Dignitaries & Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Participation remains subject to official confirmation. Information on speakers remains subject to change.
Irwin Cotler
The Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice celebrates and advances the legacy of one of the greatest and most respected jurists and advocates of justice in our time. Born in 1940 in Montreal to a Canadian-Jewish family,... Read More
Daniel Lubetzky
Best known as the founder of KIND Snacks, Daniel is a social entrepreneur whose work spans industries, ideologies, and borders—always rooted in the same mission: to equip people to think flexibly, solve problems creatively, and build durable solutions to... Read More
Governor Josh Shapiro
Josh Shapiro is the 48th Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since being sworn in to the Office of Governor in January 2023, Governor Shapiro has brought people together to get stuff done and defend Pennsylvanians’ fundamental freedoms. In his... Read More
Summit Speakers
Speakers are being added and updated to the list below daily. Participation remains subject to official confirmation. Information on speakers remains subject to change.
Henry Adams
Henry Adams is Director, Trust & Safety, at Resolver. He has spent the past decade mitigating risk in diverse, high-harm settings. Henry is a former Head of Intelligence with a background in counter terrorism, national policing operations and crisis... Read More
Imam Ahmed Alamine
Imam Ahmed Alamine began his Islamic scholarship under the guidance of his father, an imam and professor. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Islamic Studies and a Master of Business Administration. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in... Read More
Lonnie Ali
Lonnie Ali, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, completed her BA degree at Vanderbilt University in Nashville in 1978. After graduation, Lonnie began her business career with Kraft Foods, Inc. She continued her studies at UCLA’s Graduate School of Management... Read More
Wendy Alkinburgh
Wendy Alkinburgh is the Prevention and CIKR Program Manager for the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security, Pennsylvania State Police. She holds a degree in Homeland Security from the American Military University. Her professional background includes intelligence analysis, critical infrastructure... Read More
Major Michaelann Andrusiak
Major Andrusiak enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in 2002. In the early years of her career, she worked as a patrol trooper and a criminal investigator. Major Andrusiak has served at the ranks of Corporal, Sergeant and Lieutenant... Read More
Dr Marc-André Argentino
Dr. Argentino received his PhD from the Individualized Program at Concordia University, using a mixed methods approach from Theological Studies, the Centre for Engineering in Society and the Institute of Information System Engineering. He is presently a Senior Research... Read More
Astrid Askenberger
Astrid Askenberger is a research analyst at the Swedish Center for Preventing Violent Extremism (CVE). Prior to joining CVE, Astrid was co-founder and research lead at the non-profit organization Diverting Hate, which works to prevent violent misogyny. She holds... Read More
Kaashif Awan
Kaashif Awan is a distinguished specialist in the fields of security, safety, and capacity building for public spaces, with a particular focus on faith-based institutions and places of worship. With over a decade of experience working across international platforms—including... Read More
Nadia Aziz
Nadia Aziz is a civil rights attorney whose work has focused on centering those most directly impacted by hate crimes including ensuring survivor-informed best practices are implemented at state and local levels. She has served as Senior Director of... Read More
Dr. Lauren Bairnsfather
Dr. Lauren Bairnsfather is the founder and principal of LAB Historical Consulting. She served as Executive Director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh from 2015 to February 2023 and was a leader early in the effort to rebuild the... Read More
Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern
Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern is a clinical psychologist, advocate, and speaker specializing in trauma and recovery. She helps individuals, families, and communities navigate the impact of trauma with clarity, compassion, and evidence-based care. Miri is the Director of Trauma Training and... Read More
Yfat Barak-Cheney
Yfat Barak-Cheney is the Director of International Affairs and Director of Technology and Human Rights at the World Jewish Congress. Through her work, Yfat engages with stakeholders such as governments, international organizations, civil society and tech companies on issues... Read More
Dr. Suzanne Barakat
Dr. Suzanne Barakat is a practicing physician, humanitarian, and prominent advocate for inclusion and social justice. She earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before completing her residency in Family and... Read More
Rev. Liddy Barlow
The Rev. Liddy Barlow has served as Executive Minister of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania since 2014. For over 50 years, Christian Associates has convened the diverse Christians of Greater Pittsburgh to build relationships, serve the common good, and... Read More
Dr. Amy V. Barnhorst
Bio coming soon. ... Read More
Dr. Antoine Baudon
