment and forensic interviewing. Ms. Farrell graduated from Ball State University with a degree in secondary education and was the founding executive director of Chaucie’s Place, a Child Advocacy Center in Hamilton County, Indiana. As a national trainer, Ms. Farrell continues to champion the cause of child advocacy and the field of forensic interviewing.

Barri Faucett
Barri Faucett, M.A. received her Master of Arts degree in clinical psychology from Marshall University in 2003. Currently serving as the Director of Prevent Suicide WV, as well as West Virginia’s Suicide Prevention and Intervention project, Mrs. Faucett oversees and implements directives designed to address suicide prevention and intervention for all West Virginians. Her work involves facilitation, monitoring and evaluation of suicide prevention efforts throughout the state. Her clinical experience includes direct service in intensive outpatient programs related to children and adolescents with mental health and substance abuse issues, covering a broad array of diagnoses. Mrs. Faucett is a Master Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), safeTALK, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), and Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainer, providing trainings for over 10,000 professionals, consumers, and community members for increased awareness and efficient referral intervention procedures for at risk individuals.

Dr. Kiti Freier-Randall
Dr. Kiti Freier Randall is an internationally known Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Psychologist. She has extensive experience with infants, children, and adolescents. She has specialized expertise in infant high-risk populations, neurodevelopmental disability, trauma, and pre and postnatal substance exposure. Dr Kiti is a Professor and Director of Psychological Services for the Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University Health and Medical Director for the Inland Empire Autism Assessment Center of Excellence. Dr. Kiti works as a clinical expert consultant to the six San Bernardino County SART programs (transdisciplinary 0-5 high-risk clinics). She is also a content consultant to several agencies including San Bernardino First Five, Children’s Network, and IEHP. She is author/director of the Trauma, Loss & Compassion (TLC) program; a bereavement support group which has been implemented in San Bernardino County Preschools for 10 years (Community Service Award in 2018). She has co-developed ‘Time-In 4 Schools’ which provides strategies to assist schools in enhancing social/emotional development and learning. Dr Kiti has had an extensive academic and research career. She has worked at professorship positions at University of Miami, Brown University, Andrews University and Loma Linda University. She has been a co-investigator on several NIH grants and has been a primary investigator on numerous local and state grants. Dr Kiti was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Child Advocacy (2020) from San Bernardino County California, the Health Ministries Medal of Distinction (2016) from the SDA General Conference, Shine a Light Award (2013) from San Bernardino County, Telly Award (Bronze) With members of the TV Series “Unhooked” as Co-Host of the series Produced by Hope Channel (2012), and the Distinguished Service Award (2007) and the Centennial Vanguard Award for her service in ‘Wholeness’ (2006) from Loma Linda University. Through her work Dr. Kiti has facilitated moving from understanding risk to promoting resiliency via training in over 40 countries. Dr. Kiti has dedicated her career to children, families, professionals, organizations, and communities to enhance the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual lives of children and their families to promote optimal and healthy living. She is especially committed to ameliorating the trajectories of children in her local and global community.

Kathleen Guire
After three biological children and the National Parents of the Year award, Kathleen and Jerry Guire began the adoption process. The Guire family traveled to Poland in November of 1999 to adopt a sibling group of four. The new Guires came home in February of 2000. Ms. Guire has spent the last several years leading an adoption support group, “Positive Adoption.” The support group is named after Ms. Guire’s first book Positive Adoption: A Memoir, which intertwines her childhood story with the adoption of her children. She has also written Five Things: A Tiny Handbook for Adoptive/Foster Families, Defining Home, Defining Family, and 25 Days of Thriving Through Christmas: An Advent Devotional. Ms. Guire is a certified Empowered to Connect Parent Trainer, a program that relies heavily on the TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) model created by Dr. Karyn Purvis and her colleagues at TCU. You can find more about Ms. Guire — including over five hundred articles she has written about adoption, home, house and family — at https://thewholehouse.org.

