GAME OVER

COMMISSIONERS

COMMISSIONERS & STAFF

CHAIR:

Marci A. Hamilton,  Robert A. Fox Leadership Program Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Founder & CEO, CHILD USA

 

COMMISSIONERS:

Steven Berkowitz, MD, Associate Professor, Clinical Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine; Director, Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery

Pat Ciarrocchi, former CBS3 Philadelphia news anchor who has covered the sex abuse crisis in depth

Sharon Cooper, MD, CEO, Developmental and Forensic Pediatrics, P.A.

David Corwin, MD, Professor and Director of Forensic Services, Pediatrics Department, University of Utah

Kathleen Faller, MSW, Professor Emerita of Children and Families in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan; Director, Family Assessment Clinic; Principal Investigator on the University of Michigan site of National Child Welfare Workforce Institute

Teresa Huizar, Executive Director, National Children’s Alliance

James R. Marsh, Esq., Founder, Children’s Law Center (Washington D.C.)

Daniel Pollack, MSW, JD, Professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work and a frequent expert witness in child welfare lawsuits

Monica Rowland, Former President, Athletes Advisory Council to the US Olympic Committee, Pentathlon Coach

Philip Scribano, DO, MSCE, Director of Safe Place: The Center for Child Protection and Health at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; program director of the Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellowship Program

Joyanna Silberg, PhD, Senior Child Trauma Consultant, Sheppard Pratt Health System; Owner, Childhood Recovery Resources; President, Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence

Elysse Stolpe, Esq, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Waynesboro, VA

Steven Ungerleider, PhD, Author; Psychologist; Executive board of INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC Committee; 2 time Emmy nominee

ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Nancy Hogshead Makar, J.D., Chair

Lynne Abraham, former Philadelphia District Attorney, Archer

Dean Colson, Esq., Colson Hicks Eidson

Martin Finkel

Prof. Richard Gelles, University of Pennsylvania (deceased, July 7, 1946 – June 26, 2020)

Thomas Kline, Esq., Kline & Specter PC

Thomas Lyon, Esq., USC School of Law

Paul Mones, Esq.

Abbie Newman, R.N. J.D., CEO of Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center

David Ulich, Esq., Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

EXECUTIVE STAFF:

Project Manager: Jillian Ruck, Executive Director, CHILD USA

Emily Rutland, CHILD USA Fellow

Courtney Kiehl, Esq. CHILD USA Fellow and former elite gymnast

STAFF:

CHILD USA Staff

Fox Leadership Program Fellows, University of Pennsylvania

Toll Public Interest Center Interns, University of Pennsylvania School of Law

CHILD USA Interns

 

 

COMMISSIONER BIOGRAPHIES

Chair, Professor Marci A. Hamilton

Chair | Fox Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania | Founder & CEO of CHILD USA
MARCI A. HAMILTON is the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program Professor of Practice, and Fox Family Pavilion Resident Senior Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the founder, CEO, and Academic Director of CHILD USA, www.childusa.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit academic think tank at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to interdisciplinary, evidence-based research to prevent child abuse and neglect. Before moving to the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Hamilton was the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.

Hamilton is the leading expert on child sex abuse statutes of limitations and has submitted testimony and advised legislators in every state where significant reform has occurred. She is the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (Cambridge University Press), which advocates for the elimination of child sex abuse statutes of limitations. She has filed countless pro bono amicus briefs for the protection of children at the United States Supreme Court and the state supreme courts. Her textbook, Children, and the Law, co-authored with Martin Gardner, will be published Fall 2017 by Carolina Academic Press, formerly Lexis/Nexis.

Hamilton has been a vocal and influential critic of extreme religious liberty, advocating for the vulnerable about overreaching. Hamilton successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) at the Supreme Court in Boerne v. Flores (1997), and defeated the RFRA claim brought by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee against hundreds of child sex abuse survivors in Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Listecki (7th Cir. 2015). She has represented numerous cities dealing with church-state issues as well as claims brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA). The author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty (Cambridge University Press), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, she is also a columnist for Verdict on Justia.com.

