Release date: September 9, 2024
Bullying comes up a lot on Talking About Kids. When it does, we typically are discussing statistics and system-wide initiatives. My guest this episode to discuss bullying in adolescence is globally-recognized expert, Kevin Runions. In his roles as Area Lead Consultant for Research, Evaluation & Monitoring with School Mental Health Ontario, Kevin is supports 76 school boards serving over 2 million elementary and secondary students. In other words, he deals in statistics and system-wide initiatives, but, as you will hear, Kevin believes that to stop bullying we need to pay more attention to the unique individuals involved, including the bullies. This episode was intentionally produced to support the formation and coordination of adolescent-centered care and services, so you also will hear from Vinny Chulani and Tracy Pedrotti of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. It was recorded live using a webinar platform to encourage questions from alliance members and other listeners. More information about Kevin and about the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health is below.
Biography of Kevin Runions
Kevin Runions, Ph.D. (Human Development & Education, OISE/UToronto) is the Area Lead Consultant for Research, Evaluation & Monitoring with School Mental Health Ontario, which supports the 76 school boards in Ontario — serving over 2 million elementary and secondary students — to implement multi-tiered, identity-affirming student mental health interventions, and is an adjunct professor with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and an adjunct research fellow with the University of Western Australia. He was formerly Head of the School and Community Wellbeing team at Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia. Dr Runions has conducted research across the biopsychosocial model addressing bullying, aggression, and dysregulated behavior problems, with a passion for understanding the factors that enable young people to bully others, including emotional, motivational, and volitional contributors. He is also interested in how schools can work better to prevent and respond to bullying, promote identity-affirming student mental health and wellbeing, and how they can best implement sustainable interventions. He is on the council of the International Society for Research on Aggression and serves on the editorial boards of Aggressive Behavior, the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and the Journal of Psychologists and Counselors in Schools.
Biography of Tracy Pedrotti
Tracy Pedrotti (she/her) is the Adolescent Health Program Supervisor at Affirm, where she oversees projects that build the capacity of professionals to provide excellent care to youth. Since it began almost 5 years ago, Tracy has managed the successful replication of the Adolescent Champion Model in more than 25 health centers across the state, as well as leading the development of the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. With more than 15 years’ experience in services centered on youth, Tracy has extensive knowledge of program development, capacity building, and community collaboration focused on adolescent wellbeing. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in justice studies, both from Arizona State University. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to supporting youth and the professionals working with them, to establish lifelong health behaviors and ensure confidence and competence in adolescent-centered services.
Biography of Veenod Chulani
Dr. Chulani is Section Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Arizona -Phoenix Department of Child Health. He is also a founding member and clinical consultant to the Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health. He completed his pediatric residency training at Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York; his fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; and, his Master’s in Education from the University of Southern California-Keck School of Medicine. His clinical and research interests include adolescent sexual and reproductive health, the care of gay, lesbian, bisexual transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, health equity promotion and diversity and inclusion. He has lectured nationally and internationally on a host of topics related to Adolescent Medicine. He has delivered lectures and workshops nationally and internationally and is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing his contribution to adolescent health.
Links
Kevin Runions
Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health
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