Deborah Temkin

{{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = Deborah Temkin | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image =  | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = 1985 | birth_place = Tucson, Arizona | death_date =  | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | other_names = | residence = | citizenship = | nationality = | fields = Child development, prevention research | workplaces = U.S. Department of Education | patrons = | education = Vassar College | alma_mater = The Pennsylvania State University | thesis_title =  | thesis_url =  | thesis_year =  | doctoral_advisor =  | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = Bullying prevention, school climate, and connecting education policy to healthy youth development | influences = | influenced = | awards = | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse =  | partner =  | children = | signature =  | signature_alt = | website =  | footnotes = }}

'''Deborah A. Temkin''' (aka Deborah Temkin Cahill; born 1985) is an American child development and prevention research scientist, specializing in bullying prevention, school climate, and connecting education policy to healthy youth development.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deborahtemkin.com/ |title=Under Construction - Home |access-date=2022-02-13 |archive-date=2019-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103145119/https://www.deborahtemkin.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She was the Research and Policy Coordinator for Bullying Prevention Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Education from 2010 to 2012, where she was charged with coordinating the Obama administration's bullying prevention efforts, including launching StopBullying.gov.<ref name="wapo">Chandler, Michael Alison (August 8, 2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130728111903/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-08/local/35493939_1_bullying-prevention-temkin-graduate-school Bullying-prevention official Temkin nominated for Heyman medal]. ''The Washington Post''.</ref> She was a finalist for the 2012 "Call to Service Medal" for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals for her work at the Department.<ref name="sammie">{{Cite web |url=http://servicetoamericamedals.org/SAM/finalists/c2sm/temkin.shtml |title=2012 Finalist—Call to Service Medal—Deborah Temkin |access-date=2013-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111160616/http://servicetoamericamedals.org/SAM/finalists/c2sm/temkin.shtml |archive-date=2012-11-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Temkin is currently the vice president for youth development and education research at Child Trends.

==Early life and education== Temkin grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she was reportedly a victim of bullying while she was in middle school.<ref name="wapo" /> Temkin describes the bullying she faced as having started over a feud over her middle school newspaper, which quickly escalated into relational, verbal, and physical bullying including social exclusion by a majority of her school-mates.<ref name="wapo" /><ref name="rachel">Rachel Simmons (March 10, 2011). [http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2011/03/qa-with-emerging-leader-anti-bullying-activist-deborah-temkin/ Q&A with Emerging Leader & Federal Anti-Bullying Official Deborah Temkin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826204341/http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2011/03/qa-with-emerging-leader-anti-bullying-activist-deborah-temkin/ |date=2014-08-26 }}. Rachelsimmons.com</ref> In newspaper and radio interviews, Temkin reported that her personal experiences with bullying, and particularly her school's lack of response inspired her to understand bullying and what could be done to prevent it.<ref name="wapo" /><ref name="rachel" /><ref name="fednews">Temin, Tom (May 15, 2012),[http://www.federalnewsradio.com/425/2865158/Former-victim-now-leads-governments-bullying-prevention-program Former victim now leads government's bullying prevention program]''Federal News Radio''.</ref> Temkin graduated from Vassar College in 2007, where she majored in Psychology and Education Policy, and then went to The Pennsylvania State University where she received an M.A. in Education Theory and Policy and both her M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies.<ref name="wapo" /> Temkin was a Prevention and Methodology Pre-Doctoral Fellow through the Pennsylvania State University's Prevention and Methodology Centers, and her research focused on bullying, adolescent friendship networks, and education policy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://methodology.psu.edu/pamt/trainees |title=Trainees |access-date=2013-01-24 |archive-date=2010-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609215547/http://methodology.psu.edu/pamt/trainees |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==U.S. Department of Education and StopBullying.gov== In November 2009, Temkin attended the International Bullying Prevention Association Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Kevin Jennings, then Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, was the keynote speaker. Temkin reportedly went up to Jennings following his speech and asked to work for him. Jennings offered Temkin an unpaid internship, which she began in January, 2010. During the Summer of 2010, Jennings charged Temkin with planning the first annual [http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/295021-1 Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit]. After the successful event, Temkin was hired on into the first federal position dedicated to bullying prevention.<ref name="wapo" /><ref name="rachel" /><ref name="fednews" />

As attention to bullying grew in the fall of 2010, after a string of bullying related suicides, Jennings and Temkin began working closely with the White House to plan the first ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention and to design and launch the government's central repository on bullying prevention, StopBullying.gov.<ref name="wapo" /> Temkin also began work on several other initiatives, including closely managing the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention, a coalition of 9 Federal departments, and launching research projects with the CDC and internally at the Department of Education to understand the definition of bullying and to understand the scope and impact of anti-bullying laws.<ref>U.S. Department of Education (December, 2011). [http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html#state-bullying-laws Analysis of State Anti-Bullying Laws and Policies]</ref>