Hamilton has been honored with the 2018 Pennsylvania State University Department of Philosophy Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2017 University of Pennsylvania Law School Louis H. Pollak Public Service Award, the 2016 Voice Today, Voice of Gratitude Award; the 2015 Religious Liberty Award, American Humanist Association; the 2014 Freethought Heroine Award; the National Crime Victim Bar Association’s Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award, 2012; the E. Nathaniel Gates Award for outstanding public advocacy and scholarship, 2008; and selected as a Pennsylvania Woman of the Year Award, 2012, among others. She is also frequently quoted in the national media on child abuse and neglect, statute of limitations, constitutional, RFRA, RLUIPA, and First Amendment issues.

Hamilton clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Professor Hamilton is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, B.A., summa cum laude; Pennsylvania State University, M.A. (English, fiction writing, High Honors); M.A. (Philosophy); and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif.

Steven Berkowitz, MD

Professor, Department of Psychiatry,University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Director START Center
Steven Berkowitz, MD is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. His main focus has been on the development of interventions for children living in psychosocial adversity, especially in the area of childhood trauma, crisis response and early intervention. He was involved in the development of guidelines on how parents and children could deal with the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. He currently co-chairs the Task Force on School Violence for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Berkowitz is the primary investigator and developer of a secondary prevention intervention, the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) for youth at risk of developing PTSD. In a randomized clinical trial, it reduced PTSD in children ages 7-17 by 69 percent. CFTSI has been implemented at approximately 60 sites across the country including several in Philadelphia. A version for younger children is currently being piloted.

In addition, Dr. Berkowitz is a nationally recognized expert on police-mental health collaborations and was one of the architects of the Child Development-Community Policing Program, a model that was replicated in 15 communities throughout the U.S. He has written, lectured and taught extensively in the area of childhood trauma and its treatment. He is a contributor to the Psychological First Aid Manual for Disaster Response sponsored by SAMHSA and a co-author of the published Skills for Recovery Manual, which is intended to be used in the weeks and months after a Disaster. In addition, he was a developer of the In-home Intensive Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service (IICAPS), which was designed for children and youth at high risk of institutionalization due to multiple risk factors including chronic adverse experience. This program (PHIICAPS) is currently employed in Philadelphia.

Pat Ciarrocchi

CBS3 News Anchor (ret.)

Former CBS3 Philadelphia news anchor who has covered the sex abuse crisis in depth

Sharon Cooper, MD, FAAP

Developmental & Forensic Pediatrician
Dr. Sharon Cooper is a Developmental and Forensic Pediatrician who cares for children and select adults with different abilities as well as those who have been victims of maltreatment. Dr.Cooper retired from the United States Army with the rank of Colonel and holds adjunct faculty positions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences at Bethesda, Maryland. She has provided numerous lectures to medical, nursing, mental health, judicial, social science and investigative agencies, including the National Judicial College, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Australian Federal Police, and INTERPOL. Her primarily areas of expertise include are all areas of child maltreatment, child torture and child sexual exploitation.

Dr. Cooper has published numerous chapters on the subject of child sexual exploitation and is the lead editor of one of the most comprehensive texts in the U.S., on this subject. She works with victims and families of children who have been the prey of all types of online and offline exploitation. She is a Board member and consultant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and has taught several thousand special victim unit and vice investigators for over a decade, on the victim vulnerability, health impact and the diverse forms of exploitation in sex trafficking. Dr. Cooper has served as an expert witness in several hundred cases of child maltreatment and numerous cases within the past several years on behalf of sex trafficking victims. Dr. Cooper served as a Task Force Member for the U.S. Attorney General on Defending Childhood, Children Exposed to Violence, was an invited speaker to the White House Summit on The United State of Women and recently presented at the World Congress on Child Dignity in the Digital World, sponsored by the Vatican. She has provided testimony before the U.S. Congress, the Italian Senate, the Russian Parliament (Duma), and the Ottawa House of Commons on child sexual exploitation.

