The Violence Prevention Team is committed to preventing violence in our campus community and creating a more seamless response to sexual and relationship violence.
The goal of Violence Prevention Team (VPT) is to create a campus culture that promotes healthy, equitable relationships and eliminates sexual violence. The VPT is a team of interdisciplinary stakeholders establishing collaborations across UB and within the surrounding communities to better serve our students. The VPT is a subcommittee of UB’s Personal Safety Committee.
The Violence Prevention Team supports development of effective prevention programming and comprehensive response to sexual and relationship violence, which requires a university-wide commitment to the values of trauma-informed practice, as well as a commitment to institution-wide use of promising practices in gender-inclusive and culturally-relevant victim/survivor-centered care and programming.
In addition to working toward a more streamlined approach to the response of sexual and relationship violence, the Violence Prevention Team works to:
Department | Member(s) |
Campus Living | Victoria Hellman-Koester |
Crisis Services of WNY | Rachel Ovalle |
Counseling Services | Kathryn Benfanti Jayna Punturiero |
Division of Athletics | D’Ann Keller Kellie Peiper |
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion | Kesha Foster |
Greek Life | Pam Stephens-Jackson |
Health Promotion | Anna Sotelo-Peryea (Chair) |
Health Services | Nicole McDermott |
Intercultural & Diversity Center | Kevin Ahuna |
Student Conduct & Advocacy | Ben Fabian |
Law School, Family Violence & Women’s Rights Clinic | Judith Olin |
Orientation, Transition & Parent Programs | Chrissy Daniel |
Student Advisory Board Chair | Sarah Hunt |
University Police | Asst. Chief Sticht |
Health Promotion | Aaron Maracle (Sexual Violence Prevention & Response) Jackie Piciulo (Alcohol & Other Drug Harm Reduction) |
Our collective work is informed by the following: American College Health Association. (2020). Addressing sexual and relationship violence: A trauma-informed approach. Silver Spring, MD: American College Health Association.