Jake White | Co-Founder of Vive18
Crystal Collier, PhD, LPC-S is a nationally recognized expert in youth substance use prevention and adolescent brain development. Since 1999, she has specialized in helping teens, families, and educators understand how risky behaviors affect the developing brain and has developed neuroscience-based prevention programs that create change.
Crystal’s experience includes:
Crystal Collier, PhD is also the creator of KnowYourNeuro.org — a free, evidence-based K-12 prevention curriculum helping schools and families protect youth from substance use and risky behaviors through neuroscience education.
She’s authored these brain-based prevention materials:
Dr. Collier’s research demonstrates that consistent, brain-based prevention education reduces adolescent risk-taking. She translates complex neuroscience into practical tools that empower communities to strengthen youth mental health and prevent substance abuse.
Dr. Collier’s neurodevelopmental prevention model teaches children, teens, parents, and educators how risky behaviors impact brain development. Her work has earned:
Neuroscience & Genetics of Addiction
Parents, Teachers, Clinicians, Keynote
Learn how the brain becomes addicted to alcohol, drugs, and other high-risk behavior in a easy, easy-to-understand way. This presentation will review the effects of substance and process addictions on the brain, the role of genetics, how the disease of addiction creates an alcoholic psyche, and strategies for healing.
The Neuroscience of High-Risk Behavior
Grades 3-12, Staff Development, Parents
The Neuroscience of High-Risk Behavior teaches staff, students, and parents how substances and other high-risk behaviors such as alcohol/drugs, food addiction, depression/anxiety, and technology overuse affect healthy brain development. Participants learn how to protect brain development and prevent children and adolescents from engaging in such risky behavior. Fun, interactive student presentations are tailored to audiences in grades 3-12.
B-Mod: Shaping Your Child’s Behavior
Parents, Teachers, Clinicians
Are you tired of yelling at your kids! Are you sick of watching them defy your behavior requests? Are your teenagers engaging in high-risk behavior and you feel powerless? In this presentation, parents will learn the principles of shaping children’s behavior, the best tools for achieving behavior change, and creating a simple behavior modification plans that alters yours and your child’s negative behavior patterns. In addition, parents will learn the definition, beliefs, and behaviors of a mentoring parent. The tool box of a mentoring parent will be described. Bring your questions and behavior scenarios!
Youth Depression & Anxiety: Coping Skills
Parents, Teachers, Clinicians
Life today is full of a new variety of obstacles and risks for our children. Rates of anxiety and depression are on the rise as the technology age adds stressors and reduces face-to-face play time. Performance anxiety and perfectionism seem to be the new norm and children are experiencing these issues at younger ages than their parents did. Students will learn how anxiety affects their brain development and healthy coping strategies to reduce toxic anxiety and perfectionism. Parents will learn what the children did as well as tools for cultivating anxiety management skills and active coping in their children.
Build Your Family Code
Parents, Families, Community Events, Workshops
Learn and create a brain-based, prevention science tool to protect and grow healthy brain development! Dr. Crystal Collier, will teach families how to identify their children’s neurowhereabouts or what stage of brain development they are in. Parents and caregivers will learn how to use the family code during everyday interactions and how to integrate brain-based parenting and prevention science scripts into their daily communication. Participants will engage in a family code building activity! Event appropriate for parents alone or families with children age 7 and up.
Our team of nationally recognized speakers delivers engaging, age-appropriate presentations grounded in evidence-based prevention strategies — with the energy students love.