In 2011, Dr. Cooper was selected by Newsweek magazine as one of the 150 women who shake the world. She continues to serve on an International Working Group on the victim impact for survivors of child sexual abuse imagery, sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. She recently produced the first American documentary entitled Not Just Pictures, which provides insight into the ongoing extraordinary impact of the victimization of children whose abusive images are in cyberspace.

David L. Corwin, MD

Professor and Director of Forensic Services, Pediatrics Department, University of Utah School of Medicine
Dr. Corwin is Professor and Director of Forensic Services at the University of Utah Department of Pediatrics. He is board certified in Psychiatry, Child Psychiatry, and Forensic Psychiatry and has lectured throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He is a co-founder of five professional societies addressing child maltreatment and other types of interpersonal violence. He produced the Academy on Violence and Abuse (AVA) Adverse Childhood Experiences Study DVD (2012). He is President-Elect of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and immediate past board chair of the AVA, both of which he helped found.

Kathleen Faller, MSW

Marion Elizabeth Blue Endowed Professor Emerita of Children and Families in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan | Director, Family Assessment Clinic
KATHLEEN COULBORN FALLER, Ph.D., A.C.S.W., D.C.S.W., L.M.S.W. is Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor Emerita of Children and Families in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan. She is also Co-Director of the Family Assessment Clinic at Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County.

She is involved in research, clinical work, teaching, training, and writing in the area of child welfare, child sexual abuse, and the child welfare workforce. Over the course of her career, she has received over 10 million dollars in funding to support her training, research, and practice related to child welfare, including six grants from the USDHHS Children’s Bureau. She has been a pioneer in trauma-informed, evidence-based practice for interviewing children who may have been sexually abused, focusing on complex cases. She conducts case record reviews of child welfare cases involved in civil litigation.

She is the author, editor, or co-editor of 10 books, Social Work with Abused and Neglected Children(The Free Press, 1981), Child Sexual Abuse: An Interdisciplinary Manual for Diagnosis, Case Management, and Treatment(Columbia University Press, 1988), Understanding Child Sexual Maltreatment(Sage Publications, 1990), Child Sexual Abuse: Intervention and Treatment(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993) the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children Study Guide: Interviewing Children Suspected of Having Been Sexually Abused(Sage Publications, 1996), Maltreatment in Early Childhood: Tools for Research-based Intervention(Haworth Press, 2000), Understanding and Assessing Child Sexual Maltreatment, Second Edition(Sage Publications, 2003), Interviewing Children about Sexual Abuse: Controversies and Best Practice(Oxford University Press, 2007), Seeking Justice in Child Sexual Abuse: Shifting Burdens and Sharing Responsibilities (Columbia University Press, 2010) and Contested Issues in Child Sexual Abuse Evaluation (Routledge 2014). She has also published over 100 book chapters and research and clinical articles. She has conducted over 300 juried conference presentations at international, national, and state conferences and provided over 250 workshops.

Teresa Huizar

CEO, National Children’s Alliance

Teresa Huizar has been the CEO of National Children’s Alliance, the national association and accrediting body for more than 930 Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) in the US, since 2008.  CACs provide comprehensive services to child victims of abuse including:  forensic interviews, victim advocacy, medical evaluations, and mental health treatment. Children’s Advocacy Centers coordinate the multidisciplinary team as it carries out its investigative, prosecutorial, and treatment functions.  In 2020, CACs served over 338,000 child victims of abuse, and provided prevention education to more than 2 million individuals.

 She is also the host of One in Ten podcast, which highlights research and innovation in child abuse response.  Teresa has been a leader in the field of child abuse prevention and intervention for more than 25 years.  She is particularly interested in the intersection of federal public policy and child abuse.  Teresa has testified at Congressional hearings and briefings and regularly consults on child abuse and child welfare legislation.

She has served on numerous state, local, and national boards, including:   the Public Policy Committee of ASAE;  the Public Policy Committee of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCTSN); and the Steering Committee of the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Fatalities.  She is currently a Commissioner for the Game Over Commission, and an Advisory Board member of the NCTSN, among other advisory board roles.  Teresa is a trusted source for media and has been interviewed by NPR, WSJ, the Washington Post, the NY Times, CNN, Fox, and numerous other national, regional, and local media outlets on topics of child abuse prevention and intervention.  Her current professional interests include increasing consumer voice in child abuse intervention strategies and the use of telehealth to extend access.

