Our Vision
Victims and survivors of mass violence must have access to first rate, evidence-based information and services throughout the entire recovery process provided by victim assistance and other professionals who are compassionate, well-trained, and respectful of victims’ needs and wishes.
Our Mission
To improve community preparedness and the nation’s capacity to serve victims recovering from mass violence through research, planning, training, technology, and collaboration
What We Are
The National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center (NMVVRC) was established in October of 2017 in partnership with the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) within the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Center is composed of a multi-disciplinary team of scholars, researchers, victim assistance professionals, partner organizations, technical experts, and relevant local and national organizations in a multifaceted team that collaborates with OVC. Our consultant team includes leaders in many fields who have tremendous expertise, knowledge and experience with mass violence victim assistance, policies related to survivors’ rights and services, and practices to promote justice and healing. Several of our faculty have received national and state recognition for outstanding service and excellence in victim services, research, and contributions to scientific understanding (see individual bios for details). Prior funding by numerous agencies including the CDC, NIH, NIJ, and OVC has resulted in more than three hundred peer reviewed publications and hundreds of presentations to scientific and professional groups. Our academic partners include the Boston University School of Public Health and the University of California, Los Angeles.
What We Do
The National Mass Violence Center serves as the source for best evidence to achieve a social understanding of mass violence upon which civic leaders, mental health professionals, journalists, policy makers, and victim assistance professionals can rely. Using research to illuminate crime victims’ challenges and needs, we evaluate what works and what doesn’t work, and use this information to improve victim and mental health services through training and technical assistance.
The NMVVRC advances understanding of the scope, nature, and mental health impact of exposure to mass violent crimes through ongoing research into best practices nationwide. By collecting information about the impact of these crimes from victims and survivors, families, first responders, law enforcement, professionals, and civic leaders, we identify what has worked for them and what can be recommended as best practices to state and local authorities. With that information, we identify and close gaps in resources and services in the immediate and long term period following such events.
NMVVRC is a premier source of science-based training and interventions for mental health providers and for individuals seeking technology-based self-help. Our suite of on-line and mobile resources helps individuals, families, and first responders to cope with the emotional aftermath of violence. Additional training programs guide mental health professionals in learning evidence-based interventions. We also provide community leaders and the media with information about best practices for community education and recovery. By using multi-pronged approaches, including technology-enhanced outreach, we provide access to the best information and training about how to respond to and help others cope with the aftermath of mass violence.
The National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center is a national collaboration among organizations that have joined forces to create access to comprehensive, quality information and resources for those affected by mass violence and those who serve them. We provide tools, training, and information to facilitate continuous improvement in community preparedness, response, recovery and resilience. We are dedicated to honor and empower those on the front lines and in the community, to be trained and supported by the best programs and information available, collected from victims, families, and scholars.
Based on research findings and the real-world experiences of crime victims and survivors, we provide information to assist representatives of federal, national, state, local, tribal, and other agencies to develop national, victim-centric policies and laws which validate and effectively respond to the critical needs of victims, survivors and the communities affected by mass violence crimes; and deliver effective, best-practice services that promote justice and healing.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
The NMVC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is reflected in all our work. Our team integrates diverse viewpoints and perspectives into our interactions, activities, and resources. We respect and reflect the diversity of individuals and communities, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, religion, language, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, political beliefs, and geography. We recognize that mass violence events impact individuals and communities in many different ways, and that attention to and inclusion of diverse perspectives inform our capacity to respond with equity, sensitivity, and understanding.
