Ohio Anti-Hazing Summit

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Jason L. Meriwether
 

Dr. Jason L. Meriwether is an experienced leader in higher education with research interests in hazing prevention, enrollment management, student retention, digital learning tools, adult student success, and social media engagement. In 2016, Jason was named to the Southern Indiana Business Source 20 under 40 Class of 2016. In 2014, Jason was selected to Louisville Business First’s Top Forty under 40 and as one of Business First's 20 People to Know in Education and Workforce Development. In 2014, Jason received the award of Outstanding Kentuckian and was commissioned to the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. 

Jason is editor of Dismantling Hazing in Greek-Letter Organizations: Effective Practices for Prevention, Response, and Campus Engagement. 

A native of Guthrie, Ky., Jason earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication from the University of Louisville. He earned the Master of Arts Degree in Psychology from Fisk University and earned the Ph.D. in Educational Administration with a Specialization in Higher Education Leadership from Indiana State University. 

Jason currently serves Campbellsville University as Vice President of Enrollment Management.

Shari and Cory Foltz

Shari and Cory Foltz founded the iamstonefoltz Foundation in honor of their son, Stone Foltz, who tragically passed away from alcohol poisoning on March 7, 2021, three days after attending a fraternity hazing ritual. The Foltzes share Stone’s story to raise awareness about the hazards of hazing and the deadly effects of alcohol poisoning.

About the Presenters

 

Stacey Allan

Stacey Allan (she/her) earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from Lake Erie College and a Master of Science in education degree with a focus in student affairs and leadership practices from Youngstown State University. Currently, Stacey serves as the associate director of student engagement at Bowling Green State University. Before she arrived at BGSU, she worked as the director of student involvement at Muskingum University. Her prior higher education professional experiences include the responsibility of fraternity and sorority life, student involvement, residence life, student conduct, civic engagement and leadership development. Stacey has served as a member of the professional development committee with AFA since 2020. She is a member of Gamma Phi Beta and currently pursuing her Ph.D. in higher education administration.

Ben Batey

Ben Batey, MPH, RN, joined BGSU in July 2020 in the inaugural position of chief health officer, created in part as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Batey worked at the Wood County Health Department for 10 years, where he served as health commissioner since 2014. He also held several leadership positions including CEO of the Wood County Community Health Center, director of nursing and infectious disease, emergency preparedness coordinator and epidemiologist. Prior to the health department, he was a registered nurse for Mercy St. Anne Hospital and Mercy Home Care. He holds a Master of Public Health degree from Northwest Ohio Consortium for Public Health (Bowling Green State University/University of Toledo) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mercy College of Ohio.

Kirby Bell

Kirby Bell (she/her) serves as the associate director in student conduct and joined the team at The Ohio State University after working at Xavier University and Baldwin Wallace University. Kirby received her Bachelor of Science in psychology from Regis University and Master of Education in higher education administration and student personnel with a certificate in internationalization of higher education from Kent State University. Outside of the office Kirby loves exploring with her dog and practicing her calligraphy skills.

Melanie Bennett

Melanie Bennett, Esq., senior risk management counsel at United Educators (UE), studies timely topics affecting education. Her areas of expertise include fraternity and sorority life, hazing prevention, protecting minors and athletics. In her role, Melanie has conducted studies on fraternity and sorority life claims and advised on hazing prevention course development. Prior to joining UE, she interned at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Melanie serves on the Higher Education Protection Network’s (HEPNet’s) Board of Directors.

Michael Botts

Michael Botts is the assistant dean of students for student conduct and conflict resolution at Bowling Green State University. Michael has been working full time in student conduct and Title IX since 2015. Michael has a Masters of Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in student affairs in higher education.