Senior Deputy Matthew Hagan
Senior Deputy Matt Hagan is a 20-year veteran of law enforcement and works for the Marion County (Oregon) Sheriff's Office. He is currently assigned to the Criminal Investigations Unit as a person’s crimes detective, investigating sex crimes and homicides. He is also the Terrorism Liaison Officer for Marion County. On top of his regular duties, he has been a member of the MCSO Domestic Violence Team since 2011 and has completed the Department of Homeland Security Domestic Violence Investigations Instructor Course. He is also a member of the MCSO Peer Support Team. He is a Stress First Aid Train-The-Trainer Instructor. He has presented classes around Oregon, as well as nationally on Domestic Violence Investigations and Emotional Survival. Senior Deputy Hagan is also an adjunct instructor at Chemeketa Community College in the Law Enforcement program. He is also the Co-founder/Instructor of 1932 Training Concepts LLC.

Dr. Jim Harris
Dr. Jim Harris is the Associate Director at the West Virginia Autism Training Center (WV ATC) at Marshall University. Dr. Harris’s focus at the WV ATC is the improvement and expansion of services ranging for in-home programs to national partnerships. Dr. Harris has presented at a variety of conferences from the local to the international levels on such topics as behavioral intervention, parenting, positive behavior support, trauma-informed care, organizational change, and many more. He has worked with children and families throughout his career as an early interventionist, parent educator, educational consultant, and behavioral health therapist. He has worked with a variety of public and private entities including the Fred Rogers Company, United States Department of Education, the United States Department of Justice, and many more. For more information about the ATC please visit http://www.marshall.edu/atc/.

Susan Harrison
Susan Harrison has led and grown the CASA for Children Inc. organization to include 4 counties (Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, and Tyler Counties), 2 Court Jurisdictions and serving more than 400 children each year. In 2010, Ms. Harrison and her husband founded Helping Heroes Inc., a program providing a ‘hand up’ to veterans needing housing stability assistance in the Northern Panhandle of WV. She is a member of the WV State Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children, the lead for the Marshall County Partners in Prevention Team and a trainer of the Mandated Reporting, Making a Difference Curriculum. In addition, Ms. Harrison has taught social work classes at West Liberty University each year since 2012.

Dr. Rachael Hatfield
Dr. Rachael Hatfield earned her Doctor of Psychology degree from Marshall University. For her dissertation, she developed a broad-based mental health training program for law enforcement agencies and examined the effects of the program on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards persons exhibiting a mental disturbance. She is a WV Licensed Clinical Psychologist and is employed by the Huntington VA Medical Center. Her primary responsibilities at the VA Medical Center include consultation and liaison services for the emergency departments and inpatient medical floors, de-escalation techniques and crisis intervention skills with patients exhibiting mental disturbances and facilitating transfers to psychiatric units and mental hygiene commitments. Dr. Hatfield has completed training and is assigned to complete VAMC police officer candidacy evaluations and fitness for duty evaluations. Since 2013, she has worked with various state, county, and city law enforcement agencies to provide annual in-service in mental disturbance identification, de-escalation of crisis, and police officer self-care. Dr. Hatfield was born and raised in West Virginia; she enjoys engaging in many of the outdoor activities WV has to offer.

Amber Higgins
Amber Higgins grew up in West Virginia with her mother and sisters in an unstable household. From the ages of 8 to 13, she would be abused countless times by her best friend’s father. When she reported this abuse, her claims were not taken seriously by law enforcement or her mother. It was not until Ms. Higgins was 18 that she would find the courage to come forward again to report her abuser. Thanks to WV State Trooper Horne, she was heard and believed. Ms. Higgins faced her abuser alone in a park wearing a wire and hidden camera in hopes of capturing a confession. Today Ms. Higgins is a featured speaker with the SHIELD Task Force. She has told her story to thousands of school-aged youth and been a key resource for the many survivors who have disclosed abuse at SHIELD events. Ms. Higgins also works as Awareness & Development Assistant at Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center.