NMVC Faculty and Staff
Dean Kilpatrick, PhD
DirectorDean Kilpatrick, PhD
Dr. Kilpatrick is a Distinguished University Professor and senior investigator who has had continuous extramural research funding since 1972 and continuous NIH funding since 1985. His involvement with the traumatic stress field began in 1974 when he helped establish People against Rape, South Carolina's first rape crisis center. His primary research interests include measuring the prevalence of sexual violence, other violent crimes, mass violence, and other types of potentially traumatic events, as well as assessing PTSD and other mental health impacts of such events. Dr. Kilpatrick and colleagues have conducted numerous studies on these topics using national probability samples of adults and adolescents. This research has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIMH, NIDA, NICHD, the National Institute of Justice, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Veterans Administration. He has over 300 peer-reviewed publications, over 60 book chapters and monographs, and over 700 presentations at scientific and professional meetings. His research has been widely cited as indicated by an h Index of 109 and eight papers that have been cited more than 1000 times. He was a member of two Institute of Medicine Committees and one National Academy of Sciences Standing Committee. He has provided invited testimony on the topics of rape, sexual harassment, and compensation for PTSD to several U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate committees. He served as Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Traumatic Stress from 1997-2005 and as President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) in 2005- 2006. He has also served as Director of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center since it was established in 1977 and as Director or Co-Director of the Charleston Consortium Clinical Psychology Internship Program since 1982. He has received numerous awards for his work including the United States Presidential Award for Outstanding Contributions to Victims of Crime in 1990, the United States Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus Allied Professional Award in 2007, the ISTSS Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Traumatic Stress Studies in 2008, the South Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence in Scientific Research in 2017, the ISTSS Outstanding Service Award in 2020, and the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian award, in 2020.
Angela Moreland-Johnson, PhD
Associate Director, NMVC; Director of PreparednessAngela Moreland-Johnson, PhD
Angela Moreland, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Purdue University in 2009 and completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship and post-doctoral research fellowship at the NCVC. Among her research interests, Dr. Moreland has examined the link between victimization and high-risk behaviors, such as substance use and delinquency, among children and adolescents. Currently, her primary projects focus on prevention of maltreatment, as well as other negative consequences, among substance-using parents; as well as several other projects focused on dissemination and implementation of evidence-based trauma-focused treatments.
In addition to serving as Associate Director of the NMVVRC, Dr. Moreland currently serves as the Evaluator of a Category II center through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network; the EMPOWERR Expansion Project, which targets prevention of HIV among high-risk adolescents; and Charleston HEART, which is a homicide early intervention and advocacy response team. Dr. Moreland has also served as Evaluator of several large-scale longitudinal projects funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office on Violence Against Women, SAHMSA, FEMA, the Duke Endowment, and the National Institutes of Health. Finally, Dr. Moreland serves as the Director of the Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health, which provides resources and support to address behavioral health needs of firefighters.
Claudia Chirinos
Program CoordinatorClaudia Chirinos
Claudia Chirinos has over 20 years of experience providing program coordination, administration, and management. She served as the Lead Customer Service Representative at the College of Charleston for student records support and maintenance for the Office of the Registrar, and as Parent Liaison for the Charleston County School District, where she worked to increase parent and family involvement in the school. For over a decade, Chirinos worked in supervisory and coordination positions in higher education in Virginia, where she managed budgets, helped develop policies and procedures, and oversaw office administration and management. Chirinos coordinates the NMVVRC’s National Town Halls, and provides administrative support to the Center’s Forums and principal partnership initiatives. She has bilingual communication skills that contribute to her professional strengths in collaboration and sustaining partnerships. Chirinos has received numerous honors for her efforts, including a commendation for her contributions to campus safety from the College of Charleston in July 2021; Outstanding Service to the College Award in August 2015; Virginia Community College Systems Classified Staff Leadership Academy in July 2014. She lives in Charleston, SC where she enjoys going to the beach, supporting her daughters’ dance career, and painting under the sun.
Vickey Cornelison-Grant
Administrative ManagerVickey Cornelison-Grant
Vickey Cornelison Grant (Project Administrator) Vickey has been involved in the crime victim field for over 30 years. Professionally, she has worked at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) at the Medical University of South Carolina since the beginning of her involvement in the victimization field in 1986. She has served as a research assistant on a variety of projects, and in that role she interviewed numerous crime victims, criminal justice, and public policy officials. She was the Editorial Assistant for the peer reviewed Journal of Traumatic Stress which is published by the International Society on Traumatic Stress Studies. She has been an event planner for countless trainings, including the early National Victim Assistance Academies that were hosted in Charleston, as well as three state victim assistance academies where she served as a faculty member. For many years, she has served sexual assault victims in her community as an advocate for Tri-County S.P.E.A.K.S (formerly People Against Rape), South Carolina’s first rape crisis center, and has been on their Board of Directors since 2010. She was the Project Manager for the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center, as well as the Mother Emanuel AME project (both of which were funded by the Office for Victims of Crime). She is currently the Division Administrator for the NCVC, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her knowledge and interest in the field of victimization has been acquired from her personal and professional experiences.
