Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D., is the Director of Embrace Civility in the Digital Age. She has degrees in special education and law, taught “at risk” children, practiced computer law, and was an educational technology consultant before focusing her professional attention on issues of youth risk online and management of student Internet use.
Nancy is author of: Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Cruelty, Threats, and Distress (2007, Research Press) and Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens, Helping Young People Use the Internet Safety and Responsibly (2007, Jossey Bass). Cyber Savvy: Embracing Digital Safety and Civility (2011, Corwin Press). Find Out about Nancy’s books here.
Nancy has been on the cutting-edge in addressing issues related to the impact of digital technologies on youth risk, starting her work in in this area in 1995. In 2000, she testified before the Children’s Online Protection Commission urging an educational approach to address the concerns of youth access to pornography. Her book on cyberbullying was the first book published in the world addressing this critical issue. Several years ago, she initiated a Google Group to facilitate ongoing communications between this nation’s leading proponents of a research-grounded, effective, multidisciplinary approach to address youth risk around issues of digital technologies. You can join this Group on this site.
To address these concerns, Nancy’s approach places a strong focus on reinforcing positive social norms, strengthening effective skills, empowering helpful allies, and fostering restorative interventions.
Embrace Civility in the Digital Age has developed a framework for success that incorporates Seven Pillars. These include:
- Commit to Scientific Integrity and Effective Practice
- Ensure Ongoing Assessment and Evaluation
- Engage in Multidisciplinary Collaboration
- Foster Restoration and Reconciliation
- Reinforce Positive Norms
- Strengthen Effective Skills
- Encourage Helpful Allies.
Contact
Email: info (at) embracecivility.org
Phone: (541) 556-1145
Address: 474 W 29th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97405
About the .org
Embrace Civility in the Digital Age is an assumed business name of me, Nancy Willard. I was trying to establish a non-profit corporation to do more effective outreach, including professional webinars. So I formed a non-profit, got a great group of folks to be on the board, and we waited for over a year for the IRS to review our application for 501C3 – but unable to raise any money because we were not a 501C3. However, we puschased this URL and set up this site.
In the meantime, I have developed Be a Friend ~ Lend a Hand and have done preliminary work on Resolve – a new approach for principals to investigate and intervene.
I simply reached the point of realizing that I am incapable of marketing, supporting, and evaluating Be a Friend ~ Lend a Hand, developing Resolve, doing more work on CyberSavvy, supporting the Embrace Civility Network Google group – AND manage a corporation, engage in fund-raising and coordinate outreach activities. So we have dissolved the non-profit. However, since I am now known as embracecivility.org and since there really are no official standards for the .org suffix, that is what I will continue to be.