Antoine Baudon serves as the Finance and Administration Director at the Egmont Institute, where he focuses on developing innovative financing strategies and approaches for organizational sustainability. Previously, he was the Business Manager and Deputy Director of the International Centre... Read More
Michael Becker
Michael H. Becker, Ph.D. is a Research Associate at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is based out of Washington, DC. His research examines the individual and group correlates of support for, and participation in violent extremism, process and... Read More
Heidi Beirich
Heidi Beirich is the Co-Founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. Beirich is also an Advisory Board Member of the Network for Hate Studies based out of the University of... Read More
Luc Bernard
Luc Bernard is a French Jewish video game creator and director. Known for his game The Light in the Darkness, which has received rave reviews across the globe, Luc is changing the way people view video games and Jewish... Read More
Maya Berry
Maya Berry is Executive Director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a non-profit, nonpartisan, national civil rights advocacy organization founded to nurture and encourage direct participation in our political and civic life to mobilize a strong, educated, and empowered... Read More
Dr. Tore Bjørgo
Dr. Tore Bjørgo is director of C-REX, a professor at the University of Oslo, and an adjunct professor at the Norwegian Police University College. C-REX is the world’s largest research center focusing specifically on the extreme right. C-REX has... Read More
Ashleigh Bowers
Ashleigh Bowers serves as Director of Strategy and Operations for Eradicate Hate. In this role, she coordinates strategy development, manages partnerships, and directs operations across the organization. Prior to joining Eradicate Hate, Bowers served as the program manager of Preventing... Read More
William Braniff
William Braniff is the Executive Director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) and a research assistant professor in the Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology (JLC) at the School of Public Affairs at American University.... Read More
Shlomit Broder
Shlomit is the CEO of Digital Public Square, a Toronto based not-for-profit on a mission to rethink and redesign the way technology is used to support communities worldwide. With over two decades of experience leading large-scale digital initiatives across... Read More
Sara Winegar Budge Psy.D.
Sara Winegar Budge, PsyD is the Director of US Programs at Moonshot and a licensed psychologist in Oregon. Her clinical work focuses on individuals who are or have been involved in violent extremism. She has developed and delivered multiple... Read More
Rebecca Bywater
Ms. Bywater has over 20 years of experience in the public service field, with a longstanding commitment to safety, risk mitigation, and violence prevention. She currently serves as the Manager of Threat Assessment at the University of Minnesota, where... Read More
Courtney Cano
Courtney Cano is a policy advocate focused on the intersection between online radicalization, content regulation, social media policies, and the manosphere. Courtney holds a B.A. in Political Science, Religion, and Philosophy from Middlebury College and a Master of Arts... Read More
Emma Cardeli Ph.D
Emma Cardeli, Ph.D. is an Attending Psychologist & Research Associate at the Trauma & Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Cardeli has fifteen years of clinical experience... Read More
Will Carless
Will Carless covers extremism and emerging issues nationwide for USA Today. He was previously an investigative reporter at Reveal and has worked as a foreign correspondent in Asia and South America. ... Read More
Shamsher Chohan
Shamsher Chohan is the Creative Director at Communities Inc, a not for profit organisation in the UK and has worked with a range of diverse communities experiencing discrimination, prejudice and disadvantage for over 35 years. Her sense of social injustice... Read More
Myrieme Churchill
Myrieme Churchill is the Executive Director of Parents for Peace (P4P). Myrieme has overseen the creation, development, and implementation of the helpline for individuals worried about a loved one falling into extremism. She has led numerous interventions with families... Read More
Dawn Collins
Since 2017, when her son, 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, was violently murdered in an unprovoked attack on the University of Maryland, College Park campus, Mrs. Dawn Collins has been a leader in the fight against hate crimes. Mrs. Collins... Read More
Sheila Elaine Confer EdD
Sheila Confer has been at Pitt since 1999 serving in a variety of staff, faculty, and administrative roles. She completed her EdD in Social and Comparative Analysis in Education at Pitt in 2017. She teaches courses in acting, theatre... Read More
Sarah Cook
Sarah L. Cook is the Director of the Security and Extremism Research Program at RTI International. Her primary research interests include targeted violence, domestic terrorism prevention, hate crimes, radicalization, and victimization. She has extensive experience evaluating dozens of domestic... Read More
Kristin Daniels
Kristin M. Daniels was appointed Deputy Director of the Office of Homeland Security at the Pennsylvania State Police in October 2020. Throughout this tenure as the Deputy Director, Ms. Daniels was appointed as the Acting Director and Homeland Security... Read More
Pasha Dashtgard Ph.D.
