November 12-17, 2023
NABITA’s 15th Annual Conference

Linda Abbott is a Consultant at TNG whose areas of expertise include behavioral intervention teams, college mental health, case management, and victim advocacy. Abbott has over 15 years’ experience in a variety of roles including administration and student support.

Most recently, Abbott served as Assistant Dean for Health and Wellness at Eckerd College where she had administrative oversight of counseling, case management, advocacy, and health services. Prior to her role as Assistant Dean, she served as Executive Director of Outreach, Counseling and Health Services and Director of Outreach Services, where she chaired the Intervention Team. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Florida, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Mississippi, and has treated individuals and couples in private practice.

Prior to her tenure at Eckerd College, Abbott served as the inaugural Violence Prevention Coordinator at the University of Mississippi where she developed and implemented the university’s first violence prevention program and launched a campus-wide violence prevention initiative. Abbott holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Mississippi and a M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Aaron Austin (he/him/his) is a father, husband, and educator who has had the opportunity to serve students at multiple colleges and universities.  He has experience with a variety of Student Affairs areas, and throughout his career has presented to numerous students, employees, families, and community partners on topics ranging from policy implementation to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Most recently, Aaron served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.  During his time in this role, he had a supervisory portfolio that included the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Housing & Residence Life, Student Conduct & Community Standards, Student Involvement, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Campus Activities, Campus Recreation, and Student Government.  Aaron was a vital member of the WSU CARE Team (Case Management & Behavior Intervention), Title IX Committee, and the Bias Incident Response Group.   

Aaron is interested in the intersection of race and identity in relationship to Behavior Intervention/Threat Assessment and looks for opportunities to engage in these conversations to ensure practitioners are aware of the biases they bring to the work.  Further, Aaron has spent the last few years as a Student Affairs administrator which allows him to see issues from that perspective. A native Kansan, Aaron earned his Bachelor of Music Education and minor in American Ethnic Studies from Kansas State University; his M.Ed. from Arizona State University – Tempe; and his Ed.D. from Texas Tech University.

Tim Cason is the Vice President of NABITA and a Consultant with TNG. He is a passionate professional who has worked in higher education at multiple institutions nationwide, serving high school, college, and adult education populations. He is well-versed in engaging key stakeholders, including executives, faculty, staff, and students, regarding student conduct, behavioral intervention and case management work, Title IX, and other civil rights laws. Cason is committed to proactively cultivating an environment of trust and productivity through actively listening, collaboration, and thinking practically.

Cason is an exceptional presenter who utilizes effective active learning and teaching strategies to deeply and consistently impact his audience. He is experienced in synthesizing information, applying research from promising practices, and pulling from practical experience to meet the situation’s unique needs.

Most recently, Cason served as the Director of Student Conduct & Prevention Education and Deputy Title IX Coordinator for the Trinity River Campus (7,000+ students) of Tarrant County College, a community college located in Fort Worth, Texas. In this role, he oversaw the student conduct process, served as the co-chair and case manager for the CARE Team, facilitated a student emergency assistance fund, and served as the Deputy Title IX Coordinator. Additionally, Cason fulfilled these roles for the Connect (e-learning) Campus (12,000+ students).

He also previously served in the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards at Wichita State University, where he investigated and resolved alleged policy and Title IX violations and provided case management support to the behavioral intervention team. Additionally, Cason previously served in the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity at the University of South Carolina.

He holds a B.S. in communication studies from Texas Christian University and an M.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina.

Haven L. Hart is the Supervising Consultant & Director of Client Success at TNG. She serves as a liaison between Consulting and Content, Marketing, and Business Development to assess and address client needs. She also develops systems to ensure efficiency and effectiveness and oversees the quality review process upon engagement completion. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, teaching/training, continuous improvement, program and project management, individual and organizational risk management, threat assessment, and student success.

Hart is a career higher education professional with more than 30 years of experience in student affairs administration. She most recently served as Assistant Vice President for Student Development at Auburn University where she oversaw Career Services and Cooperative Education, Greek Life, Health Promotion and Wellness Services, the Office of Accessibility, Auburn Cares, and Student Conduct. She also chaired the Bias Education and Response Team and coordinated the Title IX Process Advisor program.

Prior to her time at Auburn, she served as Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Coastal Carolina University, Dean of Students at Converse College, and Assistant Director of Student Life at the University of Alabama. At Coastal Carolina, an award was created in her honor to recognize the impact she had on students.  She also received the Paul P. Fidler Award for academic partnerships for the state of South Carolina, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Region III Bob E. Leach Award for Outstanding Service to Students, the Joseph O. Nixon Award for Outstanding Chief Student Affairs Officer and the Outstanding Student Organization Advisor at both the University of Alabama and Converse College. In 2019, she was presented with the Woman of Distinction Award at Auburn’s Women’s Leadership Conference.  

Hart’s research interests include women’s leadership, student sense of belonging, sorority/fraternity housing, and retention of marginalized students. She is actively engaged in professional associations, serving on the NASPA Fraternity/Sorority Life disciplinary process task force and as a faculty member for the Southern Association of College Student Affairs (SACSA)/NASPA Region III New Professionals Institute. She is also the former president of the South Carolina College Personnel Association.