Carter Coyle
Public Information DirectorCarter Coyle
Carter Coyle joins NMVC as Public Information Director after serving as the Media Relations Manager for MUSC’s Public Relations team since 2022.
Before joining the MUSC family, Carter covered local, state, and national news stories for thirteen years as a television journalist and investigative reporter. She was recognized for award-winning investigations in Georgia and the Carolinas. Her hope as a journalist was to build relationships with survivors and victims of traumatic events to tell their stories in meaningful and accurate ways.
Carter and her husband cheer on the Georgia Bulldogs with their two daughters and are volunteer leaders with Make-A-Wish S.C., helping grant wishes for children experiencing critical illnesses. She looks forward to promoting NMVC’s meaningful mission. Please email media inquiries and interview requests to CoyleC@musc.edu.
Elizabeth Cronin
Associate Academic Program DirectorElizabeth Cronin
Elizabeth Cronin, Esq., is an attorney and Associate Academic Program Director at the Center. Immediately prior to her current role, she was appointed by the New York Governor as the Director of the New York State Office of Victim Services where she served for over 10 years. Previously, she was the Director of Legal Affairs for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was also a Deputy Bureau Chief for the Special Prosecutions Division at the Westchester County NY District Attorneys’ Office where she handled homicide, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse cases.
She has extensive experience in training and has presented at national and local conferences including the NCVC National Training Institute, NY Prosecutor’s Training Institute, Louisiana State Law School Institute of Justice, VOCA Annual Conference, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Conference, No Victim Left Behind and National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA), among others.
As a result of her experience at OVS, Ms. Cronin oversaw the agency’s response to numerous mass violence incidents including the Buffalo Tops mass shooting (2022), Tribeca terrorism case (2017), Chelsea bombing (2016), Brownsville Block Party shooting (2019), and the Brooklyn subway shooting and bombing (2022). She is also an Advisory Board Member for the “Understanding the Needs for Survivors and Communities Impacted by Mass Public Shootings” at the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
Ms. Cronin lives in New York with her husband and enjoys visits out west to see their son. She’s an avid skier, hiker, swimmer, photographer, gardener, and reader and especially loves long walks with their dog, Rudy.
Faraday Davies, MA
Database AdministratorFaraday Davies, MA
Faraday Davies is a database administrator for the Data Collection and Evaluation section on the Mass Violence grant. She holds a MA in Psychology from the Citadel Graduate College and a BS in Psychology from the College of Charleston. Prior to her work for the MVRC, Faraday has been a research coordinator and data analyst on multiple research projects at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Department of Neuroscience and at the National Crime Victim Research and Treatment Center.
Michael de Arellano, PhD
Co-Director, Training & Technical AssistanceMichael de Arellano, PhD
Michael A. de Arellano, Ph.D. is a professor and a licensed clinical psychologist at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he also serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity. Dr. de Arellano directs the Mental Health Disparities and Diversity Program, which facilitates the development of research, clinical work and educational programs to enhance culturally-competent and linguistically-appropriate care. Dr. de Arellano and his team focus on increasing access to evidence-based mental health services for trauma-exposed youth and families from traditionally underserved backgrounds though a variety and in-person and virtual (e.g., telehealth) programs. In recent years, he and his team have broadened their work to include projects outside the US mainland and international projects, including collaborations to support children recovering from Hurricane Maria and disseminating evidence-based treatments for trauma-exposed youth in Central America.