Pasha Dashtgard is the Director of Research for the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). He has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the department of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine, and was formerly... Read More
Ranisa Davidson
Ranisa, the 10.27 Healing Partnership’s Program Manager, joined the team in January 2021. Prior to this, she spent 13 years providing support, counseling and education to families and birthmothers going through the adoption process. Ranisa, a Pittsburgh native, is... Read More
Minal Davis
Minal Patel Davis is the founder and CEO of the Henekom Group – Social Architects Bridging Business and Human Rights, leveraging over 20 years of experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to integrate human rights principles into... Read More
Jonathon Deedman
Jonathon is an Online Safety Policy Associate in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group, operating in their Hate, Terrorism, and Suicide team. Jonathon has studied politics, ideology, counter-terrorism, and the extreme right wing at the University of Exeter, the Australian National... Read More
Cynthia M. Deitle
Cynthia M. Deitle is a Director, Associate General Counsel of Civil Rights at Meta. Prior to joining Meta, she served as the Director of Civil Rights Reform at the Matthew Shepard Foundation for four years and led their national... Read More
Dr. Bruno S. Dias PhD, CTM, PCI
Dr. Bruno Dias, PhD, CTM, PCI, is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in violence prevention, with deep expertise in policy, risk mitigation, safety, security, and behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM). His distinguished career spans public safety, corporate... Read More
Talli Dippold
Talli Dippold is a mission-driven nonprofit executive with over 20 years of experience in Holocaust education, community engagement, and strategic fundraising. She currently serves as the inaugural Executive Director of the Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center in Phoenix, Arizona—a... Read More
Dr. Nagham El Karhili
Dr. Nagham El Karhili is the Membership Lead at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). She previously was the Program and Research Manager at the Horizon Forum. In this capacity, she developed and coordinated the research and programming... Read More
Heidi Ellis Ph.D
Heidi Ellis, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and a licensed clinical psychologist. She is also the Director of the Trauma and Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s... Read More
Laura Ellsworth
Laura Ellsworth is a partner at Jones Day, which has more than 2500 lawyers in 43 offices on 5 continents. Having served as the Partner-in-Charge of the Pittsburgh Office for over a decade, she then became Jones Day’s first... Read More
Mehreen Farooq
Mehreen brings more than 15 years of technical expertise providing governmental and non-governmental actors with needs assessments, community engagement, strategic guidance for project implementation, and training to improve public policy and programming. As a Part-Time Faculty at George Washington University... Read More
Daphne Felten-Green
Daphne Felten-Green, is an attorney, civil rights trainer, mediator, and facilitator of community dialogue around equity and justice issues. Daphne is the Founder and President of DSFG Solutions, LLC, where she serves an expert trainer to law enforcement agencies... Read More
Ray Finch
Ray is the Chief Executive of Laura Fergusson Trust in Auckland, New Zealand, and is a fierce advocate for the rights of disabled people, with over a decade of senior disability sector experience since immigrating from South Africa. Laura Fergusson... Read More
Rabbi Hindy Finman
Rabbi Hindy Finman (she/her) is the Senior Director of Jewish Life and Director of the Center for Loving Kindness at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh (JCC PGH). In this role, Rabbi Hindy integrates Jewish values into the... Read More
Leon Ford
Leon Ford is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for Bronze Investments; an Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellow; an internationally-known speaker, author, activist, and mental health ambassador; and a tireless advocate for social change. He was 19 years old when he was rendered... Read More
Pastor Micah Fries