Chief Jim Holler
Chief Jim Holler served as Chief of Police for sixteen years of the Liberty Township Police Department in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Chief Holler is an internationally known speaker specializing in crimes against children and has trained and provided technical assistance to thousands of attorneys, judges, law enforcement professionals, medical, mental health and public health professionals, social workers, and advocates both in the United States and internationally on a range of topics specifically related to crimes against children and social worker safety. Chief Holler is the Executive Director of Firefly, an independent sexual abuse investigative company and has conducted independent sexual abuse investigations for large religious organizations throughout the United States. Chief Holler became an Internet Crimes Against Children Investigator and has conducted pro-active internet investigations making multiple arrests for possession of child pornography and undercover chat related arrests for soliciting sex from a minor. Chief Holler was the founder and board president of the Adams County Children’s Advocacy Center in Gettysburg PA and past board president of the Wetzel-Tyler County WV Child Advocacy Center in Paden City WV and currently sits on the board of Dream Big, Believe Bigger, Inc.

Dr. Allison Jackson
Allison Jackson, PhD, LCSW, LICSW, CSOTP and Certified Facilitator of Dr. Brené Brown’s Daring Way™ curriculums (CDWF) focuses on advancing effective trauma informed clinical and organizational practices. Specialties include using attachment, mindfulness, and neuroscience interventions to enhance clinical and organizational practices. She is a person of lived experience and a professional having provided services via Behavioral Health, Education, Child Welfare and Criminal Justice systems for over 20 years. For 13 years, she served within an international healthcare organization first as mentor and finally as their VP of Clinical Operations and National Trauma Informed Service Line Leader. Partnering with the National Council of Behavioral HealthCare, she co-led 17 National Teams through the Council’s Trauma Informed Learning Collaborative. Today, Dr. Jackson is the CEO of Integration Solutions, providing trauma informed care consultation to human service and healthcare organizations furthering their integration of resilience practices to consumers via TIC organizational culture principles. http://integrationsolutions.org

Edward Jacoubs
Edward G. Jacoubs MSW is currently employed by the Plymouth County District Attorney office as the Director of Grants and Sponsored Projects having been in this position since 1998. He is responsible for grant writing and administration, as well as community education and special projects having administered over 14 million dollars in grant funding since 2000. Prior to working at the District Attorney’s Office he was a Probation Officer for 13 years at the Brockton District Court, supervising juvenile offenders and mental health adults. He also served seven years as the Director of a DYS detention center. He holds a Master’s degree of Clinical Social Work from Boston College and has 42 years’ experience in the juvenile justice and forensic mental health field. He completed his clinical training at McLean Hospital (a Harvard Medical School affiliate) with his concentration on addictions and adolescent behavioral health. He serves on the faculty at Bridgewater State University, Curry College and Stonehill College all located in Massachusetts.

Lara Kain
As the Southern California community facilitator for ACEs Connection, Ms. Kain brings her deep understanding of the importance of schools as community drivers for change. Ms. Kain is an experienced educator and consultant who speaks nationally on implementing trauma-informed practices in schools and building holistic, trauma-responsive systems. Ms. Kain brings over two decades of experience at the local, state, and national levels, including developing programs for integrating trauma-informed practices into community schools in Los Angeles. She worked for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as the state homeless coordinator, and practiced her first love, teaching 'at-risk' youth in Washington state. As an example of her understanding of the micro and the macro, Ms. Kain’s experience ranges from supporting individual teachers to designing a trauma-informed schools pilot implemented in 20 schools across the country. Ms. Kain has worked both as a teacher and administrator putting the science of building resilience into practice.

Judge Patricia Keller
Patricia Keller is a Family Court Judge in the Sixth Family Court Circuit (Cabell County), where she presides over domestic relations hearings, including divorce, child custody, visitation, guardianship, domestic violence, and support, as well as modification and contempt matters. In addition to her Family Court duties, Judge Keller has been actively involved in the implementation of both juvenile and adult drug courts in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