She earned a Ph.D. in Administration of Higher Education from Auburn University and two degrees from Clemson University – an M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling and a B.A. in Secondary Education.

Dori S. Hutchinson, Sc.D. has worked at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University since 1984.  Besides serving as Director of Services, Dr. Hutchinson is an Associate Clinical Professor at Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University.  Dr. Hutchinson sits on several community mental health center advisory boards both locally in Massachusetts and nationally. Dr. Hutchinson was the 2000 recipient of the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services Association’s (IAPSRS) Early Career Research Award for her contributions on health issues for persons with serious psychiatric disabilities and the 2010 Armin Loeb recipient for her work in health promotion and recovery education for the United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, the global association that trains and educates the recovery workforce. She served as secretary, treasurer and chairwoman of the Board.  She now is the chair of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Foundation. In addition, she has served as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for Employment Options, a clubhouse program in Massachusetts and continues as a Board member. Dr. Hutchinson has developed and implemented recovery-oriented service initiatives that assist people who have mental illness assume their rightful roles as students, employees, residents and members of their communities. She provides training nationally to organizations and providers who wish to deliver recovery-oriented services and conduct relevant program evaluations. Dr. Hutchinson has worked more recently in developing mental health promotion services on campuses that assist students with serious mental illnesses to succeed in all domains of their lives as college students, as well as college suicide prevention programming that creates caring academic communities.

W. Scott Lewis, J.D. is a Managing Partner with TNG, LLC. (“TNG”), a national multidisciplinary risk management consulting and law firm with more than 5,000 education-sector clients, 35 executive and support employees, and a roster of 25 attorneys and consultants who are at the forefront of the field in their areas of expertise. He is a co-founder and advisory board member of the Association of Title IX Administrators (“ATIXA”) the leading industry association for Title IX compliance, with over 10,000 active school and college members. In 2009, Lewis co-founded NABITA, an organization of 5,000 members dedicated to school and campus violence prevention, intervention, and mental health resources. and was president of ASCA.

Lewis has worked with the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women and the Department of Education’s Offices of Civil Rights as a trainer and consultant, training staff and investigators. He was a consultant to the Office of the Vice President and the White House Task Force on issues of Sexual Misconduct, as well as a core member of the United States Olympic Committee’s Task Force that proposed and created the United States Center for SafeSport, both of which he consults with and trains. He also consults with and trains numerous sports organizations and governing bodies at all levels from High Schools to Olympic Level athletes, trainers, coaches, and staff, including working with the NCAA and NJCAA.

He works regularly with clients in the areas of harassment, discrimination, disability, and retaliation, as well as prevention and response to dangerous and disruptive behaviors. He has trained thousands of administrators and law enforcement officers to properly investigate matters of sexual harassment and other types of civil rights harassment and discrimination, as well as presented prevention education workshops in these areas and in threat assessment and harm prevention. He consults regularly on these issues as well, including assisting with oversight of these investigations. He gave a TED Talk® related to this subject for lay people – including employees and supervisors – on how to properly respond to victims of trauma.

He serves as a frequent keynote and plenary speaker at national and international conferences. He is nationally recognized for his work in the areas of: Student/Staff Conduct; Behavioral Intervention/Threat Assessment Teams for all ages of students in crisis and distress; Titles II, III, IV, VI, VII, IX, ADA, and other civil rights laws; and general risk management in education. He is noted as well for his work in the area of classroom management and dealing with dangerous and disruptive students (and parents) and co-authored a book on classroom management and The Book on BIT. He has been interviewed and/or featured by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Student Affairs Today, Inside Higher Education, ESPN, ESPN The Magazine, Time, Newsweek, NPR, NBC, CBS, ABC, USA Today, Today’s Campus, as well as other publications and sources.

Katie Lord currently serves as a Domestic Security Strategist (DSS) with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) where she interfaces with community safety leaders to facilitate access to NTAC resources and the development of targeted violence prevention programs. In addition, Ms. Lord conducts NTAC presentations to educators, law enforcement agencies, and public safety partners. She also contributes on consultations for threat assessment policy development and on individual complex threat cases. 

Ms. Lord has 20 years of experience with the Secret Service, which includes supporting financial crime, background, protective intelligence, and insider threat investigations. While assigned to the Protective Intelligence and Assessment Division (PID), she worked as an intelligence analyst conducting threat assessments on concerning individuals, as well as assessing the threat environment in foreign countries. Ms. Lord also worked to create the Secret Service Insider Threat Program and was certified as an Insider Threat Program Manager by Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute and by the U.S. Government’s Counter-Insider Threat Program. 

Prior to joining the Secret Service, Ms. Lord developed management simulations and trained assessors at an international human resources company. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s-level certificate in Human Resources Management from LaRoche College, in Pittsburgh, PA.

Jessica Nemet is a Social Science Research Specialist with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), where she conducts research on threat assessment and cases of targeted violence. NTAC research efforts focus on targeted violence directed at government targets, K-12 schools, university campuses, workplaces, and public places. NTAC also issues guidance, based on these research findings, for use by public safety entities for the purpose of adopting a proactive threat assessment approach to violence prevention. For example, in March 2021, NTAC released Averting Targeted School Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools.