Micah Fries (pronounced freeze) is the Director of the Multi-Faith Neighbor’s Network and the Director of Engagement at Glocal.net. He has served as a Senior Pastor in Tennessee & Missouri, at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, TN, as a... Read More
Laura Fullenkamp
Laura Fullenkamp joined the Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board as the Criminal Justice and Special Projects Manager in January 2021. In February 2022, Laura’s position transitioned to Director of Criminal Justice and Compliance. Dr.... Read More
Hala V. Furst
Hala V. Furst is the first Director of Strategic Partnerships at PERIL, enabling organizational partners of all types to adopt proven prevention methods. In this role, she oversees the CARE Centers and facilitates the growth of the CARE Corps. Before... Read More
Martin Gaynor
Martin Gaynor is a survivor of the antisemitic hate-fueled attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building on October 27th, 2018. He is the Lester A. Hamburg Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and... Read More
Paul Giannasi
Paul is currently the Hate Crime Advisor to the National Police Chiefs’ Council in the United Kingdom Having accrued 30 years experience as a police officer, he advises on hate crime policy and coordinates national responses, managing ‘True Vision’... Read More
Kiran Kaur Gill
Ms. Gill is an accomplished professional with exemplary executive experience. In her role as Executive Director, she is responsible for executing and overseeing programs related to policy, research, education, civic engagement, and youth leadership for the Sikh American community.... Read More
Margaret (Meg) C. Gleason
Margaret (Meg) Gleason is a Partner at the law firm of Jones Day. A lawyer for over 20 years, Meg is a litigator who has prosecuted and defended complex litigation matters in a variety of contexts and industries, in... Read More
David Goldman
David Goldman is the founder and Chairman of the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE). FASPE promotes ethical leadership within the professions. Towards such end, FASPE’s provides graduate students in professional schools and early career professionals with fellowships... Read More
Susan Graff EdD, MS, PA-C
Susan Graff focuses on the power of storytelling to inform health science educational programs. As co-founder of the Community, Partnership, Identity, Dialogue (CuPID) program, Graff collects individual stories of Pitt staff, students, faculty and community members to develop educational... Read More
Ryan B. Greer
Ryan B. Greer serves as the inaugural President of Bedrock. Ryan also serves as a non-resident Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project and leads a violence prevention strategy consultancy, Vasa Strategies. Prior to joining Bedrock, Ryan served in... Read More
Rev. Ribbons Harris
Rev. L.M. “Ribbons” Harris brings more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of faith-based leadership, community resilience, and crisis response—particularly within marginalized and high-risk communities. Her career includes senior roles such as Executive Director of a... Read More
Rev. Sean Harvey MSOD, MSEd
Sean Harvey is Senior Strategic Advisor and Founder of Warrior Compassion Institute. He is actively involved and contributing to men’s work communities around the globe and is passionate about helping men heal their wounds at a soul level to... Read More
Dr. Ghayda Hassan
Dr. Ghayda Hassan is a clinical psychologist and professor of clinical psychology at UQAM university in Montreal and has several research, clinical and community based national and international affiliations. She is the director of the Canadian Practitioner Network for... Read More
Damon Hewitt
Damon T. Hewitt is the President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. One of the nation’s foremost experts in civil rights litigation and policy, Hewitt has more than 20 years of experience, including... Read More
Leoni Heyn
Leoni Heyn is a PhD Candidate and Researcher at both the Institute for Security Policy (ISPK) and the Department of Political Science at Kiel University. At the ISPK, she works in the Department for Research on Terrorism and Radicalization... Read More
Marcus Howard
Marcus is a lifelong gamer, serial entrepreneur, college professor, and international startup advisor. In 2013, he launched an indie game platform (ProjectMQ) that he scaled to 40 countries around the world. Since 2017, he’s been helping brands of all... Read More
Seamus Hughes