Sarah Kingston
Sarah Kingston is a Certified Victim Advocate for the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office. Formerly a community-based advocate with Branches, Inc., she continues to provide support to victims and their families while helping to ensure their safety and recovery. Ms. Kingston was certified by The West Virginia State Police Academy as a trainer in Domestic Violence Law Enforcement Response and continues to serve on the WVCADV Law Enforcement Training Faculty. As a trainer for West Virginia Child Welfare Workers and Domestic Violence Advocates, Ms. Kingston co-trains DHHR staff and advocates state-wide. She is the chair of the Kanawha County STOP Team. In 2009, Ms. Kingston received The Diane Reese Advocacy Award from The West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence for her “spirited and visionary efforts in coordinating grassroots advocacy on behalf of battered women and their children”. From 2009 to 2012 she served on the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. She was chair of the Putnam County STOP Team who received the United States Department of Justice U.S. Attorney Southern District of West Virginia Award for Public Service. In 2015, Ms. Kingston received the Purple Ribbon Award from the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence as part of the Law Enforcement Training Faculty. In 2017, the U S. Attorney Southern District of West Virginia presented Ms. Kingston the Excellence in Victim Advocacy and Justice Award.

Kristina Korobov
Kristina Korobov is an Assistant United State Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, where she serves as the Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, handling crimes against children and sex trafficking cases. Ms. Korobov has worked in prosecution since 1996 in Indianapolis and Leesburg, VA. She has specialized in Special Victims Offenses, including child abuse homicides, sex crimes, internet crimes against children and domestic violence offenses. She has trained allied professionals on the national and international level since 2003.

Maggie Kuhl, Esq.
Maggie Kuhl graduated from Marshall University with a degree in Political Science, and then WVU Law School. She now practices in the Putnam County region in Family and Juvenile law. She is a frequent GAL in Family Court and Circuit Court in multiple counties.

Jill MacFarlane
Jill Macfarlane is Program Director at The Sharing Place, a grief support program for children and their families in Salt Lake City, UT. Ms. MacFarlane also facilitates several grief support groups and has been with The Sharing Place since 2002. Ms. MacFarlane received her bachelor’s from the University of Utah in 2002 in family and human development and spent the first part of her career in the healthcare industry as a Child Life Specialist in the Pediatric Dialysis and Kidney Transplant program.

Paige Mathias
Paige Mathias is currently the Regional Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator at the Potomac Highlands Guild. Under the West Virginia Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant, provided through the WV Department of Health and Human Resources – Bureau for Behavioral Health, she covers Region 2 (Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan and Pendleton counties) in the state of West Virginia. In this position she provides leadership regarding multiple state grants to implement prevention services and trainings related to substance use disorder. She maintains a strong focus in evidence-based prevention programming, strategic planning, workforce development, community mobilization and coalition building. Before working in the prevention field, Ms. Mathias worked in pre-college enrichment at the University of California, Santa Barbara providing academic counseling and social mentoring. She completed two terms as a Community Coordinator for AmeriCorps Energy Express and is endorsed to substitute teach English, Spanish and Social Studies (k-12) in the state of West Virginia. Other professional experiences include public relations campaigns, advertising campaigns, special event planning, fundraising and volunteer recruitment. She received her Bachelor of Science in Journalism (concentration in Public Relations) and Bachelor of Arts in History from West Virginia University simultaneously in December 2004.

Sergeant Jim Mitchell
Sergeant Jim Mitchell has served as a law enforcement officer for thirty one years, twenty four of these years in criminal investigations. He currently serves as the Assistant Detachment Commander for the Oak Hill Detachment. He is also the Wellness Officer and Director of Chaplain Services for the West Virginia State Police. Sergeant Mitchell has served in the United States Department of State Diplomatic Security Division and the Beckley City Police Department. He honorably served in the United States Army as a military police officer and veteran of Desert Storm. Sergeant Mitchell has devoted thirty six years to ministry serving as both associate and senior pastor. He is a graduate of Marshall University and is furthering his education from Liberty University.

Shelly Mize
Shelly Mize currently works as the Prevention Grant Director for Westbrook Health Services. She serves as the Prevention Lead for Region 3 in West Virginia. Ms. Mize works daily to educate children and adults about substance abuse prevention and advocates for healthy lifestyle choices and opportunities in their community. She has a BA in Social Work from West Virginia State University. Ms. Mize is a Licensed Social Worker and Certified Prevention Specialist II. She is committed to improving the quality of life for youth in Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wirt, and Wood Counties. For over a decade, she has educated children in Region 3 by bringing community members together to uplift and guide them. Westbrook Health Services provides a vast array of services and supports designed to better the lives of those we serve. Working with individuals, schools, and other non-profit organizations, Westbrook strives daily to empower people to reach their greatest potential.

