We are grateful and honored to have a board of directors that are passionate and knowledgeable about the issue of bullying prevention and working to provide our youth with safe and caring environments. Below is a bit of information about each of our board members. 🙂
Jeremiah’s Hope for Kindness Board of Directors:
Bruce Erickson graduated from St. Olaf College and has worked in public relations and communications for various organizations including the Minnesota Senate, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and the University of Minnesota. Bruce was Jeremiah’s uncle and will be serving as Chair of the Board.
Dr. Paul Erickson is a member of our board. He is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School and residency program in psychiatry. He is a staff psychiatrist with the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center as well as a consulting psychiatrist with Fairview Ministerial Health and Leadership Resources. Paul was Jeremiah’s uncle.
Marion London has a Master’s degree in Education and previously worked for the Minneapolis Public Schools helping to develop and implement an alternative school for youth at risk. Ms. London has over 25 years of experience teaching, training and consulting with schools, agencies and business. She has served as an independent educational consultant for several years. Marion is a certified national trainer for the Olweus Bully Prevention program—a federal model program. In addition, she continues to consult and train for the Project Charlie programs, Hazelden and was formerly an adjunct instructor at Normandale College in Minneapolis.
Cassie McCully has a Masters in Teaching degree from Washington State University. She is a high school English teacher in Camas, Washington. One of the driving forces that led Ms. McCully to complete her teaching degree was the opportunity to build a curriculum with her students that has deep roots of kindness, compassion, and social activism. Ms. McCully spent nearly a decade dealing with the emotional ramifications of having been severely bullied as a teen. She has since attended the Olweus Bully Prevention Program training. Today, her focus is bringing awareness to the damaging effects of bullying, and creating compassionate and kind learning communities with her students.
Melanie Ross has a Master’s of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. Melanie’s undergraduate degree is in Health and Social Studies – Secondary Education, from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. Melanie has been a health teacher for 12 years. While teaching, Melanie coordinated a comprehensive youth tobacco prevention grant through the Minnesota Department of Education. A core component of this tobacco prevention initiative was the development of youth leadership and service learning opportunities to promote healthy choices. After her son was the target of bullying, Melanie became involved in advocating for “Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act”, Minnesota’s bullying prevention bill. Melanie has been trained in restorative practices for bulling prevention through the Minnesota Department of Education. Melanie is an advocate for healthy youth initiatives, including bullying prevention, and is a proud member of Jeremiah’s Hope for Kindness.
Lorraine Weitz has a Master’s of Science degree in Communication Disorders from St. Cloud State. She has been working in the Minneapolis Public Schools as a speech-language pathologist for 24 years. She has attended training in Second Step, a violence prevention curriculum, and the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Ms. Weitz is passionate about working with children and educating them about the consequences of bullying.