Seamus Hughes is a leading voice in the field of counterterrorism and extremism research whose career spans journalism, academia, and government. In his career, Hughes worked at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), serving as a lead staffer on U.S. government... Read More
Jillian Hunchak
Jillian Hunchak (she/they) works as a research analyst at Public Safety Canada. She specializes in gender-based violence, including the Involuntary Celibate (Incel) movement and violence against 2SLGBTQI+ persons and communities, in addition to the far-right, conspiracy theories, and mis/dis/malinformation. Jillian... Read More
Mekenah Jensen
Mekenah Jensen is an Insights Manager at Moonshot, where she manages comprehensive programs focused on building professional networks, developing capacity building initiatives, and creating innovative approaches for violence prevention professionals across multiple sectors. Prior to Moonshot, Mekenah spent six years... Read More
Major Sharon Jones
Sharon Jones is a Major in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas DPS), where she has served since 1997. With decades of dedication to public safety, while managing other statewide programs, Sharon initiated... Read More
Jannis Jost
Bio coming soon. ... Read More
Emma Jouenne
Emma Jouenne is a security and extremism analyst specializing in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). With a Master’s from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Security Studies, she has led high-impact research and intervention programs, notably at Parents for... Read More
Elana Kahn
Elana G. Kahn is Executive Director of the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, which is housed within the Illinois Department of Human Rights. As part of a career dedicated to community building, interfaith and intergroup relations, and... Read More
Pardeep Singh Kaleka MS, LPC
Pardeep is the co-director of Not In Our Town, specializing in community hate prevention and de-radicalization interventionist with Parents4Peace, assisting families & individuals entrenched in extremism offramp from hateful ideologies. He also currently serves as a professor on Peace... Read More
Venerable Barry Kerzin M.D.
Barry Kerzin is a physician and Tibetan Buddhist monk. For 36 years he has lived in Dharamsala, currently with the Dalai Lama, as one of his doctors. He feels blessed to also serve the poor free of charge. For 10... Read More
Trish Kilpin
Trish Kilpin was appointed as Director of the Wisconsin DOJ’s Office of School Safety (OSS) in 2022 where she provides comprehensive school safety guidance to Wisconsin schools including consultations and trainings on Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management, threat reporting,... Read More
James T. Kitchen
Jimmy Kitchen is a Partner in Jones Day’s Pittsburgh Office, practicing in the Investigations & White Collar Defense and Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection groups. Prior to joining Jones Day, Jimmy was an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S.... Read More
Jillian Racoosin Kornmeier
Jillian Racoosin Kornmeier, MPH (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Social Connection, leading efforts to advance evidence-based solutions for social connection nationwide. She drives the Foundation’s strategic direction, forging cross-sector partnerships to unite the social connection... Read More
Matt Kriner
Matt Kriner is the Managing Director of the Accelerationism Research Consortium (ARC), as well as the Director of Strategy, Partnerships & Intelligence at the Middlebury Institute for International Security’s (MIIS) Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC). Matt specializes... Read More
Dr. Brett Kubicek
Brett Kubicek joined the Canadian public service in 2005 after completing his PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at Ohio State University, as... Read More
Kevin Lambert
Kevin Lambert is the Program Director at Parents for Peace. Kevin oversees the interventions, helpline, support group, and internship program. He has worked with the organization since 2021 and resides in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to joining Parents for Peace, Kevin... Read More
Galen Lamphere-Englund
Galen Lamphere-Englund is a senior international security advisor working to prevent terrorism and societal violence, especially across online spaces. He specializes in applied research, strategic communications, and program leadership to strengthen resilience and combat online exploitation. For over 15... Read More
