Todd Herrenkohl, Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families announces a new lecture series, Advances in Child Maltreatment Prevention. This is an annual lecture that focuses on global child maltreatment prevention.
The Advances in Child Maltreatment Prevention speaker series features the work of leading prevention and child welfare scholars engaged in efforts to strengthen and reform child‑serving systems. The series provides a forum for new and emerging knowledge from the social sciences and the helping professions that can improve the health and well-being of vulnerable children and their families.
CE Contact Hours Pending, and will only be offered to those attending the session in-person.
Ms. Pragathi Tummala is a senior level public health expert and has been the CEO of ISPCAN since 2016. ISPCAN is a global membership organization, with programs to advance science, research, networking, and professional training for a multi-disciplinary global network. ISPCAN collaborates regularly with 54 country partners and has active partnerships with 18 international agencies for which they coordinate various programs. ISPCAN has 1200 active members in over 100 countries, a network of over 15,000 people, and is governed by a board of 14 global experts in the field of child abuse and neglect.
Pragathi oversees all programmatic development, communication, strategic planning, operational and financial aspects of the organization. Pragathi has over 20 years of experience designing, developing, and managing public health programs at the state, national and global level. She has extensive Project Management experience and has worked with a diverse group of stakeholders in the community, as well as private, academic and public sectors to develop innovative programs. She has led ISPCAN boldly through business model changes, launching a new academic journal, published 6 papers, the congress program, developing global public health campaigns, professional days, managing 2 journals, advanced professional trainings, and public health education resources. Under her leadership, the entire organization has been modernized to become member focused to meet the changing needs of an evolving workforce through technology, connection, and advanced education.
Prior to leading ISPCAN, Pragathi was responsible for policy work leading to the enactment of state legislation protecting children from lead poisoning, working with diverse communities and has broad public health experience working in lead poisoning prevention, state and federal Superfund sites, chronic disease management, employee wellness programs, strategic planning, grant writing, and building unique training/fellowship programs within the workplace to improve productivity and employee engagement.
Pragathi holds a dual bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience and religion from Boston University and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan. On a personal note, she is the mother of three daughters and two dogs named Blue and Maize and has been married for 32 years. She is an avid reader, enjoys sports, political comedy, action movies, and spending time with her family. Pragathi is a first generation American of Indian descent and is very proud of her heritage, bringing cultural sensitivity and global thinking to all she does.
Dr. J. Bart Klika is the Chief Research Officer with the national organization Prevent Child Abuse America. In 2011, he was selected for the inaugural cohort of fellows for the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being, a national fellowship providing support and mentorship for doctoral students seeking innovations in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Dr. Klika is the senior editor for the APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (4th Ed.) and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Dr. Klika is currently the co-principal investigator of multiple CDC funded projects examining the effects of policies on reducing multiple forms of violence.
Dr. Kathryn Maguire-Jack's research focuses on child abuse and neglect prevention, with an emphasis on communities and geographic disparities. Her work is funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund. She has expertise in advanced statistical methods and program evaluation.
University of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106