Jerry Glover
Information Systems AnalystJerry Glover
Jerry Glover has worked for over two decades to help organizations from small businesses to large non-profits to Fortune 100 companies use technology more effectively to achieve their missions. As both an internal resource and external consultant, he helped to design, develop, implement, enhance, and manage a variety of both internal and external systems. He has a particular focus in systems and tools for communication and collaboration. Jerry earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Management Information Systems from Auburn University. He joined the NMVVRC in December 2019, excited by the opportunity to help enhance and develop new tools to assist communities impacted by mass violence.
Philip Gouldon
Grants AdministratorPhilip Gouldon
Philip Gouldon is Grants Administrator for the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center, where he is responsible for providing technical financial assistance to Faculty and Staff for grants within the Center. Philip joined the NMVVRC is March of 2020. Prior to joining MUSC, Philip worked in compliance in the legal industry. Philip attended the Charleston School of Law earning a JD and before that graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Philip was born and raised in Charleston, SC.
Rochelle Hanson, PhD
Director, Training & Technical AssistanceRochelle Hanson, PhD
Rochelle F. Hanson, Ph.D. is a Professor at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, with a dual appointment in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States. She also serves as Director of the NCVC Family and Child Program. Dr. Hanson is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma among youth and adults. She has led several research and services grants targeting training, evaluation, implementation and dissemination of evidence-based interventions, funded by NIMH, SAMHSA, Office for Victims of Crime, and the Duke Endowment.
Dr. Hanson’s area of research focuses on the dissemination and implementation of trauma-focused, evidence-based interventions. She is particularly interested in examining implementation strategies that involve multidisciplinary service providers to promote sustained delivery of trauma-focused evidence-based interventions. Dr. Hanson was the Project Director for a SAMHSA-funded Category II National Child Traumatic Stress Network grant, entitled the Program on Adolescent Traumatic Stress (PATS), whose overall aim was to disseminate trauma-focused evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for adolescents and as Co-Investigator for Project BEST, a South Carolina statewide initiative with a primary aim to disseminate and implement trauma-focused, evidence-based interventions for youth and their families. She is the Principal Investigator for a recently completed NIMH-funded grant to test an extension of the Learning Collaborative Model, the Community-based Learning Collaborative implementation model, which targets both clinical and non-clinical professionals in the child welfare and mental health service sectors as a way to build and strengthen inter-professional relationships and thereby improve coordination and delivery of evidence-based mental health treatment services.
Throughout her career, Dr. Hanson has been extensively involved in training and mentoring activities and has continuously served as a research preceptor and clinical supervisor for predoctoral psychology interns, postdoctoral fellows and psychiatry residents. As Director of the MVVRC T/TA Division, Dr. Hanson will be responsible for overseeing all training and technical assistance activities including development of online courses and implementation of learning collaboratives for training mental health professionals and brokers of care in areas affected by MVIs.
Emily Meeks
Public Information CoordinatorEmily Meeks
Emily Meeks has over 15 years of experience in the photography business. Prior to that, she taught school for five years as an early education teacher. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston. Emily has been with NMVVRC since late 2022 and provides social media content, prepares resources to communities affected by mass violence, designs products for exhibiting and dissemination. She assists NMVVRC faculty with other related projects. When not working, Emily enjoys the outdoors – hiking, paddle boarding, camping, or spending time with her twin boys and husband on the rivers of Yonges Island.
Alyssa Rheingold, PhD
Director, Response, Recovery, & ResilienceAlyssa Rheingold, PhD
Dr. Rheingold is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor at the National Crime Victim's Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is the Associate Director of Administration and Director of Clinical Operations at the NCVC and Co-Director of the Sleep and Anxiety Treatment and Research Program. Dr. Rheingold completed her undergraduate coursework in 1996 at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Cum Laude and with Honors in Psychology. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from MCP Hahnemann University (currently known as Drexel University). Dr. Rheingold completed a Pre-Doctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology at the Charleston Consortium Psychology Internship Program and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the NCVC, Medical University of South Carolina.
