Dr. Dorothy Espelage

Dr. Dorothy Espelage is an internationally recognized expert on bullying and is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Espelage's unique perspective and research have made her one of the nations leading authorities on bullying, including cyberbullying, bullying within dating relationships, and sexual harassment among peers. From Oprah and The Today Show to GMA and CNN, Dr. Espelage speaks about looking at bullying in a new way and how to come up with real solutions to a growing problem.

At the podium, Dr. Espelage speaks candidly about her empirical research into one of the most common epidemics in today's schools. For over 17 years, she has spoken to hundreds of thousands of kids about their lives and why they bully, why they get bullied, and why bystanders do not assist victims. She has a clear message for school administrators, teachers, parents, siblings, and community members. All of us play a role in reducing bullying in our schools, neighborhoods, and our families. She engages her audiences to think about their own attitudes and how these attitudes might minimize bullying. Audiences leave her energetic and informative presentations learning about the most current and innovative research findings and how to apply them.

Dr. Espelage holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology (Virginia Commonwealth University), a master's degree in Clinical Psychology (Radford University), and received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Indiana University. She has been a part of the Department of Educational Psychology and Child Development Division of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1997. She has received numerous awards for her work in counseling and psychology, including Scholar of the Year, Outstanding Teacher of the Year, and Fellow Status from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Espelage is a consultant at the national and international level, consulting for the US Embassy, US Congress & Senate the American Psychological Association, and the National Anti-Bullying Campaign, among many others. She's been featured on national media, including Oprah, CNN, Good Morning America, Today Show, USA Today, Discovery Channel, and Readers Digest and spoken at national forums such as National Educational Association, US Embassy, Rand Corporation, as well as many universities and associations.

Dr. Espelage's expertise has helped hundreds of schools across the country implement anti-bullying programs that fit their needs. Her workshops work directly with faculty on how to implement new bully prevention techniques into an already busy school day with minimal stress.