Dr. Biglan is a Senior Scientist at Oregon Research Institute, Principal Investigator of the Teacher Wellbeing Project, Director of the Center on Early Adolescence, and Co-Principal Investigator of the Promise Neighborhoods Research Consortium. He has been conducting research for the last 30 years on the prevention of adolescent problem behaviors. He has conducted numerous experimental evaluations of interventions to prevent tobacco, other drug use, high-risk sexual behavior, reading failure, and aggressive social behavior.

He and colleagues at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences published a book summarizing the epidemiology, cost, etiology, prevention, and treatment of youth with multiple problems (Biglan et al., 2004). He also co-authored Community-monitoring systems: Tracking and improving the well-being of America’s children and adolescents, a monograph published by the Society for Prevention Research (Mrazek, Biglan, & Hawkins, 2004), which is available electronically at www.preventionresearch.org. He is also author of the 1995 book, Changing cultural practices: A contextualist framework for intervention research, published by Context Press.

Dr. Jones is a developmental psychologist whose research focus is on promoting nurturing practices among parents, families and teachers. For the past 20 years, she has worked in the community setting as a practitioner, and currently is director of a parenting center that serves over 500 families each year. In addition to working with families, Laura has extensive experience working in the school setting, training teachers and parents to work more effectively with children. Laura has expertise in developing and evaluating web-based programs, including three NIH-funded projects to develop and evaluate online parenting programs and an online youth suicide prevention program for high school staff. Laura has three grown children, Nick, Gwen and Kate. In her spare time Laura likes to hike, camp, and dabble in marathons.

Kathy Forrester is the project manager of the Teacher and Staff Wellbeing Project and Oregon Healthy Teens project at Oregon Research Institute. She has a background in data analysis, population studies, and methods of research, and a Master’s Degree in Sociology from University of Washington. Over the past 10 years at ORI, Kathy has developed a keen interest in working with school-based prevention programs, and more recently, with Acceptance and Commitment Training. Outside of work, Kathy is a dedicated volunteer leader for Girl Scouts, runs a dance studio, and spends as much time as possible, hiking and camping with her husband T.J., her two teenage children Haley and Adam, and her Cairn Terrier, Darby.

Dr. Jeffrey Sprague is a Professor of Special Education and Director of the University of Oregon Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior. He directs federal, state and local research and demonstration projects related to positive behavior supports, response to intervention, youth violence prevention, alternative education, juvenile delinquency prevention and treatment, and school safety. In 1990 and 1997, Dr. Sprague coauthored the first guide to Functional Behavioral Assessment (O’Neill et al., 1997). He has written a book on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design for school administrators. Jeff has authored a book on school safety with Hill Walker for Guilford Publications (Sprague & Walker, 2005; www.guilford.com), and a book on School Wide Positive Behavior Supports with Annemieke Golly (2004; www.sopriswest.com). In 2008 he published a book on Response to Intervention and Behavior Supports (www.shoplrp.com). Dr. Sprague currently directs an R01 research grant from the National Institute in Drug Abuse to conduct the first evaluation of the effects of Positive Behavior Supports in middle schools and is co-investigator on two Institute of Education Sciences Goal 2 development projects focusing on Positive Behavior Supports and Response to Intervention for behavior. Jeff is a native Oregonian, husband and father of 2 girls who fly fishes, bicycles, and plays guitar.