Robert Peters
Robert J. Peters is the Senior Attorney of the Zero Abuse Project, where he develops and delivers state-of-the-art training and comprehensive technical assistance to prosecutors and child abuse multidisciplinary team members on crimes against children. Previously, Mr. Peters worked as the Senior Cyber and Economic Crime Attorney & General Counsel with the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), where his efforts included providing subject matter expertise on topics and training related to technology-facilitated child exploitation, and acting as lead instructor for NW3C’s Judges & Prosecutors courses. Mr. Peters served as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Special Prosecutor in multiple West Virginia jurisdictions, where he specialized in the prosecution of sexual offenses, civil child abuse and neglect cases, and juvenile crime. In addition to his prosecutorial experience, Mr. Peters authored several child protection-related articles in peer-reviewed publications, including the Florida Journal of International Law, Handbook on Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan, and Christian Ethics Today. While in law school, Peters clerked at the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Virginia. Prior to serving as prosecutor, Mr. Peters designed comprehensive child protection policies for numerous entities including educational institutions, churches, and parachurch organizations. He assisted the nonprofit GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) by providing legal support and serving as an investigator of abuse perpetrated in the context of faith communities. Mr. Peters is the founder and Chairman of the SHIELD Task Force, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that partners with Child Advocacy Centers and local stakeholders to encourage reporting of sexual abuse and online safety. This initiative has brought age-appropriate abuse prevention education to thousands of school-aged children and numerous civic and community groups. Mr. Peters also serves on the WV Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN) Board of Directors and WV Human Trafficking Task Force. In 2019, Mr. Peters received the WV State Police Center for Children’s Justice Extra Mile Award for demonstrated professional leadership and personal commitment in going the Extra Mile on behalf of children and families.

Jan Riley
Jan Riley is a retired educator who continues to use her skills, knowledge, and experience to promote the welfare of people, especially children. She has a BS degree in chemistry/pre-med and Master’s Degree in education. She combines her life experience as a teacher, professor, conference speaker, and CASA volunteer with her knowledge of science and counseling to continue her efforts to inform, equip, and encourage those in the helping professions.

Kim Runyon Wilds
Kim Runyon Wilds has a MS degree in Criminal Justice from Marshall University and an MSW from WVU. She is the Program Director of Western Regional CASA and has been with WRC for over 27 years.

Dr. Timothy Saar
Dr. Timothy Saar has been practicing psychology in West Virginia for over twenty years and has a broad range of experience in clinical diagnosis and therapy, forensic evaluations, and geriatric practice. He received his Ph. D. from Cambridge Graduate College in Los Angeles, CA.; his Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA; and his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California. Dr. Saar received his licensure in Marriage and Family Therapy in California in 1990 as well as in Psychology in California in 1995, in West Virginia in 1996, and in North Carolina in 2015. He has also been qualified as a forensic expert in Clinical Psychology in Family, Circuit, and Federal courts. Dr. Saar is currently the Director of Saar Psychological Group, PLLC (SPG), has been an adjunct professor at Marshall University Graduate College, and is on the faculty of West Virginia State University.

Dr. Christine Schimmel
Dr. Christine Schimmel is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling, and Counseling Psychology at West Virginia University. Dr. Schimmel coordinates the school counseling program and specifically focuses on working with and training school counselors. Prior to becoming a counselor educator, she was a school counselor. Dr. Schimmel has devoted over 21 years to providing staff development and workshops on topics relevant to both clinical mental health and school counselors. She has presented on topics such as impact therapy, creative counseling techniques, counseling theory, dealing with challenging students, and group counseling. Dr. Schimmel has published more than 10 articles, book chapters and monographs on these subjects as well. along with her colleague, Dr. Ed Jacoubs, they have published one of the most widely used group counseling textbooks on the market, Group Counseling: Strategies and Skills, which is now in its eighth edition. In December 2018, her newest textbook with co-editor Dr. Ann Vernon, Counseling Children & Adolescents was released.

