Heather D Shea, Ph.D.

Dr. Heather D. Shea (she/her) is Director of Pathways Persistence Programs in Undergraduate Education at Michigan State University, where she oversees five academic cohort programs, including three—RISE (Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment, First-Generation Leadership & Innovation (FLI) Vanderploeg Scholars, and Dow STEM Scholars—that focus primarily on first-year student success. With over 25 years of experience in higher education, she specializes in integrating academic engagement, community-building, and well-being into the student experience. A past president of ACPA–College Student Educators International, Dr. Shea also co-hosts the Student Affairs NOW podcast and leads an annual education abroad program for teacher education students. She earned her PhD from MSU in 2019 with research on transformational learning through co-curricular involvement.

Beth holds a master's in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, where she held a post-graduate position at the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs. A former teacher, she embodies and models the organization’s values to facilitate, communicate, foster, assist, create, educate, design, lead, guide, promote, nurture and support its members, whether they're from higher education or local government.

Julie Cameron is a Project Consultant with PreventionFIRST! with over 15 years of experience in the prevention field, Julie feels privileged to work on reducing the stigma of mental illness by partnering with schools and communities across Ohio to spread evidence-based mental health awareness and suicide prevention programming. Julie graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Masters of Education in health promotion with — emphasis on community-based prevention. She is an entrepreneur with experience as an owner, CEO, and faculty member in higher education and prevention professional in the community setting.

Daniel Eisenberg is a Professor of Health Policy and Management in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.  His research goal is to improve understanding of how to invest effectively in the mental health of young people. He is a Principal Investigator for the Healthy Minds Network (www.healthymindsnetwork.org), which focuses on student mental health. In collaboration with Ramesh Raghavan, he recently completed a book about mental health policy for children, Investing in Children’s Mental Health (2023, Oxford University Press).

Sarah Ketchen Lipson (she/her) is an associate professor in the Department of Health Law Policy and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. Her research, originally inspired by her years working in residence life, focuses on understanding and addressing mental health and inequalities therein within higher education. She is Principal Investigator of the Healthy Minds Network; this includes the Network’s national Healthy Minds Study, an annual mental health survey conducted at hundreds of colleges and universities each year. Sarah’s research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and William T. Grant Foundation, among others. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, on NPR, and in numerous other national and international media outlets.

Sarah completed a joint-PhD at University of Michigan in the Schools of Public Health and Education. She received her bachelor’s degree from Tufts University, her master’s from Harvard University, and was a Fulbright scholar.

Sarah teaches a range of graduate and undergraduate courses at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Dr. Jason Kilmer is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at UW. Throughout his career, Jason has worked in both the student affairs world and the research world. In each professional position he has held, his responsibilities include research related to reducing harms associated with substance use by college students and directly serving and supporting students and colleagues in divisions of Students Affairs or Student Life. At UW’s Center for the Study of Health & Risk Behaviors (CSHRB), Jason serves as an investigator on several studies evaluating prevention and intervention efforts for alcohol, cannabis, and other drug use by college students. In addition to research and teaching, Jason has worked extensively with college students and campus professionals around alcohol and other drug prevention programming both at UW and on over 150 campuses nationwide. Jason has been project faculty for several international learning collaboratives, including Dartmouth’s National College Health Improvement Program and the International Town and Gown Association’s (ITGA’s) partnership with UW’s BASICS Innovations Group to support campuses in their implementation of Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS).

Steve Patterson serves as the President of the National League of Cities and is the Mayor of Athens, OH. Mayor Patterson has lived in Athens since 1998, working as an Associate Professor of Health Psychology at Ohio University until March 2016. He served in the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard for over 20 years and retired as a Major with the District of Columbia Air National Guard 113th Fighter Wing. In addition to his role at NLC, Mayor Patterson serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Municipal League, the International Town-Gown Association (Past President), the Athens County Economic Development Council, the Buckeye Hills Regional Council, the Athens County Foundation, the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC), and the Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia (Chair).

Ty Sells brings over 30 years of experience in drug prevention, community service, and youth development. He is an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant, holds a BA in Communication from The Ohio State University, and currently serves as the Director of Speaker Services for Youth to Youth International in Columbus, Ohio. In 2012, Ty was recognized as “Prevention Innovator of the Year” by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for his development of creative prevention trainings and consultation with schools and organizations statewide. He has created numerous trainings, workshops, and presentations for both youth and adults.

Dr. Heather D. Shea (she/her) is Director of Pathways Persistence Programs in Undergraduate Education at Michigan State University, where she oversees five academic cohort programs, including three—RISE (Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment, First-Generation Leadership & Innovation (FLI) Vanderploeg Scholars, and Dow STEM Scholars—that focus primarily on first-year student success. With over 25 years of experience in higher education, she specializes in integrating academic engagement, community-building, and well-being into the student experience. A past president of ACPA–College Student Educators International, Dr. Shea also co-hosts the Student Affairs NOW podcast and leads an annual education abroad program for teacher education students. She earned her PhD from MSU in 2019 with research on transformational learning through co-curricular involvement.

Brenda Young, MPH, an alumnus to Texas A&M University and the University of Arizona. She received her Masters in Public Health in Administration and Policy Development. In her role as Assistant Director at Arizona State University. She has 20+ years' experience in higher education focusing on supporting student well-being through health promotion, prevention, intervention and recovery support efforts. As a prevention specialist, she utilizes public health strategies, reduce risky behaviors by enhancing protective factors in the environment.