MARILYN BARR, FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NCSBS

Marilyn Barr is the founder and executive director for the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome SBS/AHT. She oversaw the development and testing of SBS prevention materials referred to as the Period of PURPLE Crying in collaboration with Dr. Ronald G. Barr. She also serves as the director of the British Columbia Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Program at B.C. Children's Hospital in British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Barr has worked in the field of child abuse prevention since 1978 and has a degree in social work, criminal justice, and communications. She developed one of the first prevention programs on SBS/AHT in the world. Barr has directed 12 national and international conferences on SBS/AHT as well as 15 state and national conferences on child abuse and neglect.

She founded the Child Abuse Prevention Center of Utah and served as its chief executive officer from 1981 to 2003. She also founded the Utah Chapter of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse in 1983 and served as president of the board of directors from 1983 to 1987.

Barr's honors and recognition include: the Commissioner's Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services); the National Victims’ Rights Advocate of the Year (United States Justice Department); National Court Appointed Special Advocates; Child Advocate of the Year Award, San Francisco, California, Freedom Foundation; and National George Washington Honor Medal for excellence in the category of Individual Achievement.

Barr is a co-principal investigator on four studies related to the Period of PURPLE Crying and has been published in Pediatrics and the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

RONALD G. BARR, MA, MDCM, FRCP(C)

Ronald G. Barr developed and tested prevention materials referred to as the Period of PURPLE Crying in collaboration with Marilyn Barr. He is the Canada Research Chair in Community Child Health Research at the University of British Columbia, Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, and Head of Developmental Neurosciences and Child Health at the Child and Family Research Institute at BC Children’s Hospital. Barr is also Fellow of the experience-based Brain and Biological Development Programme of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Dr. Barr's research and clinical work have focused on the needs of infants and young children. Dr. Barr is well-known for his studies on the biological and behavioral determinants of behavior, including pain, behavioral state and crying, cognition and memory, as well as for the outcomes of early clinical manifestations of these behaviors for later development (temperament, reactivity). A primary research interest is the primary prevention of infant abuse and shaken baby syndrome (abusive head trauma). His research has been funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Hospital for Sick Children's Foundation, the Howard Webster Fund, the WT Grant Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Dr. Barr is currently a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He was a Fellow of the Center for the Advanced Study of Behavioral Sciences at Stanford in 2000-2001. He was Associate Editor of the journal Child Development and serves on the editorial boards of more than a dozen pediatric, child development, and anthropology journals. Dr. Barr is a past President of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and past Chair of the Developmental Committee of the Canadian Centre of Excellence Network.

DESMOND K. RUNYAN, MD, DrPH

Desmond Runyan leads evaluation efforts for the Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina SBS-prevention program, funded by The Duke Endowment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Doris Duke Charitable foundation. He is a professor in the departments of Social Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also serves as a general pediatrician at the University of North Carolina Hospitals and as associate director for the Center for Child and Family Health (CCFH), a consortium of Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina Central University dedicated to research, training, and intervention related to child trauma and maltreatment. Dr. Runyan also serves as the national program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program.

Dr. Runyan's work involves the application of clinical epidemiology to the problem of violence against children. His research has focused on the impact of societal intervention on the mental health functioning of child victims; he has examined the impact of the foster care system, court testimony, and the medical examination of children. His work has touched on all aspects of abuse including sexual abuse, physical abuse, Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy, and Failure-to-Thrive.

Dr. Runyan's current project is a 20-year study of the impact of child abuse in five states with over 1300 children called LONGSCAN. In addition, as a member of the NGO Advisory Panel of the UN Secretary General’s Study of Children and Violence, Runyan convened a working group to develop a new set of instruments for use internationally to assess the epidemiology of violence against children.

BRIAN LOPEZ, BS, MBA

Brian Lopez serves as the Marketing Director for the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS). In this role, Brian is responsible for developing and maintaining marketing materials, developing and maintaining partnerships, and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the marketing department.Brian is also responsible for the development and maintenance of all NCSBS educational resource materials.

Brian has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration/Marketing from Weber State University and is currently working towards a Masters of Business Administration (MBA)

RYAN L. STEINBEIGLE, BS, MBA

Ryan Steinbeigle is the project manager for the Period of PURPLE Crying Parent Resource Website, a site for parents and caregivers to come to learn more about various child development topics including infant crying, sleeping, soothing, child care, dealing with frustration and anger. He is also the Director of Development for the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. As the project manager Ryan has overseen the development and implementation of the PURPLE website and worked with world renowned child development experts to produce a website which contains researched information and is entirely evidence-based.

Ryan has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration/Management from Weber State University and is currently working towards a Masters of Business Administration (MBA).

JULIE PRICE, BS, M. Sc.

Julie Price has over 20 years experience as an educator and public speaker. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Management with an emphasis in Education and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Management.

Julie serves as the National and International Prevention Program Manager for the Period of PURPLE Crying. As the program manager, Julie oversees the statewide, province wide and individual implementation of the PURPLE program in healthcare and community based organizations across North America. She also presents nationally and internationally at invited conferences, meetings and organizations.

DANIELLE VAZQUEZ, BS

Danielle Vazquez manages the Period of PURPLE Crying Hospital Based Prevention Program for the state of Utah and also serves as the Conference Coordinator for the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. Danielle received her Bachelor's Degree from Weber State University in Social Work and Psychology. She has worked several years in the not-for-profit field.

As the program manager for the Utah PURPLE program, Danielle assists hospital administrators, education personnel and maternity services with nurse training and coordination of the PURPLE program. Danielle is also currently overseeing the Dose Two implementation of the program in doctor's offices, health departments, adoption agencies and foster care facilities throughout Utah.

CLAIRE YAMBAO, BA

Claire received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Victoria in 2005. She previously worked as a research assistant for the Neuropsychology Department at the University of Victoria. After graduation, she worked as a technician at a mood disorders clinic in Vancouver, BC. In 2006, Claire transferred to a research position at the Centre for Community Child Health Research for the clinical trial of the Period of PURPLE Crying program. She developed a strong interest in the prevention of shaken baby syndrome and later joined the Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome BC team.

In 2007, Claire moved into the position of Program Educator & Information Specialist. Her responsibilities included training and implementing the PURPLE program in the Fraser and Interior Health Regions. She also managed PURPLE implementation through BC community agencies such as pregnancy outreach, infant development, adoption, immigration and child care. As the Information Specialist, she contributed to the development of the program website and the online modules.

Claire currently serves as the Provincial Program Coordinator and continues to provide education and resources to professionals supporting families. She is also the point person for the program's public education campaign.

Dawn Mount, BA

Dawn received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Waterloo following obtaining her diploma in Early Childhood Education. Her career experiences include Executive Director with Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver and in administration for a Vancouver elementary school and college. Dawn has also been an active volunteer for over 15 years. Important issues related to children and families have always played a key role in her motivations to improve the lives of others. The Period of PURPLE Crying program is a perfect match to her beliefs in education and prevention.