David L. Wyrick, Ph.D.

President

Founding Director and Chief Prevention Officer of the Institute to Promote Athlete Health & Wellness Associate Professor of Public Health Education, UNC Greensboro Dr. Wyrick is the Director of the Institute to Promote Athlete Health & Wellness, Associate Professor of Public Health Education and Faculty Athletic Representative at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He is a former NCAA dual sport student-athlete (Basketball & Track and Field; Elon University) which strengthens his passion for promoting health and wellness among athletes. As a prevention scientist, David has extensive experience in research, evaluation, and educational methodologies related to alcohol and other drug prevention and mental health promotion. David has received multiple awards from the National Institute on Health and has over 25 peer reviewed publications. David loves traveling with his wife Cheryl and three daughters Katherine, Caroline and Elizabeth.

Cheryl Haworth Wyrick, Ph.D.

Vice President of Operations

Dr. Wyrick’s research and program interests are focused on measurement issues related to evaluating alcohol and other drug prevention programs. She earned her B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science from Elon University (1995) and her Ph.D.in Educational Research Methodology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2004). She has managed four NIH grants and has authored several academic papers on preventing adolescent drug use. Dr. Wyrick serves on the steering committee for the Early Career Preventionist Network (ECPN) and serves as an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Education at UNC Greensboro. She lives with her husband, David, and three daughters, Katherine, Caroline, and Elizabeth in Greensboro, NC.

Jeffrey J. Milroy MPH, DrPH

Director of Programs

Managing Director of the Institute to Promote Athlete Health & Wellness Faculty; Department of Public Health Education, UNC Greensboro Dr. Milroy earned a B.S. in Community Health Education from the State University of New York at Potsdam (2002), his M.P.H. in Public Health Education from the UNC Greensboro (2006), and his Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) from the UNC Greensboro (2010). Presently Dr. Milroy is Prevention Strategies’ director of Programs. Dr. Milroy is a member of multiple professional organizations including the Society for Prevention Research, the American College Health Association, and the American Public Health Association. Dr. Milroy has provided consulting services for the NCAA, Be Active, NC, and the National Center for Drug Free Sport. Dr. Milroy is interested in the health and wellbeing of adolescents and young adults. His research foci include alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention, physical activity promotion among college student populations, and innovative program planning and implementation. Dr. Milroy was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario Canada, and currently resides in Greensboro, NC with his wife Stefanie, and children Gracie, Lila and Jett.

Stephen Hebard, Ph.D.

Director of Research and Innovation

Dr. Hebard earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2015 and worked as an assistant professor of Counselor Education at The University of Alabama at Birmingham before joining the Prevention Strategies team. He is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) whose clinical background in substance abuse and mental health intervention bring a unique perspective to prevention research. Dr. Hebard has provided Motivational Interviewing training and consultation for professionals in the fields of general medicine, oncology, psychiatry, nursing, pharmacy, education, and school, mental health, and addictions counseling. He is interested in creating innovative conceptual models and applying methodological frameworks in prevention. Dr. Hebard’s research foci include Motivational Interviewing, mental health literacy in sport, application of the Multiphasic Optimization Strategy (MOST), and the development of prevention and intervention models related to mental health, wellness, and risky behaviors. He currently resides in Greensboro, NC with his wife, Holly, and three children, Sadie, Davin, and Reece.

Shane Stadler, MBA

Vice President of Business Development

Mr. Stadler received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Mr. Stadler has designed and implemented successful strategic and tactical business plans for companies in varied industries. His experience includes work in brand development, product development, new product launches, online and email marketing, direct marketing, sales and sales management. Shane and his wife Tori reside in Burlington, NC with their two sons, Luc and Will.

William P. Hansen, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist

Dr. William B. Hansen received an honors bachelor of arts degree from the University of Utah in 1974, a Master of Science degree in 1977, and a Ph.D. in 1978 in social psychology, both from the University of Houston. He has served on the faculty at UCLA (1978-1984), the University of Southern California (1980-1989) and Bowman Gray School of Medicine (1989-1996). He has been the Principal Investigator or Project Director on numerous grants and contracts and is a widely recognized expert in alcohol and drug prevention. He has written numerous curricula for school and community-based prevention, including Project SMART, Project STAR, and All Stars. He has authored over 130 articles in scientific journals on research and evaluation methods, prevention theory, and strategies for successful prevention practice. In 2001, he was the recipient of the Society for Prevention Research “Science to Practice” award, recognizing his contribution to designing evidence-based approaches to prevention that can be used in real world settings. In 2013, he was named a Fellow of the Society for Prevention Research. Dr. Hansen's Scholarly Publications can be found here.

Lawrence M. Scheier, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist

Dr. Lawrence M. Scheier received a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University in 1978, his M.A. in Psychology from New York University in 1983 and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Technology from the University of Southern California in 1988. He is a developmental psychologist whose research emphasizes the causes and consequences of drug use and evaluation of programs that promote positive youth adaptation. His specific interests include the role of social cognition in health behaviors, identity formation, self-concept, and risk and protective factors that nurture developmental change. For the past 20 years he has examined the efficacy of several school- and community-based drug and violence prevention programs. He uses multivariate and causal modeling strategies with longitudinal data to examine factors that influence growth and change in normal development as well as investigating programmatic change through drug abuse prevention programs. Dr. Scheier is President of LARS Research Institute, Inc., a company offering a full line of research services encompassing health promotion, program evaluation, program development, and behavioral science technology transfer. Dr. Scheier's Scholarly Publications can be found here.

Kathy Turpin, Ph.D.

Senior Consultant

Dr. Kathy Turpin earned a Ph.D. in Leadership and Higher Education Administration from Barry University. She also earned a master’s degree in sport sociology from Western Illinois University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she was a four-year starter on the women's basketball team. Dr. Turpin is President/CEO of K Turpin Consulting, LLC, specializing in consulting services to national sports organizations, collegiate athletics, and higher education administration. Her areas of expertise include program review and assessment, compliance, leadership development, hiring and personnel management, strategic planning, gender equity and Title IX, student-athlete health and well-being, drug use and abuse education, and best practices for implementing a drug deterrence program. Her professional experience also includes more than 25 years as a collegiate athletics administrator and coach.