John Sedoski
John Sedoski is a Cybercrime Specialist with the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). He earned a B.S. in 2009 from West Virginia University, majoring in Computer and Electrical Engineering. During this time, he worked in the West Virginia State Police Digital Forensic Lab where he was able to provide aid by using his education and applying it to the field of computer forensics. Mr. Sedoski has provided thousands of hours of training to numerous state, local, and federal law enforcement personnel in topics ranging from basic identifying and seizing of electronic evidence to the analysis of artifacts found in a variety of file systems and operating systems. When Mr. Sedoski is not out providing training, he is either providing technical assistance or developing curriculum..

Elizabeth Shahan
Elizabeth Shahan is the Executive Director of West Virginia Prevention Solutions, Inc. She is a licensed social worker and a certified as a Prevention Specialist II. She has studied community mobilization in response to conflict in South America and Mexico. She has been training/teaching adults and youth for 17 years. She provides training throughout West Virginia educating professionals, community members, parents, and youth in an array of substance abuse issues. She also works with community members and stakeholders to create sustainable positive change using environmental strategies in substance abuse prevention.

Dr. Lauren Swager
Dr. Lauren W. Morgan Swager is currently an Associate Professor in the West Virginia University Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry where she is the Division Chief for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She received her M.D. from West Virginia University.  She completed a general psychiatry residency program and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Currently Dr. Swager serves as the Co-Director of the Education Oversight Committee in psychiatry.  She is involved in medical student education and serves as the medical director of the PREVENT clinic for adolescent substance use treatment, has previously served as a consultant to  Monongalia County Schools, and is currently the director of the Pediatric Psychiatry Consultation service to the WVU Children’s Hospital.  She is a nationally Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist.  She enjoys serving her state and working to improve the mental health of pediatric patients and families.

Judge William Thompson
Judge William Thompson was born in Charleston and raised on Lick Creek near Danville. He graduated Salutatorian from Scott High School in 1988. He has a 1992 degree in civil engineering from West Virginia University and graduated from West Virginia University College of Law in 1995. He was an engineer for American Electric Power in Columbus, Ohio, in 1992; Vice President of Danville Lumber Company from 1992 to 2007; and President of Madison Health Care, Inc., from 1998-2007. He was an attorney for Cook and Cook in Madison from 1995 to 2007and a Mental Hygiene Commissioner for Boone County from 2003 to 2007. Then-Governor Joe Manchin III appointed him to the bench in the Twenty-Fifth Judicial Circuit (Boone and Lincoln Counties) in 2007. Judge Thompson was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2016. Judge Thompson has been appointed to be a temporary Justice on the Supreme Court to hear cases in which as Justice was recused. He serves as the presiding judge for the Boone County Adult Drug Court, the Lincoln County Adult Drug Court, and the Boone County Adult Drug Court. He is a member of the Madison United Methodist Church and is actively involved in coaching youth sports for both boys and girls. He and his wife, Keri Dawn, have four children, Grace Madison, age 19, William Joseph Thompson, age 15, Claire Thompson, age 14 and Sophia MaKay Thompson, age 9.

Aisury Vasquez
Aisury Vasquez is the Diversity Outreach Coordinator with the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Ms. Vasquez works with the Divison's Diversity Ambassador program and serves as a liaison between students and identity-based student organizations. Furthermore, she also enjoys working to promote an inclusive and diverse campus community through programming, training, and events. Ms. Vasquez received her bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University and a master's from West Virginia University. She has also served in the US Peace Corps from 2016 - 2018.