Cortney Brewer

Cortney Brewer (she/her) serves as the Maxient system analyst in student conduct and joined The Ohio State University in 2022 after serving in several roles for Gonzaga University's Resolution Center for Student Conduct and Conflict since 2015. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in labor studies and employment relations from Rutgers University in 2013 and a Master of Education in higher education administration and student personnel from Kent State University in 2015. During her time at Kent State, Cortney worked in student conduct, orientation programs, residence life, housing operations, student activities and career advising at several colleges in Northeast Ohio. 

Will Cangialosi

Will Cangialosi (he/him) currently serves as the Assistant Director for Chapter Services in the Department of Sorority and Fraternity Life at The Ohio State University. In this role, he has worked on leadership development and prevention initiatives. Will additionally served as the interim hazing prevention specialist and lead the Collin’s Law training workgroup at Ohio State in 2022. Will is a two-time alumnus of SUNY Plattsburgh, where he became a member of Alpha Sigma Phi and received his Bachelor’s in Chemistry and his Master’s in Student Affairs and Higher Education and Counseling. Will is a national safe team volunteer for Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority and has served on the AFA Graduate Student Experience Committee since 2018.

Lakeshia Dowlen

Lakeshia Dowlen is the Title IX coordinator and director in the Office of Title IX at Bowling Green State University. Lakeshia is a two-time alumna of BGSU and has spent more than 20 years working in student conduct, Title IX and student leadership. 

Jessica Galanos

Jessica is a former university administrator and litigator with experience in the areas of student affairs, student conduct, regulatory compliance and employment law. She regularly advises higher education clients on a variety of legal issues, drawing from her own experience working at a large public university and defending universities as a litigator in both the private and public sectors.

Jessica works with colleges and universities to comply with anti-hazing, Title VII, Title IX, the Clery Act and various other federal and state regulations. She routinely conducts impartial investigations, reviews policies and procedures and advises higher education clients on how to avoid and navigate complex litigation matters. Jessica also has experience training administrators, staff and attorneys on how to address sexual misconduct matters.

Prior to joining Bricker Graydon, Jessica served as an Assistant Director and Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Illinois State University, as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Attorney General for the State of Illinois and as the Legislative Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor. Jessica has also represented clients in a variety of litigation matters while working at a private law firm in Springfield, Illinois.

Randy Gardner, Chancellor

Chancellor Randy Gardner was appointed by Governor Mike DeWine as the 10th Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education in January 2019. As Chancellor, he oversees the state’s two-year and four-year colleges and universities and Ohio Technical Centers. In addition, the Chancellor provides policy guidance to the Governor and the Ohio General Assembly and carries out state higher education policy.

During the first year of the DeWine Administration, Chancellor Gardner made more than 100 college and university visits to 74 different campuses, an ambitious schedule meeting with university leaders, faculty, and students throughout Ohio.

Before becoming Chancellor, Gardner served a combined total of 33 years in the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives. A well-respected leader, Gardner served in seven different elected leadership positions, including Senate President Pro Tem, House Speaker Pro Tem, and Senate Majority Leader during his final term in the Senate. He also served as chairman of both the House and Senate Higher Education committees.

In the General Assembly, his work ethic was exemplified by his 100% voting record over 33 years. His 10,433 consecutive roll call votes on bills, amendments, and resolutions earned him the nickname “the Cal Ripken of the state legislature.”

Gardner received his bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in political science, both from Bowling Green State University. Prior to his career in public service, he worked as a realtor and high school history and government teacher.

Gardner and his wife, Sandy, reside in Bowling Green and are the parents of three children — Brooks, Christina and Austin.

Casey Gill, Ph.D

Dr. Casey Gill is the vice president of student development and dean of students at Wittenberg University and an alumna of Bowling Green State University (B.S.) and University of Dayton (M.S. and Ph.D.).

Jade Jones

Jade Jones is the director of student involvement and fraternity and sorority life at Wittenberg University and an alumnus of Indiana State University (B.S.) and Eastern Illinois University (M.S.).

