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The VPTRC Overview
The Violence Prevention and Transformation Research Collaborative (VPTRC) is an initiative housed in the School of Social Work and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington Tacoma dedicated to understanding and preventing violence—particularly school violence, mass shootings, and hate/bias crimes. Supported by the Vatheuer Family Foundation and the Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools, the VPTRC integrates research, education, and community partnerships to build safer and more resilient schools and communities. The VPTRC pursues two core goals:
- Conducting rigorous, interdisciplinary research on the causes and prevention of violence
- Turning research into action by sharing knowledge with scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and the public to drive meaningful, evidence-based change and reduce violence in our society
The VPTRC utilizes empirical knowledge and evidence-based practices from restorative and transformative justice to address issues of violence without creating additional harm through reactive and unnecessarily punitive measures. A central focus of the VPTRC is advancing the study and practice of behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) as a cornerstone of violence prevention. The VPTRC conducted the first empirical evaluations of the Salem-Keizer Cascade Threat Assessment Model, a system widely used in schools across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Guided by decades of research and advocacy, the VPTRC works to reduce harm, improve institutional practices, and enhance public safety. While no single effort can eliminate violence entirely, the VPTRC is committed to significantly reducing its occurrence and impact through research, education, and transformative partnerships that create lasting, positive change.
Coming: new Threat Assessment Certificate program!
Beginning Autumn 2027
"Inside Threat Assessment" VPTRC event
Dr. Keva Miller (Dean, School of Social Work & Criminal Justice), Dr. Lina Alathari (Chief, U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center), Kristy Domingues (Supervisory Research Specialist, U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center), Leon Covington (Threat Assessment Coordinator/Licensed Clinical Social Worker Program Supervisor, NEWESD 101), Katie Callahan (Research Assistant, VPTRC), Dr. Eric Madfis (Director, VPTRC), Kelly Kledzik (Program Coordinator, VPTRC), and Kristina Anderson Froling (Executive Director, Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools)
Recent news
Katie Callahan, 2025 UW Tacoma President's Medal recipient!
Katie Callahan has been named the 2025 recipient of the President’s Medal, an honor awarded to the graduating senior with the university’s most exceptional academic record. Katie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, with a minor in Sociology. Her professors feel that Callahan demonstrates an extraordinary blend of intelligence, leadership, and empathy. Professor Eric Madfis noted, “Katie is a truly exceptional student and researcher, and I feel very fortunate to have the privilege to work collaboratively with her at the VPTRC.” Associate Teaching Professor Andrea Hill says, “I have never encountered a student who so seamlessly combines intellectual curiosity with a genuine desire to support others.” Beyond campus, Callahan has made significant contributions to community advocacy, working to ensure that differently abled students have access to appropriate learning resources in K–12 schools. Callahan has completed her education while working as a legal assistant and paraeducator. She is the current president of UW Tacoma’s Criminal Justice League and served as panel chair at the February 2025 Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference, for the presentation, “A Patriarchal Police State: How the Impact of Dobbs Permeates the Criminal Justice System.” Callahan has also contributed to several manuscripts under review and in progress, including co-authoring, with Dr. Madfis, a book proposal submitted to Temple University Press entitled Mass Shootings and Masculinities: Gender and Cumulative Strain. As Callahan graduates, Dr. Hill reflects, “Katie is an extraordinary scholar, a thoughtful leader, and a dedicated community-builder. She has elevated our campus through her presence, and the impact of her time at UW Tacoma will continue to resonate long after her graduation—through revitalized organizations, strengthened peer networks, and the higher standard of excellence she leaves behind.” Callahan begins graduate school at the University of California Irvine in Criminology, Law & Society this fall.
Distinguished Community Engagement Award
Dr. Eric Madfis is being recognized for his community engagement through his work at UW Tacoma's School of Social Work and Criminal Justice and the Violence Prevention and Transformation Research Collaborative. His work embodies the spirit of community engagement, including fostering positive change and contributing public-facing knowledge for the reduction of violence in our schools and communities.
This award recognizes Dr. Madfis's collaborative community-based approach to research, service, and partnership development related to the Violence Prevention and Transformation Research Collaborative and scholarship on the Salem-Keizer Cascade Threat Assessment Model – both which have local, regional, and national impact. Dr. Madfis's work entails collaborative involvement with practitioners, administrators, students, teachers, and scholars to make a positive impact and reduce school and community violence.
Dr. Madfis' work at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine workshop
K-12 Behavioral Threat Assessment Efficacy and Implementation Evaluation Workshop
Eric Madfis was one of the committee planning members and moderated two panels at the "K-12 Behavioral Threat Assessment Efficacy and Implementation Evaluation Research" Workshop in September 2024. This two day event was put on by the The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NaSEM) for the U.S. Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center.
