Event: Thomas C. Sorensen Policy Seminar Series
While not everyone is inherently prone to violence, we all remain susceptible to its far-reaching consequences. Recognizing this, our focus shifts to exploring how individuals, professionals, and communities can collaboratively enhance the safety of our surroundings. This enlightening panel event is dedicated to the discussion of how adept practitioners are actively employing a public health perspective to prevent violence on community premises and educational campuses, spanning across local, state, and national tiers. Dr. Mario Scalora will lead a panel of distinguished practitioners in threat assessment and violence prevention to discuss challenges and practical strategies.
Panelists:
Bruno Dias is the Associate Director for Field Operations for the Central and Midwest Regions. He works with federal, tribal, state, local, and territorial governments and community stakeholders to build local prevention networks using a public health-informed approach to prevent targeted violence and terrorism. Before joining D.H.S., Bruno worked for public school districts in Texas. He implemented violence prevention initiatives that leveraged behavioral threat assessment functions and promoted partnerships with social workers, mental health professionals, parents, and communities to support students. Before directing K-12 safety programs, Bruno managed corporate security and workplace violence prevention for a Fortune 10 company. He also worked in public safety, where he retired as a commander and was instrumental in solving homicides and reducing gang violence.
Bruno is a Certified Threat Manager (CTM), a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy, is a Board-Certified Investigator, and he holds multiple certifications in Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management. Bruno earned an M.S. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. from the Naval Postgraduate School (Homeland Defense and Security Studies). He is pursuing his doctorate in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.
Joe Wright is the Director of Security for Lincoln Public Schools (LPS). He is responsible for leading the district's safety and security to create safe environments in all district buildings. In 2013, he created a threat assessment program for the district that was aimed specifically at violence prevention. He is an Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) CTM. Prior to his work at LPS, Joe served the City of Lincoln as a police officer and retired at the rank of captain. At the request of the University of Nebraska's Public Policy Center, he created a training session, "Behavioral Threat Assessment (BETA)," for Nebraska law enforcement that is still in use today.
Dr. Lynn Van Male has over 24 years of professional experience implementing multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment and management team best practices in healthcare settings. Dr. Van Male is a licensed psychologist holding an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Oregon Health and Science University and is also the Senior Director of Threat Management for a U.S. Multi-State Healthcare Organization. Previously, she served as the national Director of the Workplace Violence Prevention Program for the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States and is currently a private consultant. From 2017 to 2021, she served two consecutive elected terms of office as the Second Vice President on the ATAP National Board of Directors. Dr. Van Male served on the Scientific Committee for the 4th, 5th, and 6th International Conferences on Violence in the Health Sector; was an invited member of the National Quality Partners Action Team to Prevent Healthcare Workplace Violence; an invited member of The Joint Commission's Technical Advisory Panel developing workplace violence prevention requirements in healthcare settings; and serves as a Contributing Editor of the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management.
Panel Moderator:
Dr. Mario Scalora is the director of the Public Policy Center and professor of psychology with the Clinical Training and Law-Psychology Programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as coordinating an active academic research program engaging in collaborative research in targeted violence. His research interests address various types of targeted violence issues including threats to public institutions and infrastructure/threat assessment, sexual offending, stalking, and workplace violence. This research continues to involve collaboration with state and federal agencies dealing with threat management and counterterrorism issues. Dr. Scalora has extensive relationships with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies related to threat assessment research and consultation assessing predictive risk factors and management strategies concerning targeted, threatening, and violent activity. In addition to his role as director, Dr. Scalora also serves as a consulting psychologist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police regarding campus safety, threat management, and emergency preparedness.