November 14-18, 2022
2022 NABITA Annual Conference with Training & Certification Courses

Haven L. Hart is the Director, 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.

Jeanne Meyer has focused her career on advocating for and working with victims of sexual violence. During part of her service with the U.S. Navy, she worked as a federal agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) investigating sex crimes and child abuse, and testifying in federal and state court. 

Prior to joining TNG, for ten years Meyer directed the Student Conduct office at NIU and chaired the university’s Behavioral Intervention Team.  After earning her law degree, Meyer was engaged as a prosecutor for domestic violence and sex crimes. She then served as a defense attorney for criminal and civil matters including child abuse and neglect cases. 

Before shifting to employment in the higher education field, Meyer served as the director of sexual assault support services at a women’s shelter, where she oversaw the establishment and funding of rape crisis resources. These duties included applying for and managing a state grant that provided over $400,000 of funding to the agency.

Meyer then transitioned to campus law enforcement where she was a detective sergeant for the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Police Department in DeKalb, Illinois. During her law enforcement tenure, she served as a patrol officer, detective sergeant, crime scene investigator, emergency management and planning supervisor, and the lead investigator for the student and employee threat assessment teams. Her assignments included investigating sexual assault and child abuse allegations, homicides, and drug-related crimes. Following a mass shooting on campus, Meyer provided victim advocacy to five families who lost a loved one and 100 students who experienced mental and physical trauma.

Meyer holds a B.S. in Sociology from Jacksonville University, an M.S. in Criminal Justice Administration from Chaminade University, and an M.­­­S.Ed. in Counseling and J.D. from Northern Illinois University.

Kim Pacelli is a Partner with TNG who possesses substantial experience with the day-to-day challenges facing colleges, universities, and schools. She provides practical advice that empowers institutions to confidently manage high-risk issues on their campuses. Her practice includes:

• Policy and procedure development and consultation;
• Program review, assessment, and compliance consultations; and
• Tailored on-site training programs, among others.

She regularly trains and advises on Title IX policy and procedures, Clery Act reporting and compliance, student mental health interventions and policies, FERPA and student privacy issues, free speech issues for both public and private institutions, and student conduct issues, among others. She has also served as an invited speaker at regional and national conferences.

Ms. Pacelli’s solution-oriented approach to her work stems from her extensive experience as a student affairs practitioner. Kim served as Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Bowdoin College, where she provided leadership, operational, budget, and personnel oversight to many central offices of the college, including the Dean’s office, Health Services, Counseling Services, Residential Life, and other student support offices. She also served as Associate Dean of Student Life for Harvard University.

Makenzie Schiemann is the Vice President, Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment 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.

Mandy Hambleton is an educator with over a decade of progressively responsible behavior management experience, including roles in student conduct and academic integrity, behavioral intervention and case management, and Title IX compliance at multiple higher education institutions.

She has extensive experience in policy and process development including both public-facing policies and internal standard operating procedures, templates, and forms. She often teaches courses on informal resolution, DEI, and the intersection of BIT and Title IX, as well as those with an approach based on applied learning.

Hambleton is also frequently sought by her peers for her creativity in training curriculum development, applied learning exercises, and facilitation. She has a breadth of experience in alternative dispute resolution/conflict resolution processes and practices and is a highly skilled informal resolution facilitator and trainer for all types of complaints, including those falling under Title IX. An accomplished writer, content developer, editor, and facilitator, she serves as the TNG Director of Content Development responsible for managing and contributing to the development and refinement of print publications, training materials, new course development, and member resources for TNG, ATIXA, and NABITA.

Prior to joining TNG, Hambleton served as the Title IX Director at Florida State University where she managed Title IX compliance strategies and programs for three domestic and four international higher education sites, as well as a K-12 charter school district. Hambleton has a proven capacity for developing new and restructuring existing staff teams and offices for building trust in people and processes, increasing effectiveness, and establishing brand recognition.

She holds a B.A. in English – Professional Communication from Winthrop University and an M.S. in Higher Education from Florida State University.

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.

Tim Cason 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.

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 5,000 active school and college members. In 2009, Lewis co-founded NABITA, an organization of 2,000 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.

James Densley is Professor and Department Chair of Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University and co-founder and co-president of The Violence Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research center best known for its mass shooter database. Densley has received global media attention for his work on street gangs, criminal networks, violence, and policing. He is the author of seven books, including the acclaimed, The Violence Project: How to Stop A Mass Shooting Epidemic, 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals, and over 80 book chapters, essays, and other works in outlets such as CNN, The Guardian, HuffPost, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Densley has been an invited or plenary speaker on four continents. He is a former middle school special education teacher and in 2017 he was awarded the Points of Light Award for outstanding community volunteerism by the British Prime Minister. Densley earned his doctorate in sociology from the University of Oxford.

Dr. Jillian Peterson is a forensic psychologist, professor of criminology at Hamline University, and previous investigator on death penalty cases in New York City.  She is the co-author of the highly acclaimed book, The Violence Project: How to stop a mass shooting epidemic, based on four years of in-depth research into the lives of mass shooters. Dr. Peterson believes the best way to prevent violence is to deeply understand the life histories of people who commit it.

She has interviewed perpetrators of murder in Cook County Jail and Rikers Island, and perpetrators of mass shootings across the country, leading her to an understanding of the root cause of violence and how we can address it. She is the co-founder and co-president of The Violence Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center dedicated to reducing violence using research and analysis.

Dr. Peterson’s areas of expertise range from mass shootings and violent crime, to holistic violence prevention, crisis intervention and de-escalation, and promoting mental wellness in schools and workplaces. Dr. Peterson holds a MA and Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine. She is a regular media commentator in outlets like the New York Times, National Public Radio, CNN, and The Washington Post.

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.

Emery Nauden is the Regional Prevention Coordinator for Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi in the Eastern Region at the US Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Center for Prevention Programs & Partnerships.  He works to form partnerships between Federal, state, and local government and the whole-of-society to build local prevention frameworks that prevent targeted violence and terrorism. 

Emery served previously as the Community Relations Officer (CRO) for Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Houston, Texas. In that capacity he engaged with federal, state, local, and community partners to ensure an uninterrupted flow of communication between partners and local ICE leadership. Before becoming a CRO, Emery was a Community Planning Liaison Officer (CPLO) for the Department of Defense where he protected US Military Installations and their operations from outside encroachment. Emery graduated from the Honors College at the University of Central Arkansas with a B.A. in Political Science and attended Florida State University where he attained graduate degrees in (M.S.P.) in Urban & Regional Planning, and a M.P.A. in Local Government.