Annual Conference

Catherine P. Bradshaw, PhD, MEd, is a university professor and the senior associate dean for research at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia (UVA). Before her current appointment at UVA, she was an associate professor and the associate chair of the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she maintains an adjunct faculty position. She holds a doctorate in developmental psychology from Cornell University and a Master of Education in counseling and guidance from the University of Georgia. Her primary research interests focus on the development of aggressive behavior and school-based prevention of behavioral and mental health problems in children and youth. She collaborates on research projects examining bullying and school climate; the development of aggressive and problem behaviors; effects of exposure to violence, peer victimization and environmental stress on children; children with emotional and behavioral disorders and autism; and the design, evaluation and implementation of evidence-based prevention programs in schools. She has led a number of federally funded randomized trials of school-based prevention programs, including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and social-emotional learning curricula. She also has expertise in implementation science and coaching models.

Dr. Bradshaw works with the Maryland State Department of Education and several school districts to support the development and implementation of programs and policies to prevent bullying and school violence, and to foster safe and supportive learning environments. She collaborates on federally funded research grants supported by the NIMH, NIMHD, NICHD, NIDA, CDC, NIJ, U.S. Department of Education, and the Institute of Education Sciences with awards totaling over $70 million. She is a member of the National Academy of Education and has published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in edited volumes. She was previously the associate editor for the Journal of Research on Adolescence. She is currently the editor of Prevention Science journal and senior associate editor for Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice and Policy. She is a co-editor of two editions of the Handbook of School Mental Health (Springer, 2014, 2023); the editor of Handbook on Bullying: A Life Course Perspective (2017); and the co-author of Preventing Bullying in Schools: A Social and Emotional Learning Approach to Prevention and Early Intervention (2020).

In this session, attendees will explore several key areas related to promoting student mental health and a positive school climate. Attendees will be provided with evidence-based strategies designed to prevent violence in schools within a multi-tiered prevention framework. The session will emphasize ways to support teachers in effectively implementing tiered supports for students. Innovative methods for assessing outcomes for students, teachers, and schools, helping to gauge the effectiveness of various initiatives, will be discussed. Additionally, the session will focus on identifying approaches to improve health equity in schools, addressing disparities, and fostering a more inclusive environment for all students.

Learning Objectives

Session attendees will:

• Review evidence-based strategies for preventing violence in schools.
• Highlight strategies to support teachers in high quality implementation of tiered supports for students in schools.
• Identify innovative methods for assessing outcomes for students, teachers, and schools.
• Identify approaches for improving health equity in schools.  

Kira Wong O'Connor leads mental health, bullying and harassment, and creator safety engagements for the youth policy team at Meta. She advises product, policy and partnership teams as they build out tools and relationships related to these topics about young people. Previously, Kira was head of Instagram's policy programs in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and head of partner outreach for EMEA at Twitter, both based in London. Throughout her career, Kira has worked with everyone from actors to activists to ambassadors to help them harness the power of social media platforms to make connections and tell their stories. She graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law where she specialized in intellectual property and entertainment law, and earned her bachelor's degree in mass communications and media studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently based in Los Angeles.

This presentation aims to inform practitioners about Meta’s approach to online safety and how their policies and tools are built to combat bullying and harassment. Participants will leave the presentation with an in depth knowledge of community standards and tools that will assist them in their work.

Learning Objectives

Session attendees will be able to:

• Have an in-depth discussion of Meta’s approach to online safety at a high level.
• Identify the community standards at Meta and specifically how bullying and harassment is dealt with.
• Utilize Meta’s safety tools in order to share this information with their communities, students, peers.