Jane Stapleton, Co-Founder and President
Jane is the co-founder and President of Soteria Solutions, where she directs curriculum development, technical assistance and training that creates lasting change by building safe and respectful workplaces and learning environments.
She is internationally recognized for her work to develop and implement effective bystander intervention prevention strategies in workplaces, education institutions and the U.S. Military. She has provided direct services to survivors, technical assistance to states on the implementation of evidence-based prevention strategies in communities, consultation to colleges, universities and high schools on comprehensive bystander intervention prevention, subject matter expertise to the US Army on sexual harassment, assault, response and prevention, and collaborations to create culture change that supports safe and respectful workplaces.
Her work focuses on translating research to practice and working with customers to make sure prevention strategies meet their population’s specific needs and characteristics. Jane co-authored Bringing in the Bystander®, a scientifically evaluated and proven effective, prevention program for workplaces, colleges and universities and high schools. Jane has also co-developed the Know Your Power® Bystander Intervention Social Marketing Campaign.
Jane is known globally as an innovative leader in the sexual and interpersonal violence and harassment prevention field. Her solutions-focused approach creates an inclusive environment where everyone has a role to play in creating safe and respectful environments. Jane has testified in front of the US Senate and Congressional Committees on best practices and what we know works in prevention. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, National Public Radio, and Huffington Post.
Sharyn J. Potter, Ph.D., MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and the Co-founder and Executive Director of Research at the Prevention Innovations Research Center: Ending Sexual and Relationship Violence and Stalking at the University of New Hampshire. With Jane Stapleton, Dr. Potter co-founded Soteria Solutions. Dr. Potter is a global leader on the social scientific development and evaluation of bystander intervention strategies. Dr. Potter’s work focuses on engaging community members to work collaboratively to reduce sexual and relationship violence, stalking and harassment in high schools, colleges and universities, the United States Military and other workplaces. She has been a leader in the development, dissemination, and evaluation and of theory- and research-based bystander intervention prevention strategies including the uSafeUS® campus sexual violence prevention and response app that is currently being administered and evaluated in 25 schools in four states. She is the Principal Investigator on her second National Science Foundation grant to develop and evaluate the efficacy of uSafeHSTM, a school safety app for high school students. In addition to developing the Know Your Power® Bystander Social Marketing Campaign, she has also led the development of two bystander video games that model pro-social bystander behaviors, MindlfockTM and ShipHappensTM with National Institute of Justice funding. Dr. Potter and her colleagues adapted both the Bringing in the Bystander® In-Person Prevention Program and the Know Your Power® Bystander Social Marketing Campaign for two US Army Posts in Europe (USAREUR). These two pilot studies represent a very small pool of studies specifically focused on sexual violence prevention in the US Military. Dr. Potter has also served as a prevention subject matter expert for the US Office of the Secretary of the Navy. She also led a study for the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to examine sexual misconduct policy delivery methods. In addition, Dr. Potter is a national expert on designing and administering sexual violence prevalence studies. Dr. Potter’s work has been groundbreaking in her effort to partner with organizations as they strategize and implement cultural change that impacts all organizational levels. Her work has been cited in international and national news media including The Guardian, The New York Times, National Public Radio, Vox, Teen Vogue and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Casey Laplante, Vice President of Operations
As VP of Operations for Soteria Solutions, Casey manages the operations of the organization including budgeting, contracts and overseeing the staff. Additionally, Casey serves as the primary client contact for the organization, developing proposals, onboarding new partners and allocating staff and resources for college and high school solutions.
Before joining Soteria Solutions, Casey worked as a Program Manager for the University of New Hampshire’s Development Team and then the Annual Giving Officer within the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences with a focus on managing and coordinating the college’s fundraising efforts to increase student opportunities.
Casey holds a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of New Hampshire and has studied at Universidad Nebrija in Madrid, Spain. Casey currently lives in NH with her husband and two young daughters and enjoys baking/cake decorating, painting, hiking with the family, and family movie/game nights. When it’s not winter, her favorite activity is to get out on the kayaks with her camera.
Jennifer Scrafford, Grant Administrator
Jennifer manages grant applications and funds allocation for Soteria Solutions. Her responsibilities include applying for grants and appropriating grant funds. Jennifer has worked at Soteria Solutions since its inception in 2018. Past roles include VP of Operations.
