Roundtable: Tackling Child Sexual Abuse

Melissa Mahler of Pro Player Insiders and Andrew Willis of the Stop Abuse Campaign tackle the topic of child sexual abuse with the creator of the ACE study Dr. Felitti, survivor and advocate Matt Sandusky, survivor and filmmaker Johnna Janis, clinical & forensic psychologist Cheryl Arutt and former NFL player Al Chesley.

Vincent Felitti, MD

Dr. Felitti is co-Principal Investigator of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, ongoing collaborative research between the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program and the Centers for Disease Control. A 1962 graduate of the Johns Hopkins Medical School, Dr. Felitti is an internist who started as an infectious disease physician in 1968 at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego and then in 1975 founded the Department of Preventive Medicine; he served as the Chief of Preventive Medicine until 2001. For more information visit http://www.acestudy.org/speakers/vincent_j_felitti_md

Cheryl Arutt, Psy.D.

Dr. Chery Arutt is a licensed clinical & forensic psychologist and frequent psychological expert on CNN, HLN, DiscoveryID, FoxNews and other networks. An expert in PTSD and trauma recovery, Dr. Arutt practices in Beverly Hills, CA and is author of the upcoming book “Creative Resilience.” For more information and a complete bio visit www.drarutt.com.

Johnna Janis

Johnna is a woman, mother, wife, and full time student, who is also a survivor of child sexual abuse. She is an avid activist and speaker in the child abuse awareness movement, and the Co-Producer of the feature documentary, “Invisible Scars” (2015). For more information visit www.invisiblescarsdoc.com

Matt Sandusky 

Matthew is an advocate, activist, and public speaker on the topic of child sexual abuse. He is the Executive Director/Founder of Peaceful Hearts Foundation and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. For more information and his complete bio visit http://premierespeakers.com/matthew_sandusky and http://www.peacefulheartsfoundation.org.

Al Chesley

Al is a former NFL player who played of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears.  He’s an outspoken advocate on preventing child sexual abuse and a survivor.

Andrew Willis

Andrew is the founder and CEO of the Stop Abuse Campaign. Stop Abuse Campaign is dedicated to the prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences through public education and public policy. They support evidence based practices that accomplish this, and thereby spare the next generation from needless suffering. Their priority is preventing abuse from starting. Andrew is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence and suicide. He’s a frequent speaker at conferences and blogs for the Stop Abuse Campaign. For more information and a complete bio visit http://stopabusecampaign.com

Melissa Mahler

Melissa is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Pro Player Insiders, an official licensed partner of NFL Players. She is on the board of the National Football Professional Wives Association and a leader in the sports and philanthropy. She co-hosts a radio show that focuses on taking the top headlines and moving past the sensationalism to make a difference. Recently, Melissa was recognized for her efforts by being selected as a delegate to the first United Nations Summit on Media and Social Impact. For more information and a complete bio visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamahler