Keynote Speakers:

"Working with Troubled Students"

Gary Pavela teaches in the honors program at the University of Maryland and writes law and policy newsletters to which over 1,000 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada subscribe. He was a law clerk to Judge Alfred P. Murrah of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, a faculty member for the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C (the training arm of the United States Courts), and a staff attorney for the State University of New York, Central Administration. He has been a Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Center for Behavioral Science and law and serves on the Board of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University.

John Nicoletti, Ph.D., counseling/psychology (specializing in police psychology)

"Campus Violence: Current Issues and Response Strategies"

Dr. Nicoletti received his doctorate in psychology from Colorado State University. He is a Clinical/Police Psychologist who specializes in identifying, assessing and defusing attack related behaviors and violence in various workplaces, campuses and schools. In his other area of specialization, he provides on-site psychological screenings and consultations at the U.S. bases of McMurdo and the South Pole in Antarctica.

Dr. Nicoletti has written three books in the areas of violence, entitled Violence Goes to Work (1994); Violence Goes to College (2001), published by Charles C. Thomas; and Violence Goes to School (2002), National Education Services.

Henry Emmons, M.D.

"The Resilient Student: Using Nature and Wisdom to Sustain a Healthy Mood"

It is said that a young person today has a ten-fold greater risk of depression than one born in 1900. What has eroded the natural ability to bounce back from adversity? What are the preventable causes of depression? And what can be done to build resilience among college students, who are at an age of vulnerability to mental illness? Dr. Emmons will discuss the “enemies of joy” and how they affect brain health and function. We will explore the need for a healthy brain and how to incorporate natural strategies and spiritual practices to support that goal.

Henry Emmons, M.D., is a consultant to seven Twin Cities area college counseling centers. He is a past recipient of a Bush Medical Fellowship, which funded a sabbatical to study natural and mindfulness therapies in the practice of psychiatry. Dr. Emmons also developed the Resilience Training Program at Abbott’s Institute for Health and Healing. This program integrates nutrition, exercise and the “psychology of mindfulness” to improve outcomes in the treatment of depression. His book The Chemistry of Joy: A Three Step Program for Overcoming Depression Through Western Science and Eastern Wisdom was published by Simon and Schuster in January of 2006.