Todd Kamenash

Todd Kamenash is the Associate Dean of Students for Conduct and Community Engagement at Kent State University. Todd’s 20+ year career has focused on practical student development through campus discipline and social justice. Todd has presented regionally and nationally on town and gown connections, sexual misconduct and the community, restorative justice, anti-hazing, multicultural competence among college administrators, discipline among student athletes, addressing student conduct at orientation programs, May 4, 1970 at Kent State University and more.

Stephanie Kunze, Senator

Senator Stephanie Kunze is currently serving her second term in the Ohio Senate representing the people of the 16th Senate District which encompasses all of Madison and Pickaway counties and a portion of Franklin County. 

Senator Kunze has called Ohio home for more than 25 years. While raising her two daughters with her husband Matt, she dedicated her time to volunteer leadership and service in her community and was elected to the Hilliard City Council in 2009. Her commitment to supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs led her to be a founding member of LocaLevelEvents, which was created to encourage those who live and work in an area to support their local businesses, schools and community. In addition, she volunteers with groups to address the needs and challenges of suburban poverty in her community. She is passionate about advocating for children and families to make Ohio the most attractive state to live, work, and play.

She serves as Co-chair on the Infant Mortality Commission and is committed to helping the state reduce its infant death rate and see more of Ohio’s youngest citizens live to see their first birthday. During her two terms in the Ohio House representing the 24th Ohio House District, she played a key role in the passage of legislation aimed at reducing Ohio’s alarming infant mortality rate. She looks forward to continuing her focus on fighting this heartbreaking issue.

Senator Kunze has successfully championed legislation delivering justice for victims of sexual violence. During her time in the Senate, she has championed bills that have helped those who have been trafficked to expunge their records, gain a certificate of qualification for employment, and increased penalties for promoting prostitution. 

Senator Kunze is a member of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Hilliard Area Chamber of Commerce, The Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce, and Franklin County Farm Bureau and a former member of the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce. Senator Kunze graduated with a degree in English from Indiana University.

Jaylen Lindsey

Jaylen Lindsey (he/him/his) serves as risk reduction specialist in student activities at The Ohio State University. In this role, he supports student organizations to create risk reduction plans, provides leadership for university-wide hazing prevention initiatives and collaborates with colleagues across campus on various risk and hazing-related topics. He will co-leading the continuing coalition of campus colleagues who will maintain hazing prevention compliance initiatives as well as initiate educational experiences to foster an anti-hazing culture across campus. Jaylen has worked in K-12 and higher education for five years with a background in mental health counseling, recreation and holistic well-being.

Jill Maurer

Jill Maurer is the assistant director at the Gordie Center, located at the University of Virginia. She has been an invited speaker and facilitator at national conferences, colleges, high schools and community groups on topics including hazing prevention, alcohol overdose prevention, peer education and bystander intervention. Jill works closely with parents and families whose loved ones have been injured or killed by hazing. The Gordie Center’s mission is to end hazing and substance misuse among college and high school students nationwide.

Ashley Metzger

Ashley Metzger serves as the director for fraternity and sorority life and currently chairs the hazing prevention committee at Denison University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in art history and printmaking and a Master of Education in higher education from The University of Akron. Ashley has a decade of experience working in fraternity and sorority life, campus activities and leadership development.

Jen Pelletier

Jen Pelletier (she/her) serves as associate director for student activities at The Ohio State University. In this role, she leads the team that supports more than 1,400 student organizations in all aspects including registration, training, resources, programming, funding and most recently risk reduction and hazing prevention. She was part of the initial coalition of campus colleagues who gathered to organize and implement the requirements of Collin’s Law. Jen has worked in higher education for over 20 years with a range of experiences in student involvement, organizations, leadership, community engagement, campus programming and student learning. 