James R. Marsh, Esq.

Attorney | Chair CHILD USA
A University of Michigan Law School graduate, James represents victims of sex abuse in schools, colleges, churches, and government and military institutions; campus sexual assault and rape, online sexual exploitation; child pornography; sextortion, and revenge porn.

His case on compensation for victims of child pornography in federal criminal restitution proceedings was recently decided by the United States Supreme Court. That case, United States v. Paroline, led to the Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act which was recently passed by the Senate 98-0 and is pending in the House.

James founded the nationally recognized Children’s Law Center in Washington, DC, and is an experienced trial attorney, and frequent commentator, lecturer, and author on legal issues affecting children and victims of sex abuse and exploitation. He now leads Marsh Law Firm in New York which is recognized worldwide for its work helping sexually abused victims obtain justice and rebuild their lives with dignity and respect.

Daniel Pollack, MSW, JD

Professor at Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University | Expert witness in Child Welfare lawsuits

Daniel Pollack, MSSA (MSW), Esq., is a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work in New York City. He has also been retained as an expert witness in numerous child welfare lawsuits across the country. Among his publications are “Understanding sexual grooming in child abuse cases” and “How to banish child sexual groomers.”

Professor Pollack was previously the Executive Assistant to the Governor of Ohio, Executive Assistant to the Director of the Ohio Department of Human Services, Deputy Director of the Maryland Social Services Administration, and Assistant General Counsel of the Ohio Department of Youth Services

Monica Rowland

COO, Rowland Holdings | Modern Pentathlon Coach | Former President, Athletes Advisory Council to the USOC
Monica was a scholastic All-American high school swimmer, 2002 Pan American Champion- Modern Pentathlon, USOC Athlete of the Year – Modern Pentathlon, and 7 time World Championship Team Member. She served two terms on the Athletes Advisory Council to the USOC, was vice- chair of the Governance Committee, and served on the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act Task Force. Monica served on the Board of Directors for USA Pentathlon from 2004-05 and again from 2009-2018 as the organization went through governance reform. In addition to her work with Olympic constituents Monica is currently the Executive Director of Texas Pentathlon and coaches a group of youth and junior athletes in San Antonio, Texas.

Philip Scribano, DO, MSCE

Physician | Director of Safe Place: The Center for Child Protection and Health at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia 

Philip Scribano, DO, MSCE is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Section Chief of Safe Place: Center for Child Protection and Health and holds an endowed chair for vulnerable populations at CHOP. 

Dr. Scribano obtained his medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ- School of Osteopathic Medicine and Master of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board certified in General Pediatrics and Child Abuse Pediatrics. 

Dr. Scribano has devoted his scholarly efforts in the areas of epidemiology and prevention of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence, technology use in healthcare, and health services to children in foster care. His current efforts focus on addressing social needs in vulnerable populations as a key maltreatment prevention strategy.  He has published over 95 original articles and book chapters and has been funded for multiple program and research grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Administration on Children and Families, and U.S. Department of Justice, as well as generous private foundations for this work. He has served in various roles on multiple national and international committees and organizations, and is currently serving on the board of directors of Prevent Child Abuse America. 

Joyanna Silberg, PhD

Owner, Childhood Recovery Resources| President, Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence| Author

Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D. is the Senior Consultant for Child and Adolescent Trauma at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore Maryland and the Executive Vice-President of the Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence. Her psychotherapy practice specializes in children and adolescents suffering from dissociative symptoms and disorders, and her forensic practice specializes in child sexual abuse. She has served as an expert witness in 27 states.