Dr. Rheingold has been funded for both service and research projects by CDC, NIMH, OVW, VAWA, VOCA, SAMHSA, and OVC. The majority of her work has been in the area of crime victimization with a special emphasis on traumatic loss by homicide. She has directed the Specialized Services for Survivors of Homicide for the past 20 years in collaboration with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. She brings a wealth of knowledge in research and clinical work related to loss and complicated bereavement. Dr. Rheingold has been the PI on a number of federally funded service oriented grants to provide outreach services, both home- based and via telehealth, to recently bereaved survivors of homicide. These service projects demonstrate her experience both in working “in the field” attempting to implement and evaluate home-based programs but also demonstrates her clinical expertise with loss and bereavement. She was the recipient of an OVC grant to develop intensive case management services for family members of homicide who reside in rural areas and an OVC grant on developing community based approaches to provide care for those impacted by intra-familial homicide. Related to immediate response to mass violence events, Dr. Rheingold was a Co-Investigator on an NIMH grant evaluating the feasibility and efficacy of victim advocates providing Psychological First Aid for victims of crime.
On June 17, 2015 Dylan Roof attended a bible study at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC where he gunned down nine parishioners leaving five additional survivors. Over 600 people were directly impacted by this event including family members, church parishioners, and first responders in addition to the Charleston community at large. Dr. Rheingold was instrumental in the immediate response and continues to direct evidence based mental health services and resiliency and recovery efforts in Charleston. She was the Co-Director of OVC’s AEAP grant awarded to MUSC to oversee eight partnering agencies in providing an array of victim services. She therefore is intimately knowledgeable in the OVC AEAP submission and implementation process and demonstrates the skill set to administer a large-scale multi-partner OVC cooperative agreement.
Further, Dr. Rheingold has served as a consultant to OVC TTAC in the development and updates to a curriculum on Working with Survivors of Homicide as well as served as a consultant and trainer for an OVW funded project where she developed and provided the curriculum on traumatic grief in child homicide survivors. Dr. Rheingold served as an evaluator on Office of Violence Against Women demonstration initiative (2013-HI-AX-K009) to examine evidence based domestic violence homicide assessment practices. Lastly, she recently worked closely with OVC TTAC in the development and facilitation of a 4-week webinar entitled “Program Evaluation.” Dr. Rheingold has published over 70 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters as well as provided over 120 presentations at regional and national conferences, many in the area of trauma and loss. She has provided a number of clinician and victim-related trainings including Loss by Homicide, Traumatic Grief, GRIEF Approach, Impact of Witnessing Domestic Violence, Stress Management, Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Prolonged Exposure for PTSD.
Keaira Rivers
Program CoordinatorKeaira Rivers
Keaira Rivers has over 6 years of customer service and administrative experience. Prior to joining NCVC she served in hospitality management roles for Wild Dunes Resort and The Inn at Middleton Place. Keaira obtained a degree in Human Services from Charleston Southern University. While attending college, Keaira interned at the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) assisting the President. While interning, her tasks included moderating for key human services speakers at the NOHS 2022 National Symposium, participating and assisting with workshops related to human services topics, and implementing plans regarding student outreach projects.
Keaira takes pride in volunteering. She has participated in several school clubs/organizations including special education teacher’s assistant, high school football equipment manager, and being a peer mentor for incoming freshmen in college. Keaira was born, raised, and lives in Charleston, SC with her husband and son.
Aurelia Sands Belle, M.Ed.
Steering Committee CoordinatorAurelia Sands Belle, M.Ed.
Aurelia Sands Belle is a Research Instructor in Charleston, South Carolina for a new initiative, the National Mass Violence and Victimization Resource Center (NMVVRC) of the National Crime Victim Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. The mission of the NMVVRC is to strengthen the nation’s capacity to serve victims and survivors of incidences of mass violence through research, planning, training, technology, and collaboration.