Jennifer holds a law degree from American University, Washington College of Law as well as a dual English / Political Science degree from SUNY Geneseo.
Prior to joining UNH and Soteria Solutions, she worked for the Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC.
Michelle Bangen, Director of Training Development
Michelle Bangen, MPH, CHES, is a violence prevention and health promotion specialist with 15 years of experience developing innovative approaches to sexual violence prevention and health promotion. She has developed award-winning and nationally recognized prevention programs and has participated in and led research projects evaluating the efficacy of bystander intervention programs and social marketing campaigns, exploring sexual consent attitudes among university students, and assessing campus climate. Michelle has held leadership roles in national, state and regional professional organizations. She is currently serving as Research Co-Chair for the Campus Advocates and Prevention Professionals Association (CAPPA) and is a past chair of the American College Health Association (ACHA) Health Promotion Section. She is also the co-founder of Incite Agency for Change, a social enterprise and public health consulting agency inspiring hope, encouraging individual and collective action, and creating change for healthy communities. Michelle received her MPH in Health Behavior and Health Promotion from The Ohio State University. Her work is routed in public health, feminist and anti-oppression frameworks and her life-long endeavor is building healthy, socially just communities where all people can thrive.
Caroline Leyva, Director of Curriculum Development
Caroline Levya, MPA, specializes in adapting prevention strategies to meet the needs of Soteria Solutions' diverse clients. She is currently working to do this with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She also serves as a Practitioner Fellow for Prevention Innovations Research Center (PIRC). Caroline received her BA in Women’s Studies at the University of New Hampshire and her MPA at the University of Hawai`i Manoa. While living in Hawai`i, Caroline founded and was the Executive Director of a not-for-profit for queer youth and young adults, synthesizing prevention, leadership and social justice using a youth-led model. She also served as the State of Hawai`i Federal Fellow, 2006-2009, for SAMHSAs Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Caroline has been working for 15 years to develop and evaluate evidence-based sexual and relationship violence and stalking prevention strategies. She is the co-author of the Bringing in the Bystander® high school, college and workplace curricula. She is a lead trainer and teaches practitioners to both facilitate BITB and train others to teach in their organization. Caroline is the lead evaluator for New Hampshire’s Rape Prevention and Education Program (RPE) and for an evaluation of Dartmouth College’s four-year Sexual Violence Prevention Program.
Meera Seshadri, Prevention Strategy Lead
Meera Seshadri, MSPH, is the Prevention Strategy Lead for Soteria Solutions and a Lead Trainer for both the Bringing in the Bystander® College Prevention Program and Workplace Solutions. She has spent more than a decade working as a health communications consultant, activist and researcher at the intersections of health equity, gender justice and sexual and reproductive autonomy. In coalition with academic, non-profit and community stakeholders, Meera creates social and behavior change communication programs and curriculum that are rooted in equity-centered design, trauma-awareness and public health theories of change. She is well versed in creating and leading gender-based violence prevention strategy and peer education programs at higher education institutions including Emory, Georgetown and Harvard Universities. She also consults for Start By Talking, LLC, as a research designer, specializing in designing, implementing and evaluating the role of identity and environment in the way minoritized communities perceive, access and receive resources and care. Meera received her Masters of Science in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Adolescent Health & Development and Health Communication.
Meera is also a professional choreographer, dancer and instructor - her international career in the arts has taken her from the Bay Area's Mona Khan Company to Chennai-based record label Earthsync, La Academia Nicaragüense de la Danza in Managua, Nicaragua, Berklee College of Music's Indian Ensemble and now - Boston Bollywood!
LB Klein, Director of Evaluation and Implementation
LB Klein, PhD, MSW, MPA (they/them/theirs or she/her/hers) is the Director of Evaluation and Implementation for Soteria Solutions. Dr. Klein’s research and consulting focuses on gender-based violence prevention, intervention and policy with interests in LGBTQ+ health, equity in higher education, anti-oppressive practice and research-to-practice/practice-to-research approaches. They are an assistant professor in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work and core faculty in the Sexual Violence Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Klein teaches courses on research methods, evaluation, interpersonal violence, trauma, service-learning and macro practice.