Chris Lanser
Bio coming soon. ... Read More
Dr. Michael Loadenthal
Michael Loadenthal, Ph.D. serves as a Research Professor with the Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy, within the School of Public and International Affairs, at the University of Cincinnati. In this role, he manages several grant-funded research initiatives, including... Read More
Joselo Lucero
Joselo Lucero is a nationally recognized activist and educator dedicated to combating bullying, hate crimes, and racial intolerance. His advocacy began after the tragic 2008 hate-crime murder of his brother, Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant killed in Patchogue, Long... Read More
Tony McAleer
Tony spent 15 years in the white supremacist and neo-nazi movements, starting as a skinhead and evolving to leadership positions and was instrumental in ushering in the internet building one of the first white supremacist websites for Resistance Records... Read More
Megan K McBride
Megan K McBride, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Scientist at CNA (a non-partisan, non-profit research and analysis organization). Her areas of expertise include extremism, terrorism, radicalization, disinformation, and the evaluation of P/CVE programs. Her recent work has focused on... Read More
John McCoy Ph.D
John McCoy, Ph.D., is the founder and Executive Director of the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV). For the past six years John has spearheaded the development of a research, education, and multi-disciplinary psycho-social intervention program (Evolve) that... Read More
Kimberlyn Moffet
Kimberlyn Moffet has over 15 years of experience working directly with schools to implement violence prevention initiatives and promote safe school climates. She has expertise in curriculum and training design, program delivery, youth engagement, project management, and community relations.... Read More
Jenan Mohajir
Jenan Mohajir is an educator, a storyteller, a mother, and a believer in building relationships across the lines that separate us. Jenan currently serves as Vice President of External Affairs at Interfaith America, where she has developed and implemented... Read More
Angela Moreland-Johnson Ph.D.
Angela Moreland, Ph.D., is a Professor at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVRTC) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Moreland has significant expertise in mental/behavioral health consequences following exposure to a range of... Read More
Melissa Muir J.D.
With over 25 years of experience, I bridge the gap between human resources and security to help organizations build healthier, safer work environments. I have held HR leadership positions with the federal courts and local government in the Seattle... Read More
Jordy Nijenhuis
Jordy Nijenhuis is a storyteller, campaigner, consultant and trainer based in The Netherlands. He is the director of Dare to be Grey, an award winning organisation that aims to counter polarisation, disinformation and hate. He co-founded the European Observatory... Read More
Mark Nordenberg
In a University of Pittsburgh career spanning more than forty-five years, Mark Nordenberg has held a succession of key leadership positions, including Dean of the School of Law and Chancellor of the University. During his nearly two decades of... Read More
David O’Brien
David O’Brien is the Director of Mental Health at Yorktown Family Services. He has spent over 25 years working in the field of mental health within various settings, including hospitals, shelters, and residential treatment centres. David has held different... Read More
Patrice O’Neill
Patrice O’Neill is a filmmaker and founder of the Oakland-based non-profit strategic media company, The Working Group and leader of Not In Our Town, a movement of people across the country working to build safe, inclusive communities for all.... Read More
Dr. Amy O’Neill Gregorian
Amy O’Neill-Gregorian, DHSc, MS, LPC, is a clinician, consultant, and educator with over 30 years of experience in mental health, deeply engaged with the complexities of the human experience—how we navigate pain, find resilience, and recovery from life-changing events.... Read More
Eric Patterson
Eric R. Patterson is a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special Agent Patterson joined the FBI in 2002, and he currently serves as the Threat Management Coordinator for the FBI – Philadelphia Field Office. As the... Read More
James Pawelski Ph.D.
