June 3-7, 2024
NABITA’s 4th Annual Case Management Summit

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.

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.

Danette Horne is the Acting Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the Pat Walker Health Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She provides clinical management for the center, individual/group counseling, consultation, training, crisis counseling, and outreach for CAPS and the campus community. Danette has over 22 years of experience in college counseling and has been an adjunct instructor for Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Program.

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.

Mikiba W. Morehead is a consultant with TNG and has extensive experience in Student Affairs as a Student Conduct practitioner specialized in the areas of Title IX, crisis management, and student advocacy.

Her expertise centers on cyber sexual abuse, informal resolution processes, specifically mediation and restorative justice, policy revision, and ADA/504 compliance. Morehead has developed and delivered numerous trainings for investigators, decision-makers, hearing boards, appeal officers, and support persons across public, private, and health science/medical education institutions. She provides effective and sustainable solutions for colleges, universities, and schools to care for the needs of students and campus communities with an eye towards social justice. She has served as an interim Title IX Coordinator for a college client.

Prior to joining TNG, Morehead served as Title IX Coordinator and Director of Student Disability Services at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Director of Community Standards at the University of Texas at Arlington, and Program Coordinator for Student Conduct at Texas A& M University.

Morehead holds a B.A. in Communication and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Louisville, and an Ed.D. in Education, Ethical Leadership from the University of St. Thomas – Houston.

Josie Nicholson, Assistant A.D. for Sport Psychology at Ole Miss, is a Licensed Psychologist specializing in sport performance and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant. A native of Oxford, MS, Dr. Nicholson joined Ole Miss Athletic’s Health and Sport Performance Staff in 2012 as the counseling and sport psychologist for the department. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Visual Arts from Loyola University New Orleans where she was a student-athlete and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. She completed a year-long internship at Colorado State University, specifically working with the Sport and Performance Program. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in sport psychology at the University of Florida. She is EMDR trained and has trained extensively in the use of hypnosis. She hosts a podcast for the Hilinski’s Hope Foundation, Unit3d, that aims to be a mental health resource for student athletes. She has served on several national executive boards including The Counseling/Clinical Sport Psychology Association (past chair, conference coordinator, and tech chair), and the American Psychological Association Division 47 (Cornerstone Committee Chair, 2019 – 2022). She is certified as a Mental Health First Aid instructor. Josie and her husband Steven have two sons, Claiborne and Steele and two dogs, Nanuk and Remi.

April Owens is a licensed professional counselor who has worked in higher education at multiple institutions nationwide, serving K-12, college, and adult education populations. She is well-versed in engaging key stakeholders, including executives, faculty, staff, students, and community members. Owens’s expertise lies in providing behavioral and psychological interventions and case management work. Owens is committed to proactively cultivating an environment where systems are improved so that barriers are reduced, and student’s protective factors are leveraged to improve safety and quality of life.

Presently, Owens serves as the inaugural Director of Student Care Network Coordination at Dallas College (80,000+ students), a large community college located in Dallas, Texas. In this role, Owens launched CARE Teams at each of the seven campuses, implemented a case management protocol for the entire network, and leads the strategic planning effort to address students’ emergency basic needs. Owens oversees the student emergency assistance and transportation fund and supervises the seven full-time staff members dedicated to leading the CARE Teams and care coordination services in the Student Care Network.

Previously, Owens served as Research Counselor at the University of Texas’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where she provided behavioral and psychological interventions and assessment techniques on federally funded clinical research trials. Additionally, Owens has served in leadership roles in Career Services, Title IX, Student Life and Multicultural Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles, State University of New York, Albany, and Spelman College.

She holds a B.S. in psychology studies from Spelman College and an M.S. in Mental Health Counseling from the State University of New York, Albany.

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.

Marjorie Sanfilippo earned her B.S. in psychology from Mary Washington College in 1987 and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Miami in 1993. Following an internship at UNC-Chapel Hill, she began teaching and conducting research at UNC-Charlotte. Dr. Sanfilippo arrived at Eckerd College in 2000 as an assistant professor of psychology and was awarded tenure in 2004. She was promoted to full professor in 2007, at which time she began serving in administrative roles, including Associate Dean for General Education. Today she is the Associate Dean of Faculty and the Executive Director of the Center for Academic Excellence.

Dr. Sanfilippo’s research has focused on children’s behaviors around firearms and the (in)effectiveness of firearm safety programs. Her research has been published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and in The Future of Children (David & Lucille Packard Foundation). She has also served as a consultant to the National Research Council, has testified before the legislature in Tallahassee against bills that would allow concealed carry on college campuses, and has appeared in the public media to discuss her research findings (20/20, Good Morning America, NPR).

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.

Dr. Shollenberger has worked in the field of higher education for 18 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Franklin Pierce College in Psychology. Then she earned her Master’s in Sport Psychology from Texas Tech University, earning her doctorate in education from North Carolina State University in 2014. Starting at High Point University in 2007, she has held a variety of roles, academic advisor, Director of Student Conduct, Assistant Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President for Student Life, she joined the faculty in the Stout School of Education in 2022. She teaches primarily in the doctorate program track for higher education. She researches in areas that include threat assessment teams in higher education, gun violence, policy/law and code review and women in leadership.

D-L joined the University of Denver in 2021 after 20 years of teaching, research, and service in colleges and universities focused on U.S. postsecondary education. Their scholarship focuses on the philosophy and history of higher education, institutional transformation toward realizing equity and justice, and how higher education environments function within society and as a crucible for the learning and development of minoritized student, staff, and faculty populations. D-L received their B.A. from Kalamazoo College in Sociology & Anthropology and an M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Higher Education and Student Affairs and Educational Administration and Higher Education, respectively.