Dennis D. Embry, PhD, President/Senior Scientist, PAXIS Institute, Tucson, AZ

The health and wealth of a nation depends on the health and wealth of its children. It is never been truer, than it is in this country today. While our children’s health and wealth have decayed over the past 20 years, our knowledge about how to make them healthier and wealthier has dramatically increased. 

Ten years ago, in Ohio I spoke before educators and educational leaders, suggesting we had the science to do these things, but it had not yet been used. For the last decade our knowledge of what do has become stronger and more effective. Today, I will tell you how Ohio is using the science in the largest scalable implementation in the United States. 

This presentation focuses on what we have achieved: practically, politically and scientifically, and what we can and must to do to close the gaps in our children’s health, academic success and economic wellbeing. 

In society we have come to a potential breaking point, unless we move very quickly. It is not about how much money it will cost, it’s about how much money it will save in just a year. And over a decade will impact the entire political and economic landscape for the future. The young people of Ohio, their educators and caregivers are the heroes of this change.

Jesus Villahermosa, Jr., Crisis Reality Training, University Place, WA

Jesus Villahermosa is a retired 33-year law enforcement officer out of Washington State and spent 30 of those years serving as the Point Man on the S.W.A.T. Team. He has spoken nationally and in Canada to hundreds of thousands of professionals regarding various issues related to school safety such as Active Shooter Survival, Use of Force Issues in Education, Breaking Up Fights Safely and Threat Assessment as a tool to mitigate school violence. In today's keynote Jesus will discuss the 3 R's, Recognition, Rapport and Respect, and why they are critical for all staff to implement in order to mitigate violence in our nation's schools. Jesus's real-life experience in working with and assisting youth during his time on the streets will as well as his high level of engagement with the audience will add a dose of reality to this presentation that you will not want to miss!