James O. Pawelski, Ph.D., is Professor of Practice and Director of Education in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has also been appointed adjunct professor of Religious Studies. Having won a Fulbright Scholarship and... Read More
Scott Payne
Retired Special Agent Scott D. Payne served in law enforcement for 28 years. Payne began his law enforcement career at the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, Greenville, South Carolina, where he worked for five years as a Uniform Patrol Officer... Read More
Dr. Shannon Poe
Dr. Shannon Poe, LCSW currently serves as the Director of Programming and Services for Life After Hate where she coordinates the culturally competent referral network of mental health providers and conducts risk-of-harm screenings for all participants. She also provides... Read More
Jennifer Ann Rae
Jennifer Rae serves as Principal of Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. She counts it a great honor to lead a Christ-centered community where students are encouraged to grow toward their full potential for God’s glory. Since stepping into... Read More
Vidhya Ramalingam
Vidhya Ramalingam is Founder and CEO of Moonshot, an organization that uses technology to disrupt and counter online harms globally. She directs overall strategy and oversees campaigns, software development and digital projects in over 25 countries. Under her leadership,... Read More
Madison Reid
Currently, Madison Reid is the Government of British Columbia’s Director of Collaborative Public Safety Programs. One of these programs includes Shift BC, an initiative aimed at addressing Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) by adopting a public health lens, thereby... Read More
Dr. Daniel P. Relihan
Dr. Daniel P. Relihan is Deputy Director of Research at the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) and Research Assistant Professor at American University. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Psychology... Read More
Kathryn Rifenbark
Kathryn Rifenbark is the Director for CyberTipline, in the Exploited Children Division (ECD) at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), where she has worked for over 14 years. Kathryn is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of... Read More
Rev. Sharon Risher
Rev. Sharon Risher, from Charleston, SC, is a sought after respected preacher, public communicator passionate about social justice. She was catapulted into the limelight, after her beloved Mother, 2 cousins and a childhood friend was killed in the Emanuel... Read More
Ella Robertson McKay
Ella Robertson McKay is the Managing Director of One Young World, the global forum for young leaders which convenes annually in a different city, including Pittsburgh in 2012. Under her leadership, One Young World has advanced youth-led strategies to... Read More
Dr. Jonathan Roginski
Jon Roginski is the Program Manager for the West Point Insider Threat Program, which serves as the “research arm” for the Pentagon-administered Army Insider Threat Program. The program considers threat research from a variety of different vectors: from the... Read More
Jennifer Rose-Ferris
I am a survivor of the LA Fitness mass shooting on August 4, 2009, in Collier, PA. While I wasn’t physically wounded, I now understand the mental wounds will last a lifetime. It took me almost 13 years to... Read More
Dr. John “Jack” Rozel MD, MSL, DFAPA
Dr. Rozel has been working in emergency mental health since 1990 and has been the medical director of resolve Crisis Services of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital since 2010. He is the immediate Past President of the American Association for... Read More
Jonathan Russell
Jonathan Russell is International Director at Violence Prevention Network (VPN), Germany’s leading practitioner hub for the prevention of violent extremism. He has more than a decade of experience in P/CVE, working across the public, private and civil society sector all... Read More
Sal Sabila
At 16, Sal Sabila founded Youth Gravity, a grassroots organization based in the Greater Toronto Area, focused on creating brave spaces for immigrant and racialized youth to discuss difficult topics, including mental health, community belonging, gun violence, domestic abuse,... Read More
Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler
Following a career with the federal government of Germany from 2001 to 2011, within the private sector from 2011 to 2013 and as a member and Coordinator of the ISIL, al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team of the United Nations... Read More
Coby Schoffman
Coby Schoffman is currently serving as the Director of Security, Democracy and Misinformation work at the Bay Area-based Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust. Mr. Schoffman previously served as the Founder and Executive Director of The Nation Foundation. He... Read More
Robert C. Schupansky
Rob Schupansky has been an attorney since 1998. The son of immigrants and first in his family to attend college, Rob moved to the Pittsburgh area after graduating from the University of Notre Dame to attend law school at... Read More
Governor Josh Shapiro