Prior to her current position, Aurelia served as the Executive Director of the Durham Crisis Response Center in Durham, North Carolina, a community based domestic violence and sexual assault nonprofit center. Aurelia’s professional victim advocacy career includes direct services as a sexual assault advocate and leadership as an Executive Director of a rape crisis center and a comprehensive program for all crime victims. She initiated and organized the response to victims and witnesses during the 1996 Centennial Olympic bombing. During her career, Aurelia has served on national and local crisis response teams for incidents such as the World Trade Center explosion, student bus crash, tornadoes, hostage taking and prison rioting and bank robberies.
Aurelia is the recipient of many awards, honors and recognitions including the U.S. Presidential Award for Outstanding Service and Commitment to Crime Victims (OVC). She earned a BA in Urban Studies from Oglethorpe University and a Master’s Degree in Community Counseling from Georgia State University.
Michael Schmidt, PhD
Environmental & Health Crimes ExpertMichael Schmidt, PhD
Dr. Michael Schmidt earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington and rose through the ranks of Medical University of South Carolina earning the rank of tenured professor and vice chair of microbiology and immunology. He was elected to fellowship to the American Academy of Microbiology and the American College of Dentists. He is recognized as a national and international resource in times of crisis with respect to infectious agents whether they are acquired unintentionally through natural causes or through untoward methods.
Dr. Schmidt earned this reputation in part through his participation in the development of an innovative approach to use bacteriophages as targeted molecular syringes, to target and destroy select bacteria. Originally developed as an augment to offer exposed individuals a way to quickly neutralize bio-threat agents, well ahead of the anthrax tragedy of 2001, the utility of this platform technology was demonstrated through an animal model. Due to his expertise, through the last decade he has been active in the field of biodefense preparedness; mostly notably through his participation on federal HRSA and HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) grants and in the coordination of the education efforts for DHS in the emerging discipline of nuclear forensics. Ever looking for a more compelling way to present content to learners regardless of age or background, Dr. Schmidt remains a strong advocate for using a Socratic method to advance active learning. As part of the ASPR grant, along with his co-investigators, he organized national meetings for health experts where the topics were biodefense preparedness and responding to pandemic outbreaks. For the these meetings Dr. Schmidt re-purposed extant content produced by the Fred Friendly Seminars about a bio-threat to an American city entitled In the Balance, and pandemic influenza.
An outgrowth of his efforts with the HRSA and ASPR grants exposed him to a national audience where he was asked to join the board of Ready Communities Partnership. It was through his involvement with Ready Communities that he co-authored with Asa Hutchinson, Governor of Arkansas and former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, an op-ed publication on the value of preparation before need. A consequence of that publication, which appeared in the Washington Times, is the concept of the Crisis Response Officer that is now making inroads as a best practice in a number of Fortune 100 companies. The views offered in that opinion piece have resulted in a transformation of how states, municipalities, and private sector companies may wish to think and prepare for the unexpected.
In June of 2016, he was invited to participate in Washington DC on an expert roundtable regarding best practices in preparing for the biological epidemics, such as Zika, with representatives from the CDC, Homeland Security, the American Red Cross and the Heritage Foundation. He helped make an audience of policy makers and students aware of how best to use science associated with the infectious agent to assuage the fears of the public while preparing to deal with the crisis. Dr. Schmidt’s ability in communicating complex scientific information to scientific, policy-making, business, and student audiences, as well as the general public, is unparalleled. In recognition of his accomplishments, 2017 he received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Science and Scientific Awareness.
Of particular relevance to the MVC will be offering his technical expertise and leadership in the areas where biological, chemical or radiological agents may be used in the commission of crimes resulting in mass violence, terror and/or causalities. His ability to make the science approachable in concert with expertise from his mental health colleagues will aid in preparing for the unimaginable through a learning collaborative approach in order to build capacity and resiliency for the responders and victims.
Anne Seymour
Associate Academic Program DirectorAnne Seymour
Anne Seymour has 36 years of experience as a national advocate for crime victims and survivors. She is currently the Center’s Associate Academic Program Director. She began her career in 1984 as the Director of Public Affairs for the National Office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and, from 1985 to 1993, as co-founder and Director of Communications and Resource Development of the National Victim Center (now National Center for Victims of Crime). Seymour has consulted with the U.S. Departments of Justice, Defense, State and Health & Human Services, the Peace Corps, and all 50 state governments to develop policies and protocols that improve the sensitive treatment of crime victims and survivors, and promote justice reforms that improve individual and public safety.
