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Breaking the Cycle of Hate and Violence
A CDHC Learning Series Event
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Meet Our Speakers
Heidi Ellis, Ph.D.
Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
B. Heidi Ellis, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and a licensed clinical psychologist. She is also the Director of the Trauma and Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, a partner in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Dr. Ellis' primary focus is on understanding and promoting youth mental health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on understanding how trauma exposure, violence, and social context impact developmental trajectories. She is also conducting research to advance a public health approach to preventing violent extremism across the ideological spectrum. Dr. Ellis is co-developer of the trauma treatment model Trauma Systems Therapy, and led the development of the Massachusetts Area Prevention Program, a multidisciplinary team approach to preventing targeted violence and terrorism among adolescents.
Dr. Laurie Rice
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dr. Laurie L. Rice is co-founder of REVERSE (Reducing Extremism and Violence through Education, Research and Societal Engagement) and Interim Chair and Professor of Political Science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Her research expertise includes political communication, political behavior, violence prevention, and civic engagement, topics on which she has published multiple books and articles, including The Political Voices of Generation Z, a 2023 Choice Outstanding Academic Title. Along with her project co-leader, Dr. Suranjan Weeraratne, she has secured over $800,000 in grant funding related to targeted violence prevention, published work in Terrorism and Political Violence and authored multiple working papers linking various risk factors and protective factors to support for violence and exploring interventions that reduce support for violence.
Rice has a long track record of partnering with civic groups to increase civic education and engagement at the high school and university levels and in the community. In addition, while leading a travel study program to Northern Ireland, Rice learned about political violence prevention techniques and programs from various community and law enforcement agencies; these influenced her work on preventing political violence in the United States.
Dion Harden
Founder, You Break It You Fix It Foundation
Dion Harden is founder and CEO of the You Break It, You Fix it Foundation, Inc., a community organization comprised of ex-offenders that aims to encourage youth to become responsible, productive, and law-abiding citizens in their communities. Dion says, “I spent the majority of my youth destroying the community, and now we are taking the initiative to fix the community that we broke.”
The You Break It, You Fix It Foundation provides resources and support to help residents improve their financial wellbeing. Through economic development programs, they aim to empower individuals to break the cycle of poverty and create a more prosperous future for themselves and their communities. With financial literacy workshops, job training program, and micro-loan opportunities, the foundation equips residents with the tools they need to achieve economic stability.