Josh Shapiro is the 48th Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since being sworn in to the Office of Governor in January 2023, Governor Shapiro has brought people together to get stuff done and defend Pennsylvanians’ fundamental freedoms. In his... Read More
Rev. Wendell Shelby-Wallace
Rev. Wendell Shelby-Wallace is a dynamic nonprofit executive and multifaith leader committed to advancing Black Christian leadership and global engagement. He serves as Associate Director of Community Partnerships, National Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the nation’s... Read More
Alexander Sievers
Alexander Sievers is an accomplished practitioner and counselor with a diverse background in violence prevention, deradicalization, addiction treatment and social management. Beginning his professional career at the Hoffnungstaler Stiftung Lobetal in 2015, he worked as a social worker and... Read More
Sandy Sisson
Sandy Sisson joined the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Services Division ten years ago. She serves in the capacity of Section Manager and supervises the Targeted Violence Unit Clinical Team. Sandy leads the clinical component of the Palm... Read More
Dr. Megan Squire
Dr. Megan Squire is an expert in tracing illicit finance, with a focus on political extremism and cybercriminal organizations. She is currently the principal investigator at Parity Bit Research, and a cyber threat intelligence researcher at a leading consumer... Read More
Aaron Stark
... Read More
Brette Steele
Brette Steele serves as President of Eradicate Hate and Chair of the Prevention Practitioners Network. In these roles, she drives the development and deployment of effective approaches to prevent hate-fueled violence. As President of Eradicate Hate, Steele oversees the production... Read More
Derika B. Sutton
Derika B. Sutton is the Program Owner for the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program Hate Crime Statistics Data Collection. Ms. Sutton facilitated the first ever Hate Crime Symposium, August 2023 and the first annual Hate Crime Awareness Week, October... Read More
Dr. Matthew Talbot
Dr. Matt Talbot is an internationally recognized expert in behavioral threat assessment and management, violence risk assessment, forensic mental health, workplace violence prevention, and keynote presenter. His extensive experience in assessing and managing violent offenders, individuals at risk for... Read More
Sarah Theriot
With over two decades of experience, Sarah Theriot is has strong background in education, behavioral sciences, and leadership. She holds a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Sciences & Human Performance from... Read More
Emily Thompson
Emily Thompson is an expert on the exploitation of digital platforms, social media and video games by violent extremists. As an experienced researcher and program director, she works to build understanding and resilience against hateful and harmful ideologies that... Read More
Robin Toma
Robin S. Toma, is Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, appointed in 2000. Under his leadership, the agency is working to transform prejudice into acceptance, inequity into justice, and hostility into peace. By building... Read More
Philippe Vansteenkiste
Bio coming soon. ... Read More
Liliane Vicente
Bio coming soon. ... Read More
Benjamin Voce-Gardner
Benjamin Voce-Gardner currently serves as the Director of the Office of Counter Terrorism for the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. In this role, he is responsible for coordinating counterterrorism outreach to public and private... Read More
George Weiss
George Weiss is the founder and CEO of Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation (“RLB”), an organization that sets up media projects using fiction to teach populations to resist hate speech and incitement to identity-based violence, using psycho-education embedded... Read More
Michael Winters
Mike Winters is employed as the Deputy Chief County Detective, with the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office. Deputy Chief Winters retired from the Lancaster City Bureau of Police after almost 24 years of service, where he spent most of... Read More
Ron Zacchi
Ron Zacchi (all pronouns welcome) joined the Division of Human Rights as Senior Director of the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit in September 2024. Prior to this role, Ron served as Governor Hochul’s Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs, where they... Read More
Laurie Zierer
In recent years Laurie has strategically positioned PA Humanities as a state and national leader and sharpened its focus on areas of need in Pennsylvania where the humanities – and our shared humanity – can illuminate possibilities for Pennsylvanians... Read More
It is a tragic reality that hateful ideology has found fertile ground online and offline, with consequences affecting not only Americans but people around the world. We cannot stand idle in the face of bias, bigotry, and extremism. Together, at the Eradicate Hate Summit and beyond, the collective will of individuals and organizations is needed to galvanize all people of good will to protect and defend our communities.
