Panel Bios

Crucial Conversations: 2019 Biographical Sketches of Panel

Nicole L. Johnson, Ph.D., Counseling Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Lehigh University

Dr. Nicole “Nicki” Johnson is an assistant professor of Counseling Psychology at Lehigh University. Her research is dedicated to the exploration and implementation of prevention programming for gender-based violence (e.g., rape, intimate partner violence, LGBTQ+ violence). She has assisted in the implementation of two shelter-based treatment programs for women with a history of intimate partner violence, as well as created a “bystander-plus” rape prevention program for college students, incorporating traditional bystander intervention techniques with feminist consciousness raising. Dr. Johnson has received several awards for her work including: The 2018 American Psychological Association Laura Brown Award for Outstanding Contributions in LGBTQ psychology and the 2018 Zirkel Award for Distinguished Teaching in Education. She also directs The Resistance Lab at Lehigh University, which is dedicated to the eradication of gender-based violence through empirical research and programming.

Peter Langman, Ph.D., Psychologist/Author/Trainer

Dr. Peter Langman is a psychologist whose research on school shooters has received international recognition. His book, Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters, was named an Outstanding Academic Title and was translated into German, Dutch, and Finnish. His work has been cited in congressional testimony on Capitol Hill and he has been interviewed by the New York Times, The Today Show, 20/20, Nightline, Fox, CNN, the BBC, and 400 other news outlets in the USA, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. After the Sandy Hook attack, the CEO of the American Psychological Association presented Dr. Langman’s recommendations on school safety to President Obama. He has presented at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, and been hired by Homeland Security to train professionals in school safety. He maintains the largest online collection of materials relating to school shooters at schoolshooters.info, including nearly 500 documents totaling 60,000 pages. His latest book is School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators. In 2018, Dr. Langman became a researcher with the National Threat Assessment Center of the United States Secret Service.

Dr. Joseph J. Roy, Superintendent of Schools, Bethlehem Area School District

Dr. Roy is currently the Superintendent of the Bethlehem Area School District, the sixth largest school district in Pennsylvania, serving 13,700 students in 22 schools. Dr. Roy was the 2017 Superintendent of the Year for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Dr. Roy serves on the boards of several Lehigh Valley non-profits including the DaVinci Science Center, the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley, the United Way Board of Directors, the Foundation for the Bethlehem Area School District and the Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board. Dr. Roy is the recipient of the 2018 PBS 39 Good Neighbor Award for the Arts and Education; 2013 Excellence in Education Award, Lehigh University/University Council for Educational Leadership; the 2011 United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley’s Community Builder Award; the 2005 National School Public Relations Association’s Outstanding Communicator Award; and the School Library Journal’s 2004 National Administrator of the Year Award. Dr. Roy received his undergraduate degree from Franklin and Marshall College, his master’s degree from Bucknell University, and his doctoral degree from Lehigh University.