Lorin Phillips

Lorin Phillips (she/her) currently serves as the associate executive director of enablement at Tri Sigma Sorority. She is responsible for strategic planning, assessment and prevention education. She has worked for Tri Sigma for the last 21 years and served in roles as a traveling consultant, director of chapter services and assistant executive director. In addition to staff responsibilities, she has volunteered with HazingPrevention.org, is a member of the Association of Fraternity Advisors, volunteers as a local chapter advisor and is a professional speaker and consultant collaborating with over 300 different communities and facilitating to over 90,000 students, volunteers and professionals. During her time with Tri Sigma she has conducted over 200 risk management investigations, 40 membership reviews, created and implemented the collegiate prevention strategic plan, revised the chapter accountability process and implemented the Tri Sigma Prevention Institute. The Prevention Institute focuses on partnerships in prevention and helps students reduce high-risk behaviors in their chapters by providing chapter-specific data to create an annual chapter prevention plan.

Rodney K. Rogers

Rodney K. Rogers, Ph.D. '81, assumed the role as the 12th president of Bowling Green State University on Feb. 23, 2018, proceeding his interim appointment on Jan. 1, 2018. Prior to being named president, Rogers had served BGSU as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs since 2012 and, before that, as dean of the Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business since 2006. He is the first alumnus to serve as president of Bowling Green State University, which currently has more than 18,300 students and 2,300 faculty and staff on its two campuses.

As president, Rogers continues to lead a transformation of Bowling Green State University. He has worked with faculty, staff and institutional stakeholders to launch two university-wide strategic plans, including Forward., a redefining approach launched in the midst of a global pandemic, to ensure BGSU embraces its role as a 21st-century public university for the public good.

Rogers received a Bachelor of Music from Ohio Northern University and has an MBA from Bowling Green State University. After he practiced as a CPA for more than 10 years, Rogers completed his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. Rogers resides in Bowling Green with his wife, Dr. Sandra Earle, university advocate of Bowling Green State University. They have two sons, Isaac ’21 and Spencer Rogers.

Pietro Sasso, Ph.D

Dr. Pietro A. Sasso is a graduate faculty member in educational leadership at Stephen F. Austin State University and director of the RAISE Center. His research amplifies the voices of college students through interrogating the themes of the college experience, student success and educational equity in co-curricular spaces. He has over 60 scholarly publications including 10 co-edited textbooks, and 80 conference presentations. He has been recognized for his research with awards from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA). He is currently a faculty research fellow with the Penn State University Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform.

Ali Martin Scoufield

Ali Martin Scoufield (she/her) is the assistant vice president for campus engagement and dean of students at Cleveland State University. She is also completing her Ph.D. in urban education policy with a research focus on the lived experiences of college students with disabilities. She is a member of the CSU hazing prevention team and was the primary writer for the new anti-hazing policy after the passing of Collin’s Law. Ali has worked in higher education for nearly twenty years in various functional areas including residence life, Title IX and equity, basic needs access and community standards. Ali is certified in various forms of bystander intervention strategies including Green Dot/Altruistic, Bringing in the Bystander and training for intervention procedures. She has presented more than 100 presentations nationally and internationally, focusing on community engagement, advocacy, violence prevention, policy creation and equity. 

Kerry Soller

Kerry Soller is the project manager for campus safety and sexual violence prevention at the Ohio Department of Higher Education. She is primarily charged with the execution and implementation of the Changing Campus Culture initiative (www.ohiohighered.org/ccc) which is Ohio’s state-funded, comprehensive effort to end sexual violence on college and university campuses. Kerry has led this effort since the initiative launched in 2015. In August 2021, Kerry was tasked with facilitating the work groups charged with developing the Statewide Educational Plan for Preventing Hazing.  

Prior to her work with the Department of Higher Education, Kerry served as a student development professional for more than 14 years in a variety of diverse capacities, including residence life, fraternity/sorority life, orientation, student activities, leadership, student government and student conduct. During this time, she worked at a variety of different institutions including large four-year public universities to small four-year private universities.  

She has her master's degree in student affairs administration from Indiana University, and her bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska–Kearney. She is an active alumna of Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity and served on AOII’s National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) delegation for over 10 years as an area advisor. She continues to serve as a member of the NPC Judicial Appeals Committee.