She has been involved in several mass crisis responses, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the Navy Yard mass shooting in September 2013, among others. She served as a Lead Consultant to help plan and implement OVC’s 2009 “Assisting Victims of Terrorism and Mass Violence” National Symposium. Seymour also helped develop a training curriculum in 2016 for the District of Columbia Advanced Victim Services Academy, “Responding to Victims of Terrorism and Mass Violence Crimes;” and helped Dr. Dean Kilpatrick document the mental health impact of Typhoon Xangsane on rural villages in Vietnam in 2006.
Seymour has received numerous honors for her efforts, including two awards from U.S. Congress and the Department of Navy for her role in responding to the mass violence at the Navy Yard in September 2013; the 2007 U.S. Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus Ed Stout Memorial Award for Outstanding Victim Advocacy; and the 1992 “Outstanding Services to Crime Victims” award from President Bush. She lives in Washington, DC where she enjoys gardening, long walks and cheering for her beloved Green Bay Packers.
Alma Dell Smith, PhD
Co-Director, Technology & ResourcesAlma Dell Smith, PhD
Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D. is Research Assistant Professor at the National Mass Violence Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Smith completed her undergraduate coursework at Smith College and earned her M.A. and PH.D in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia in 1979. The majority of her work has been in the area of stress assessment and treatments with a special emphasis on psychophysiological effects of stress. Dr. Smith was a pioneer in integrative medicine at the Women’s Health Unit at Boston Medical Center where she specialized in coordinating psychological and medical care in an urban health clinic. Dr. Smith served on the faculty of Boston University Medical Center, the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, and the Biobehavioral Institute of Boston. She was the cofounder of Stress Directions, Inc, a national consulting firm for businesses and institutions. In that capacity, she coauthored an online stress assessment tool which has been widely used to assess stress resilience, stress symptoms and situations. This program then delivered helpful tools tailored to the specific needs of users. In addition, she coauthored two popular books on stress, The Stress Solution and Stress and Marriage.
An important part of her career has been the dissemination of evidence based and technical aspects of psychology to the general public, bringing the best of the research on stress to a wide ranging clientele in hospitals, outpatient clinics, graduate programs, corporate settings and through popular books. Dr. Smith’s role in the National Mass Violence Center will be to assist in the coordinating of Internet activity and in developing new online courses and online apps.
Daniel Smith, PhD
Director, Technology & ResourcesDaniel Smith, PhD
Dr. Smith is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). A Fellow of the Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies, (ABCT), Dr. Smith is a nationally certified provider of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TFCBT) and an approved TF-CBT trainer. He specializes in the use of technology to disseminate trauma-related information for clinical and non-clinical professionals. Dr. Smith has collaborated with several treatment developers to create highly utilized and effective online training courses for many evidence-based treatments for trauma-related problems. These include TFCBTWeb and TFCBTWeb 2.0 (www.musc.edu/tfcbt2) for TFCBT, CPTWeb (www.musc.edu/cpt) for Cognitive Processing Therapy, and CTGWeb (www.musc.edu/ctg) for Childhood Traumatic Grief adaptations of TF-CBT. He has also developed an OVC-funded online training course to teach child victim advocates about both the mental health impact of crime and evidence-based trauma treatments for youth, ChildVictimWeb (www.musc.edu/cvweb).
Survivors and Providers Steering Committee
Survivors
Mary Fetchet
Navdeep "Navi" Singh Gill
Dion Green
Hedi Bogda Hitchcock
Keith Jones
E. Yvonne Lewis
Amy O'Neill
Julie Paez
Brittney Thomas
Garnell Whitfield
Providers
Debra Burton-Howard
Elynne Greene
Rev. Eric Manning
Joél J. Morales
Veronica Sanchez