Dr. Klein’s research has been published in venues such as Journal of Interpersonal Violence; Journal of American College Health; Journal of Human Trafficking; Trauma, Violence, and Abuse; Global Social Welfare, Social Work, American Journal of Sexuality Education, and Journal of Social Work Education. You can learn more about their research on Google Scholar. Dr. Klein has served as a consultant, trainer and evaluator for organizations, colleges and universities, and coalitions nationally and internationally through Soteria Solutions, Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, and their consulting partnership, Catalytical Consulting LLC. They are a founder and serve on the board of the Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals Association.
Dr. Klein holds a bachelor's degree in history and master's degree in clinical social work from Washington University in St. Louis, a master's degree in public administration from the Program on Gender-Based Violence at the University of Colorado at Denver, a graduate certificate in LGBT health from Drexel University, and a Ph.D. in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They have practiced in campus, nonprofit and government settings including Emory University's interpersonal violence prevention and advocacy office (now the Office of Respect) and St. Louis County's domestic violence court.
You can follow Dr. Klein on Twitter at @LB_Klein.
Patrick Sullivan, Research Assistant
Patrick is a research assistant on various ongoing projects for Soteria Solutions. One of Patrick's responsibilities includes developing Grantee Assessment Reports for colleges and universities receiving OWA grants. Prior to joining Soteria Solutions, Patrick served as a research assistant with Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Patrick holds a Master of Education from Gordon College and a Master of Arts in Justice Studies from the University of New Hampshire. Patrick's past research has centered on police recruitment, and he recently presented at the 2019 Law and Society Conference in Washington, DC.
Kate Rohdenburg, Listserv Moderator
Kate Rohdenburg, M.S., is a lead trainer for both College and High School Bringing in the Bystander® Prevention Programs and a Practitioner Fellow for PIRC. Kate is also the Program Director at WISE, where she has worked since 2007. Her work focuses on engaging youth to end gender-based violence, and on building organizations that can sustain social change activism. Kate’s work with youth has been recognized as innovative and instrumental in shaping best practice. She was awarded the 2016 Practitioner of the Year by Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, and has been featured in reports for NPR, The Atlantic, and Brain, Child Magazine.
Adia Daniels, OVW Campus Program Manager
Adia Daniels, M.Ed., is the OVW Campus Program Manager for Soteria Solutions supporting Soteria Solutions’ delivery of strategic planning, assessment training and technical assistance to the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Campus Program grantees.
As OVW Campus Program Manager, Adia supports all grant activities, including coordinating delivery of technical assistance; facilitating individual and group meetings with grantees; collaborating with grant partners; contributing to development of grant deliverables; and preparing grant reports.
Adia has worked in higher education and nonprofit spaces for 14 years where she has experience in advocacy, curriculum and policy development, training, and facilitation related to sexual and interpersonal violence. She teaches yoga and meditation, integrating wellness practices with her passion for supporting people’s emotional well-being and healing from trauma.
Adia earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of South Carolina and a Master’s degree in Education from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Adia currently lives in South Carolina with her son and three dogs.
Lee Helmken Cherry, OVW Campus Training and Technical Assistance Project Director, Curriculum and Training Developer
Lee Helmken Cherry, MPH, CHES, is the OVW Campus Training and Technical Assistance Project Director, providing project management for Soteria Solutions’ Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Campus Grant Program Technical Assistance Provider team and deliverables, with a focus on supporting campus grantees with strategic planning and assessment.
Lee also serves as a Curriculum and Training Developer for Soteria Solutions and a Lead Trainer for the Bringing in the Bystander® College Prevention Program. Lee has spent more than 12 years working in sexual violence prevention, health promotion and Equity & Title IX roles within higher education institutions, as well as working for a CDC-funded injury and violence prevention research center. Lee has experience in providing leadership in the planning, implementation and evaluation of sexual violence prevention and health promotion strategies, including leading a peer education program, developing communication campaigns and bringing together multi-disciplinary stakeholders. Lee has also served as a first point of contact in supporting community members reporting and seeking support related to harassment, discrimination and sexual and relationship violence. Her work is informed by public health frameworks and guided by equity-focused practice. Having served in roles at Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Berklee College of Music, Lee brings experience in program management, health communication and curriculum development to her roles at Soteria Solutions.
Lee co-founded the Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals Association (CAPPA), where she served as the Membership Committee Co-chair for five years. She has also served in various elected and appointed leadership positions within the American College Health Association. Lee has contributed to multiple publications related to campus sexual violence prevention and has been recognized for her efforts with various campus awards. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Health and Society from the University of Rochester, a Master of Public Health degree in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. Lee is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
