Dr. Russell T. Jones, a professor of psychology at Virginia Tech University, will be the featured speaker during a conference, Reducing Risk in Educational Settings: Lessons Learned from Virginia Tech, Thursday, April 24, at Winebrenner Theological Seminary, adjacent to The University of Findlay campus.

Click here for directions to campus.

The conference, hosted by the Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, was designed in response to the tragic incident that occurred at Virginia Tech in April 2007, with the goal of preventing a similar incident.

Check-in will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the conference will end at 5 p.m. Registration deadline was April 10.

Jones will present the keynote address, “Prevention and Intervention of School Violence in Primary Through Secondary Educational Settings,” at 9:15 a.m. He also will moderate a question-and-answer panel of speakers at 3:45 p.m.

Joseph Hill, administrator of risk and disaster service initiative of the Ohio Department of Mental Health, will offer opening remarks. Other presentations include “What If? The Roles of Schools and Universities in Terrorism Prevention” by Dr. Ronald Stephens; “Organizing the Crisis Response: School Crisis Teams and Psychological First Aid” by Dr. Marleen Wong; and “Lessons Learned: From Chaos to Recovery” by Cheri Lovre.

Initial funding for the conference was provided by The University of Findlay, Blanchard Valley Hospital, the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation and the United Way of Hancock County.

To read more about Jones and the conference, click here. Additional questions regarding the conference can be directed to Annie Altman at 419-424-1985 or aaltman@bhg.org.