GENERAL SESSION SPEAKERS FOR THE 2020 SAFE SCHOOLS CONFERENCE INCLUDE:
JULY 15, 2020 – Kyler Erickson
As a senior in high school, Kyler Erickson witnessed a school shooting, done so by one of his classmates. As it turned his world upside down, he struggled to find hope in such a horrific time. It took him a year and a half to finally admit to, and seek help for his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Kyler Erickson is now a director of suicide prevention programs and an NCAA All-American. He’s been featured in the New York Times, ABC News, USA Today, and Yahoo Sports. He’s a member of the 2016 ‘Allstate Good Works Team,’ given to only five basketball players across the country. After witnessing a shooting at his high school, his mission has become very simple; to help as many people as possible, and to erase the stigma associated with mental illness.
JULY 16, 2020 – Dr. Erroll Southers - Safe Communities Institute USC
Dr. Erroll Southers is a Professor of the Practice in National and Homeland Security, Director of the Safe Communities Institute (SCI), and Director of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
He is a former FBI Special Agent, who has served in counterterrorism and public safety positions at every level of government. Dr. Southers was President Barack Obama’s first nominee for Transportation Security Administration Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appointee as Deputy Director for Critical Infrastructure of the California Office of Homeland Security, where he led the identification, prioritization and protection of the state’s potential terror targets, the nation’s largest such dataset. He served as Assistant Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence at the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, police officer and gang investigator with the Santa Monica Police Department and enjoyed the distinction of being a member of FBI SWAT.
JULY 17, 2020 - Crystal Anthony, LCSW
Co-Executive Director for Underground GRIT and therapist for Program for Torture Victims, Anthony has spent her life giving back and advocating for others, often those who do not have voices. Ms. Anthony graduated from Cal State University San Marcos with a Bachelor's in Political Science and minor one global studies and has her Masters in Social Work from the University of Southern California. She has worked on a task force to combat Human Trafficking in San Diego developing programs and systems to break down barriers and implemented innovative strategies for finding solutions to the community. Ms. Anthony moved her work to Orange County working in juvenile detention facilities and recognized the system barriers and systems issues of rehabilitation. Here she implemented many different treatment programs to assist kids when they are inside as well as help with their treatment on the outside. The list of services she provided to youth there was almost endless – ranging from EMDR, use of a therapy dog, yoga, Reiki and other holistic treatments, poetry, arts, assisting with a Fashion Show, arranging a weekly guest speaker series. Her collaborative efforts of Creating a new vision of what rehabilitation hope and forgiveness look like became real for violent offenders which lead to the creation and development of Underground GRIT. She works towards creating solutions for her community and is dedicated to bringing hope, love, and grace to the world.