She is past-president of the International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISSTD) and contributing editor to the society’s journal, the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation. She is the recipient of the 1992 Walter P. Klopfer Award for her research, 1997 Cornelia Wilbur Award for clinical excellence, and the 2011 William Friedrich Award for work on Child Sexual Abuse. Silberg is the editor of The Dissociative Child (Sidran Press) and co-editor of Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors (Haworth Press). She has presented nationally and internationally on child abuse, psychotherapy, and protecting abused children in family court. She has been the consultant for DVLEAP’s Custody and Abuse Project with Office on Violence Against Women, and her project involves an analysis of cases in which judicial decisions that imperil children are reversed by later judicial decisions. She is also consultant for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network grant through Northwestern University’s Feinberg Medical Centers’s Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning Center. Her newest book The Child Survivor: Healing Developmental Trauma and Dissociation, was released by Routledge Press in 2021. Dr. Silberg is the 2013 recipient of the Champion for Children Award from the Domestic Violence and Legal Empowerment Appeals Project (DVLEAP), and the 2013 recipient of the Written Media Award for her book, The Child Survivor, awarded by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.

Elysse Stolpe, Esq.

Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Waynesboro, VA

Elysse Stolpe has served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Waynesboro, Virginia since 2015. In this role she primarily prosecutes cases involving child abuse and exploitation, sexual assault, and homicide. Over her career she has prosecuted a wide variety of misdemeanors and felonies in General District, Juvenile and Domestic Relations, and Circuit Courts.  Prior to joining the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Stolpe practiced law in Washington, D.C., as a litigation associate in the fields of international arbitration and complex commercial litigation at the international law firm Dentons.

Stolpe is an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she teaches Trial Advocacy to second and third year law students.  She currently serves as a member of the Hollins University Alumnae Board and as a member of the Board of Directors for New Directions Center, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.  In spring 2014, Stolpe published her note “MS-13 and Domestic Juvenile Sex Trafficking: Causes, Correlates, and Solutions” in the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, the journal for which she also served as senior executive editor.

Stolpe graduated summa cum laude with honors from Hollins University in 2010, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and earned a B.A. in history and international studies, and a certificate in leadership studies. She earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2014.

 

Steven Ungerleider, PhD

Sports Psychologist| Author| Consultant
He was appointed to USOC sports med council in 1984, has worked with usada (chief mediator in lance armstrong case) had official appointment at wada under richard pound, is on cultural commission under pres thomas bach who helped establish the munich memorial, and most recently was appointed to the ipc exec board under sir philip craven

Ungerleider recently left the USOC due to his concerns over the safety of us athletes and the pervasive culture and practice of sexual assault embraced by olympic officials.

Trained as a clinician, Ungerleider went back for a post doctorate in evaluation research in the early 1980’s. This led to his love of research and understanding how to work with large archives and create a special story line. Ultimately this passion led to his writing of six books, including Faust’s Gold which received significant international attention and accolades.

Ungerleider’s East German Doping research is the subject of a one-hour documentary by the Canadian Film Company, as well as a one-hour special by ABC’s 20/20, and NOS of Dutch Television. Ungerleider’s work and his GDR archives were the subject of a PBS documentary entitled, “Doping for Gold,” which was nominated for an Emmy award.

Prior to the 2006 Torino Winter Games, Ungerleider was appointed to the International Society for Olympic Historians (ISOH). He has served as a founding trustee of Global Sports Development (GSD) which encourages mentoring and fair play at all levels of sport. GSD is the sponsoring agency of the Culture, Education, Drug-Free Sport and Ethics (CESEP) program. Ungerleider has also served on the education and ethics committee of WADA; World Anti-Doping agency and was recenly appointed to the national advisory panel of the American Psychological Association.

Since 1984, Dr. Ungerleider has served on the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry and has consulted with a number of international sport federations.

In 2009, Ungerleider was a co-founder of the Texas Program in Sports and Media (TPSM) at the University of Texas, Austin. This program under the umbrella of the UT school of communication will house the largest repository of sports research material including a major International Olympic collection, an East German Doping collection, and all files related to the recent BALCO drug scandal. Ungerleider is presently working on a manuscript that will articulate many components of this unique collection.

Ungerleider is the proud father of two very accomplished daughters: one a physician practicing internal medicine as a hospitalist in San Francisco, and the youngest a lawyer/MBA practicing commercial law in San Francisco.

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