Kerry lives in Bexley, OH with her family.  

Stevan "Steve" Veldkamp, Ed.D

Stevan "Steve" Veldkamp, Ed.D., is executive director of the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform, and is dedicated to improving the safety and experience of fraternity and sorority members on campuses across the country. The Piazza Center is a national multidisciplinary research center that provides actionable evidence to practitioners in the field. Prior to his current role, Steve served as the assistant dean and director of student life and learning at Indiana University Bloomington. He has also held positions at Western Michigan University and the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Steve is a two-time graduate of Grand Valley State University and he received his doctorate in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University Bloomington. Steve is a proud first generation college student and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.

Jennifer Waldron 

Jennifer Waldron serves as the vice provost and dean of graduate and professional programs at BGSU and is a professor of kinesiology. As a former high school and collegiate athlete, she is interested in the positive and negative experiences individuals in athletics. Her research on hazing in athletics has led to numerous publications and she has led impactful workshops promoting productive team dynamics for high school and college athletes and coaches. Dr. Waldron is the recipient of multiple awards, including the AAHPERD Mabel Lee Award for Young Professionals, the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Regents Award for Faculty Excellence and the UNI College of Education Faculty Award for Scholarship.

About Stone Foltz

Stone's smile was contagious. It would light up a room instantly the moment he walked in. However, he never liked his smile and would try to hide it when his picture was taken. To know Stone was to know his smile, his kind heart and his peace sign!

Stone Justin Foltz was born November 21, 2000. His mom and dad, Shari and Cory were so excited for their first-born son and the future he had before him. Stone had two younger siblings, a brother AJ and a sister Jersee. Of course, that doesn't include all the family pets he had as well. 

As Stone grew, he dreamed of owning a fashion business one day. He attended Bowling Green State University in the Fall of 2019 to start that dream by working on a business degree. He was an avid Ohio State football and basketball fan and loved playing high school basketball and lacrosse. 

Stone's parents describe their son as a kind, gentle, caring person who was always there for others and especially for his family. Stone was that guy that was always looking out for others and making sure they knew they had someone to talk with when they needed an ear to listen. He was that loyal friend that everyone wants in their life!

During Stone's freshman year at BGSU, he looked into joining a fraternity. He researched some of them to find out what it was all about. After many conversations with family and friends along with the information he discovered along the way he made the decision not to join a fraternity that year. He told his parents and aunt that many of the fraternities he researched were doing drugs as well as putting drugs in girls' drinks. He knew he wanted no part of these types of activities and having more friends like that was not aligned with his values. So, he focused on his schoolwork and hanging out with his friends.

Then in late February 2021, Stone told his parents and aunt he had decided to join a fraternity. He told them his reasons for joining were to network and build his resume. At the time, he was already going through the pledging process and he explained to them some of the things his future fraternity brothers were having him do. Advice given to Stone at the time was to focus on school first and to be smart about all that he did. However, these duties placed extra stress on Stone that first week in March and he talked to his mom about them. He told her he was fine and could push through. Unfortunately, Stone's instincts were telling him something wasn't quite right. 

On the night of March 4, 2021, Cory and Shari received the phone call that no parent wants. Shari knew immediately it was regarding Stone and the Big/Little event he had mentioned just hours earlier. Tragically, Stone passed on March 7, 2021 from alcohol poisoning after the PIKE Fraternity ritual activities. His family honored Stone's wishes he made at the age of 16 when he decided to be an organ and tissue donor. They stayed with him for an extra three days in the hospital to carry out those wishes to help change other lives forever.

Stone was a hero in many ways. He did amazing acts of kindness throughout his life that had long lasting impacts on the lives of others. The iamstonefoltz FOUNDATION is dedicated to keeping the memory of Stone Foltz alive and to bring acts of kindness to others. 

The peace sign is in dedication of Stone as he was frequently seen using the sign especially when his photo was taken.