USC HVE Digital Summit Panelists

Honorary Chairperson

Daryle Lamont Jenkins Mr. Jenkins is the executive director and founder of One People’s Project, an organization focused on researching and reporting on right-wing groups, individuals and activities to diminish hate groups’ ability to function. Mr. Jenkins’ efforts have exposed those involved in hate politics nationwide, and he and his organization also work with people trying to escape white power circles. He was a co-producer of the Oscar-winning short film Skin and has appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show, The Montel Williams Show, 20/20, and AM Joy.

Panel 1 – Surviving Extremist Violence

	Dr. LaVonna Blair Lewis, PhD Dr. Lewis is a teaching professor and the director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. Dr. Lewis’ areas of research focus on cultural competency and the health status and healthcare needs of underrepresented groups. Her work has appeared in the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, and other health management and policy journals.
	Cynthia M. Deitle Ms. Deitle is the programs and operations director for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, overseeing the organization’s hate crimes work, community outreach and events. She previously served as an FBI Special Agent for more than 22 years, specializing in civil rights, community outreach and victims assistance. Ms. Deitle holds a master’s in criminal law from New York University School of Law and a master’s in constitutional law from the George Washington University National Law Center.
	Josh Stepakoff Mr. Stepakoff was shot during the North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting in August 1999. He serves on the board of directors of Women Against Gun Violence and is a member of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Holds a MA in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and a BA in Psychology from California State University, Northridge.
	Dr. Tony Beliz Dr. Beliz is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist who trains and lectures on behavioral threat assessments, trends in targeted violence, and trauma event management. He developed the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Emergency Response Team and previously served as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and as a Clinical Fellow in Psychology at the Harvard Medical School.

Panel 2 – Extremism and Digital Media

	Dr. Erroll G. Southers Dr. Southers is the director of the Safe Communities Institute and HVE Studies at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, where he is also a Professor of the Practice in National & Homeland Security. He is a Senior Fellow of the UCLA School of Public Affairs and a Visiting Fellow of the International Institute of Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel. He holds Doctoral and Master’s degrees from USC and earned his BA from Brown University.
	Joanna Mendelson Ms. Mendelson is the senior investigative researcher and director of special projects for the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism. Since 2000, Ms. Mendelson has trained more than 12,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers, judges and public officials, and she is a subject matter expert on domestic terrorism-related activity. She is a graduate of Emory University with a dual degree in conflict resolution and Spanish.
	Rick Eaton Mr. Eaton is a senior researcher with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and co-director of the Center’s Digital Terrorism and Hate Project. He is an expert on extremist groups and online terrorism. He is a certified instructor with California Peace Officer Standards and Training and teaches in Terrorism for Investigators and Hate Crimes for Investigators courses. In an undercover role, he has met leading white supremacists, militia figures and domestic and international terrorists.
	Taylor Dumpson Taylor Dumpson is a second-year Public Service scholar and Juris Doctor candidate. In 2017, while pursuing a B.A. at American University, Ms. Dumpson became the university’s first black woman to serve as student government president. She was the target of a racially motivated hate crime and cyber-harassment by members of white supremacist groups. She pursued litigation against the Neo-Nazis who cyber-harassed her and won. She is the 2018 recipient of the Lawyers’ Committee’s Frank R. Parker Client Award and the 2019 National Emerging Leader Award.

Panel 3 – The Path Out of Extremism

	Dr. Peter Simi, PhD Dr. Simi is an associate professor at Chapman University. He has studied extremist groups and violence for 20 years, conducting interviews and observation with violent gangs and political extremists. He is a member of the National Consortium in Studies of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), and his research has been funded by the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense, among others.
	Tony McAleer Mr. McAleer is the board chair and co-founder of Life After Hate. A former organizer for the White Aryan Resistance, he was as a skinhead recruiter, proprietor of Canadian Liberty Net, and manager of a racist rock band. His love for his children led him on a spiritual journey of personal transformation and brought him to a place of compassion and forgiveness.
	Sammy Rangel Mr. Rangel is the executive director and co-founder of Life After Hate. His autobiography, Fourbears: The Myths of Forgiveness, chronicles his life from the physical and sexual abuse he endured as a child to his path of self-destruction that culminated in a 15 1/2-year prison sentence. In 2012, he founded Formers Anonymous, a national self-help group for people addicted to street life and violence. He holds a Master of Social Work from Loyola University-Chicago.