Ms. Nemet also regularly provides training and briefing on the findings of NTAC research to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, as well as other public safety entities. Recent recipients of training by Ms. Nemet include the George C. Marshall Center for European Center for Security Studies, Georgia Counsel for International Visitors, Hawaii Fusion Center, numerous state and local police departments to include the Atlanta Police Department, colleges and universities, and K-12 school districts. She is a recipient of the 2022 DHS Secretary’s Award for Innovation.

Prior to joining the U.S. Secret Service, Ms. Nemet worked as the Operations Coordinator for the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, NY. Ms. Nemet earned her Master of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology and a Certificate in Terrorism Studies from John Jay College in New York, NY. While completing her degree, she worked as a Research Assistant in Dr. Shuki Cohen’s Political Anti-Arab Prejudice Lab and as a statistics Teaching Assistant. Her research focused on the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and support for military action among millennial voters. Ms. Nemet’s research experience began at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she designed a study of the relationship between undergraduate drinking and psychopathy.

Makenzie Schiemann is a Partner at TNG and the President of NABITA. Dr. Schiemann started her professional career as a teacher working in middle grades education before spending ten years in higher education overseeing the behavioral intervention team, case management program, and victim advocacy department at both a small private college and a large public university.

Dr. Schiemann served as the Director for Student Outreach and Support, the Director for the Center for Victim Advocacy, and the Chair of the Students of Concern Assistance Team for three years at the University of South Florida. In these roles, she developed comprehensive protocol manuals for both the case management program and the victim advocacy department which aligned with best practice standards and served as a model for other institutions in the development of their policies. In this role, she also developed and implemented a comprehensive violence prevention campaign. Prior to working at the University of South Florida, Makenzie served for six years as the Director of Outreach Services and Health Promotion at Eckerd College where she oversaw the case management program and chaired the Intervention Team.

Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Schiemann taught 8th grade in the Kentucky K-12 public education system. In this role, she also served on the school’s Crisis Response Committee, developing strategies for preventing and responding to crisis incidents including school-wide behavioral trends, acts of physical aggression, and active shooter scenarios.

Her areas of expertise include policy and program development for behavioral intervention teams, case management, and victim advocacy, strategies for chairing behavioral intervention teams, research and assessment, and strategic planning for comprehensive educational and awareness programming.

Ms. Schuster is a recognized expert in preventive and civil rights law for education, notably in the fields of harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct and violence, ADA and disability issues and the First Amendment. 

Ms. Schuster has extensive experience and expertise in, and routinely advises clients on, the First Amendment and campus access issues; risk management and liability; behavior intervention and threat assessment; student discipline and campus conduct; intellectual property and employment issues. Ms. Schuster provides assistance nationally to both public and private educational schools and colleges in policy development, faculty handbooks and employee manuals, and training for state and federal compliance. She has provided extensive consultation to and training for the U.S. Justice Department, Office of Violence Against Women, the White House Task Force on Sexual Assault and the Futures Without Violence organization. She also provides litigation consultation, expert witness support, and conducts civil rights-based investigation for educational institutions. She provided contraceptive support and rape crisis counseling and served on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Butler County.

Prior to joining TNG in 2009, Ms. Schuster’s higher education legal experience included serving as the General Counsel for Sinclair Community College; as Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio, representing 53 public colleges and universities; and as the Associate General Counsel for the University of Toledo.  

In addition to her legal work in higher education, Ms. Schuster has over twenty-five years of experience in college administration and teaching, including serving as the Associate Dean of Students at The Ohio State University, Director of the Office of Learning Assistance at Miami University and as Assistant Dean at Western College. She also served as a faculty member at The Ohio State University, Miami University, and Columbus State Community College.

 Aaron Stark was almost a school shooter. As a dark and destructive teen, Stark almost committed a terrible attack. Today he is a happy father of four, and wants to do all he can to help anyone on that path to find a way into the light again, and to see that they matter. 

After watching the news coverage of the Parkland school shootings, Stark wrote an open letter “I was almost a school shooter.” This was sent to local news 9KUSA in Denver, and was the feature story on Next with Kyle Clark. This story gained national attention and over 17 million views in a very short time, which propelled me into a life of activism for mental wellness awareness. He have been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and also wrote his own article in the Washington Post. This was followed by his viral TEDx talk “I Was Almost a School Shooter “ that currently has over 14 million views and is shown in schools, colleges, and universities, all the way up to the Dept. Of Education. 

These days Aaron get in front of as many audiences as possible trying to spread his message of Giving Love to The Ones You Feel Deserve It The Least, Because They Need It The Most. He speaks to students, administrators, SRO’s, law enforcement, podcasts, one on one interviews, and any other group that is looking for a way to reach that person in the dark and remind them they matter in hopes of preventing future tragedies. 

Recently he started presenting to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in hopes of improving methods and techniques when dealing with those in the edge of darkness. Now he flies across the country speaking to help prevent the next potential HIM from happening .