Rob Reed, the executive deputy attorney general in the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, visits Chestnut Hill College this month to speak about the impact of trauma on youth living in difficult and often hostile environments. 

At the event, “Do You Wonder? Is there a Root Cause of Addiction, Self-Harm, Suicide, Crime, and Violence?,” Reed will deliver a lecture about the causes and consequences of trauma on youth and their communities. He will also examine childhood adversity, substance abuse, mental illness, and the effects of both direct and secondary trauma on individuals’ long-term health and decision-making. The lecture begins at 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 11 in the East Parlor of St. Joseph Hall. The college’s Institute for Forgiveness and Reconciliation is sponsoring the event, which is free and open to the public.

Reed is the executive deputy attorney general in the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. He oversees its Special Initiatives section, focusing on such subjects as the opioid epidemic, gun violence, civil rights, hate crime, sex abuse, elder abuse, cyberbullying, and campus safety. In 2010, Reed was appointed executive assistant U.S. attorney and was responsible for expanding the office’s vision of criminal justice from solely relying on prosecution to include violence prevention, prisoner reentry, and community outreach. Over the course of his 40-year career, he has investigated and prosecuted a wide range of cases, including violent drug organizations, homicides civil rights, corruption, and complex white-collar crimes.

“Do You Wonder? Is there a Root Cause of Addiction, Self-Harm, Suicide, Crime, and Violence?” takes place on Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the East Parlor of St. Joseph Hall at Chestnut Hill College, 9601 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118. This event is free and open to the public. Please contact forgive@chc.edu for more information.