Mary Vicario
Mary Vicario is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Supervisor (LPCC-S) and a Certified Trauma Specialist with over 30 years’ experience working with trauma survivors of all ages and ability levels and training on trauma informed care nationally and internationally. She has been a People-to-People delegate to China and Mongolia with the American Counseling Association and guest lectured and participated in a conference on human trafficking in Germany. She holds a Certificate in Traumatic Studies from Bessel van der Kolk’s Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute and has also been honored with a CASA award for cooperative casework. As a former teacher, clinician, and clinical director and now as the founder of Finding Hope Consulting, LLC, Ms. Vicario has many years’ experience working with trauma survivors, addictions, and training. Receiving ongoing training at international conferences and Harvard Medical School since 1992, she has been bringing home to Ohio the latest in neuroscience and trauma research to create cutting edge training and programming for individuals of all ages and ability levels and the systems that work with them. Ms. Vicario is a trainer and coach for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program and co-authored the Foster Parents' Survival Guide, a textbook chapter in Counseling Children and Adolescents: Connecting Theory, Development and Diversity by Sondra Smith-Adcock and Catherine Tucker Eds through Sage Publishing, and other trauma informed articles and curricula. She has been an expert witness on abuse since 1989 and worked with Hamilton County Courts for eight years creating cross system care for the 300 most challenging youth in the county. Ms. Vicario is a proud recipient of multiple grants to further develop and link trauma informed care across systems and communities in Ohio and is honored to provide Trauma Responsive Care Certification through the Tristate Trauma Network for anyone working with trauma survivors.

Victor Vieth
Victor has trained thousands of child-protection professionals from all 50 states, two U.S. Territories, and 17 countries on numerous topics pertaining to child abuse investigations, prosecutions, and prevention. Mr. Vieth gained national recognition for his work in addressing child abuse in small communities as a prosecutor in rural Minnesota and has been named to the President’s Honor Roll of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. In 2012, Mr. Vieth was awarded the Pro Humanitate Award from the North American Resource Center for Child Welfare. Mr. Vieth is the Director of Education and Research of the Zero Abuse Project, a 501©(3) public charity based in St Paul, MN, committed to education, training, and survivor support in order to eradicate child sex abuse and remedy its resulting harms. He is the 2018 President of the Academy on Violence & Abuse, and founder of the National Child Protection Training Center. With NCPTC and its partners, Mr. Vieth has been instrumental in implementing 22 state and international forensic interview training programs and dozens of undergraduate and graduate programs on child maltreatment. Mr. Vieth graduated magna cum laude from WSU and earned his Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law (HUSL). In 2017, Mr. Vieth earned an MA in theology from Wartburg Seminary. Mr. Vieth has published countless articles related to the investigation, prosecution and prevention of child abuse and neglect. He is author of Unto the Third Generation, a bold initiative that outlines the necessary steps we must all take to eliminate child abuse in America in three generations, and On This Rock: A Call to Center the Christian Response to Child Abuse on the Life and Works of Jesus (Wiff & Stock 2018).

Sam Wilmoth
A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Mr. Wilmoth is a proud alumnus of the West Virginia University School of Social Work. He currently serves as a Title IX Education specialist in the West Virginia University Office of Equity Assurance. Before joining WVU, Mr. Wilmoth was the SART Project Coordinator at the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services. In that capacity, Mr. Wilmoth traveled throughout the state, delivering trainings designed to enhance services for survivors of sexual assault and stalking. Mr. Wilmoth has also served as a project manager for a federal grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. The funds from this grant were used to support rape crisis centers across West Virginia. Mr. Wilmoth also has substantial experience engaging in preventative programming, having delivered presentations to thousands of students at West Virginia University. Mr. Wilmoth also served as a faculty member for the National Center for Campus Public Safety, where he helps teach a course on trauma-informed Title IX procedures across the nation.  Mr. Wilmoth's most formative experiences have been clinical ones. For several years, Mr. Wilmoth worked as a discharge planner on an Intensive Care Unit in a mental health hospital. Though Mr. Wilmoth worked primarily with young and middle-aged people who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, much of his experience has revolved around older adults as well. Mr. Wilmoth has worked with a large number of clients who have dementia, chronic mental health issues, and neurological disorders. Through their grace, wisdom, and obvious love for their families, these clients have taught Mr. Wilmoth more than he could ever imagine. Having worked closely with both in-home and nursing facility care, Mr. Wilmoth has enormous admiration for professionals and loved ones who provide care for older adults.