After Jennings left the Department of Education in July, 2011, Temkin continued to lead the bullying prevention initiatives,<ref>Lapin, Andrew (July, 2012). [http://digimag.govexec.com/publication/index.php?i=116548&m=&l=&p=46&pre=&ver=flex Down By the School Yard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223800/http://digimag.govexec.com/publication/index.php?i=116548&m=&l=&p=46&pre=&ver=flex |date=2013-12-02 }}, ''Government Executive'', p. 46]</ref><ref>Dorobek, Chris. (May 30, 2012) [http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/sammies-finalist-working-to-curb-bullying Are you being bullied? One SAMMIES finalist is on the case -- meet Deborah Temkin] ''DorobekINSIDER''</ref><ref>[http://www.tbd.com/blogs/capital-insider/2012/05/sammies-finalist-deborah-temkin-15654.html Sammies Finalist Deborah Temkin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521084015/http://www.tbd.com/blogs/capital-insider/2012/05/sammies-finalist-deborah-temkin-15654.html |date=2013-05-21 }}, Capital Insider, May 29, 2012</ref><ref>[http://gov.aol.com/2012/07/02/feds-work-taking-on-the-national-anti-bullying-campaign/ Feds@Work: Taking On The National Anti-Bullying Campaign] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705065647/http://gov.aol.com/2012/07/02/feds-work-taking-on-the-national-anti-bullying-campaign/ |date=2012-07-05 }}, AOL Government, July 2, 2012</ref> organizing the second and third annual Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summits in 2011<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ed.gov/news/media-advisories/federal-partners-will-come-together-second-annual-summit-discuss-continued-str|title=U.S. Department of Education|website=Ed.gov|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> and 2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.c-span.org/Events/Education-Dept-Hosts-Third-Annual-Bullying-Prevention-Summit/10737432871/|title=Education Dept. Hosts Third Annual Bullying Prevention Summit|website=C-span.org|access-date=13 February 2022|archive-date=20 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020090412/http://www.c-span.org/Events/Education-Dept-Hosts-Third-Annual-Bullying-Prevention-Summit/10737432871/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and overseeing the relaunch of StopBullying.gov in April, 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/04/announcing-the-new-stopbullying-gov/ |title=Announcing the Relaunch of StopBullying.gov |access-date=2013-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217083649/http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/04/announcing-the-new-stopbullying-gov/ |archive-date=2013-02-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During this time she also helped coordinate a partnership between the Department of Education and the Ad Council to launch a public service campaign targeted towards parents on the need to become "more than a bystander.".<ref>Temkin, Deborah (August 8, 2012). [http://www.stopbullying.gov/blog/2012/08/08/following-the-summit-what-are-you-going-to-do-to-prevent-bullying/ Following the Summit, What Are You Going to Do to Prevent Bullying?]</ref> She also worked to support the release of a teacher training module on bullying.<ref>[http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/10/giving-teachers-tools-to-stop-bullying-free-training-toolkit-now-available/ Giving Teachers Tools to Stop Bullying: Free Training Toolkit Now Available] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211041418/http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/10/giving-teachers-tools-to-stop-bullying-free-training-toolkit-now-available/ |date=2012-12-11 }} October 4, 2012</ref> Temkin was also a featured speaker at several events, including the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OSiY5hPqHE White House Conference on LGBT Families] and a Townhall for Senator Frank Lautenberg<ref>Costa, Samantha (May 11, 2011). [http://westdeptford.patch.com/articles/experts-talk-bullying-at-rowan Experts Talk Bullying At Rowan]. ''West Deptford Patch''</ref><ref>Driscoll, Jessica (May 11, 2011). [http://www.nj.com/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-6/130510231145771.xml&coll=8 Lautenberg hosts forum at Rowan on responses to bullying]. ''The Gloucester County Times''</ref> as well as a trusted media source, quoted in several articles in major publications<ref>Pomerance, Rachel (September 14, 2012). [http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/09/14/how-to-spot-and-stop-bullying How to Spot and Stop Bullying]. ''U.S. News & World Report''</ref><ref>Murphy, Meaghan (September 6, 2012). [https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/dark-side-of-twitter-stars-blame-tweets-on-rehab-low-self-esteem-even-attempted-suicide/ Dark Side of Twitter: Stars blame tweets on rehab, low self esteem ... even attempted suicide]. ''FoxNews.com''</ref><ref>Lee, Youyoung (September 7, 2012). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/07/leann-rimes-treatment-celebrity-cyberbullying_n_1862667.html LeAnn Rimes Treatment Draws Attention To Cyberbullying Of Celebrities]. ''Huffington Post''.</ref><ref>Lussenhop, Jessica (May 30, 2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222906/http://digitalissue.villagevoice.com/display_article.php?id=1076684 An Education in Abuse]. ''The Village Voice''.</ref><ref>Martinez, Janel (October 29, 2012). [http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/parents-cyberbullying-tips/ What Parents Can Do to Fight Cyberbullying]''Black Enterprise''</ref><ref>Fox, Laurie (September 3, 2012). [http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20120903-dallas-area-school-districts-spell-out-anti-bullying-policies-as-texas-law-takes-hold.ece Dallas-area school districts spell out anti-bullying policies as Texas law takes hold]. ''The Dallas Morning News.''</ref> and appearing on radio and television programming.<ref>[http://www.redlasso.com/entertainment/how-to-keep-your-kid-safe-from-bullying-2/ How to Keep Your Kids Safe from Bullying] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223628/http://www.redlasso.com/entertainment/how-to-keep-your-kid-safe-from-bullying-2/ |date=2013-12-02 }}, ''Fox 5 News DC, WTTG''.</ref><ref>[http://wpr.org/kathleendunn/index.cfm?strDirection=Prev&dteShowDate=2012-04-24%2010%3A00%3A00.0 Kathleen Dunn Show], April 24, 2012, Wisconsin Public Radio.</ref>

In March, 2012 Temkin was named a finalist for the "Call to Service" medal of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, recognizing the outstanding federal service of those under 35 years old.<ref name="sammie" />

==Current position== {{BLP unreferenced section|date=July 2023}} Following her departure from the Department of Education, Temkin worked from 2012 to 2014 at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights where she launched a new bullying prevention initiative, Project SEATBELT (Safe Environments Achieved Through Bullying prevention, Engagement, Leadership, & Teaching respect). Temkin is now the vice president for youth development and education research at Child Trends.

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temkin, Deborah}} Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Harassment and bullying