Governing Board Member Roster – September 2020
Philip Brown, PhD is a Senior Consultant for the National School Climate Center and a Fellow, Center for Applied Psychology at Rutgers University. Following 25 years managing substance abuse prevention services in the Pennsylvania Department of Health and student support services for the New Jersey Department of Education, he created and directed the Center for Social and Character Development at Rutgers University conducting research on social emotional and character development programs. He is the author of numerous government publications and articles, and edited co-authored the two volume, Handbook of Prosocial Education (2012) and School Discipline: A Prosocial Perspective (2016). Dr. Brown is also a long time board member and supporter of NJCAP and has been the driving force in the re-organization of the International Center for Assault Prevention (ICAP).
Jaya Sarkar, M.A. is an international development professional with thirty years of experience in India, Latin America and West Africa with expertise in child centered community development and economic strengthening for excluded and vulnerable populations. Jaya has worked across the sectors of education, health, local governance, and economic strengthening. Within these sectors, her primary focus has been the participation and inclusion of historically marginalized groups, such as children and youth and indigenous populations, and ensuring strategic partnerships at all levels address the barriers they face. She led new strategic partnerships for to improve delivery mechanisms within large social protection programs in India, with the World Bank in West Africa, and through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to enable significant scaling of programs to the ultra-poor. Jaya also led initiatives to strengthen adaptations to the economic Graduation Model, to ensure impact for particularly vulnerable groups including indigenous people, people with disabilities, youth, and survivors of gender based violence.
Michael Greene, PhD. is a Senior Fellow at the Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice and is the Chair of the Violence Prevention Workgroup at the National Prevention Science Coalition (NPSC). Michael’s work focuses on evidence-based prevention and policy strategies regarding youth and school violence. Dr. Greene served for 12 years as the Juvenile Justice Administrator for the City of New York. In 1993, he was appointed to the American Psychological Association’s Cadre of Experts in Youth Violence. He subsequently was selected as the founding Executive Director of the Violence Institute of New Jersey at the University of Medicine and Dentistry (now Rutgers University) and later as the Director of the Center for the Prevention of Violence in New Jersey He has written numerous journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews on youth violence, human rights, and positive youth development. Dr. Greene has served on the NJCAP Advisory Board for over 15 years and has been a longtime advocate for the CAP program.
Rebecca LeBeau, currently is the Executive Director of the Child Assault Prevention Project of Washoe County in Reno, Nevada. As an event planner, Becky has worked in the past for some of Reno’s most prominent event-based companies, executing events for natives and tourists alike. She has also spent over 20 years in Northern Nevada’s non-profit sector as Director of Operations for the YWCA and currently as the Executive Director of the Child Assault Prevention (CAP) Project of Washoe County, Nevada. The CAP project is a required Child Self-Protection Workshop presented to all second, fourth and sixth grade students in Reno and Washoe County and is focused on empowering children to prevent abusive situations they may encounter. Rebecca sits on the Board of the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Task Force and also volunteers time for two important community endeavors – The Holland Project and The Community Cabinet.
Jeannette Collins has worked in the field of child abuse prevention for over thirty-four years. During this time she served as a CAP facilitator, Coordinator of two County CAP Projects and the Associate Director for NJCAP. She also was designated as the International Child Assault Prevention Teen Program Coordinator and Trainer. She co-authored and piloted CAP’s Bullying Prevention program and the Cyber Empowerment program. Jeannette was first state trainer for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program as well as a trainer for the Creative Response to Conflict and Violence Prevention program from Nyack College. Jeannette has been a presenter at several National and International conferences. She has provided adult workshops in numerous forums including Administrators/Superintendents, School Boards, Police Departments, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Girl Scouts, church organizations, school nurses, as well as service organizations. As an ICAP trainer, Jeannette has trained projects across the world and has set up CAP projects in Oregon, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Slovenia, Nova Scotia, Japan, and France and most recently in the People’s Republic of China. Jeannette Currently is the Director of NJCAP
Natural Langdon is an award-winning Filmmaker, Producer, Content Creator and Co-founder of OpenMindz Productions. His passion for arts and education has taken him from producing films about urban drama and social injustice in Brownsville, Brooklyn to teaching youth about film production in underserved communities in Africa. His mission is to give a voice to the voiceless through film and photography. As a travel and culture enthusiast, he is on a mission to reveal the untold stories of urban communities around the world. Having traveled extensively through Africa, Europe, South America, Asia and the Caribbean, he goes in a search of authentic city life, rare culture and exotic food. By exploring the contributions of people of African descent around the world, Natural has discovered untold stories of communities in Cuba, Haiti, Bahia, Brazil, Morocco and Ghana
Kristijan Orešković, M.A. has a master’s degree in political science with a scientific interest in public policy (especially policy focused on children and youth and educational policies). He is familiar with the way in which organizations work and in general, civil society in Croatia and the European Union. As the president of the Young European Federalist NGO in Croatia, Kristijan, is involved in preparing project proposals and writing various reports, administrative technical work and organizing various events and activities. In addition to this experience, he is the volunteer of the local section of Red Cross for 9 years and volunteer coordinator in the Club of Students of the Faculty of Political Science for 5 years. Kristijan has worked with the Parents Association Step by Step as the CAP program assistant for the last year and is familiar with all aspects of the program. He was selected to become the CAP Program Coordinator in February of 2019.
