Flick Unveils Speaker Series Lineup Addressing Mental Health and Addiction in Youth

April 14, 2025

HARRISBURG – Rep. Jamie Flick’s (R-Lycoming/Union) third annual Human Services Expo and Speaker Series will be held on Friday, April 25, at the Pennsylvania College of Technology (PCT). This event is free and open to the public.

During the Speaker Series, from 1-3 p.m. at Penn’s Inn on the PCT campus, attendees will learn valuable information about youth mental health and addiction.

Dr. Beth McMahon, Jeremy Steppe, Nicholas Slotterback and Dr. Jennifer Thorp will present data that helps to inform prevention and education strategies. “Our team is excited to highlight youth reported risk behaviors and protective factors at the national, state, and local level to help families, schools and communities in Data Driven Programming and Services. Our goal is to showcase how Pennsylvania strives to prevent youth risk behaviors and promote protective factors,” McMahon said on behalf of the team. Students Francis Pagana and Colyn Jandrisavitz will provide personal testimony.

Dr. Christina Steinbacher-Reed and Nicole Klees will talk about the partial hospitalization program at BLaST IU 17 and how it fits into the mental health ecosystem in place to support youth populations. Student Gracie Paulhamus will join as a presenter.

“Youth partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) are a vital bridge in the continuum of care for young people facing mental health challenges. Students attend school for half the day and receive intensive mental health support for the other half. This structure allows children to continue their education, receive the intensive mental health care they need, and return home to their families at night. These programs not only change lives — they also reduce the long-term emotional and financial strain on families, schools, and entire communities,” Steinbacher-Reed said.

The Williamsport Bureau of Police will also offer a brief update on the mental health co-responder initiative, a grant-funded program that pairs a mental health professional with officers.

“I’m honored to have these individuals give professional and personal insight on the data and programs to help our youth,” said Flick. “The focal point of this event is to share how we can use proven data for prevention efforts, ‘looking upstream,’ as Dr. McMahon said, and to identify existing resources already in place to help kids who are struggling. This is an extremely relevant subject, as studies show that kids younger and younger are dealing with mental health issues and addiction.”

More about the speakers:
• Dr. Beth McMahon is an emerita professor within Lock Haven University’s (LHU) Department of Health Science. Her research lines include youth risk and protective factors; adverse childhood experience; domestic violence fatality review; and systematic issues in opioid epidemic. She earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education; a master’s in clinical exercise physiology, cardio-pulmonary rehab, and primary prevention from East Stroudsburg University; and a doctorate in health education from Penn State University.

• Jeremy Steppe is a health and physical education teacher at Williamsport Area High School (WAHS), where he oversees the K-12 health and physical education curriculum. He also serves as the advisor and coordinator for WAHS S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) club, Lycoming County Youth Development Task Force, and WAHS Student Assistance Program.

• Nicholas Slotterback is a health and physical education advisor at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. He coordinates the dissemination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey and distributes the School Health Index biannually across the Commonwealth. A graduate of Lock Haven University from the Health and Physical Education Program, Slotterback also earned his master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from LHU.

• Dr. Jennifer L. Thorp is an associate professor at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania: Lock Haven. Her research includes youth risk behaviors, protective factors, and enhancing health and physical education programs in Pennsylvania. She is also past president of SHAPE PA. Dr. Thorp completed her undergraduate degree at LHU on health and physical education, master’s in exercise and health promotion from California University, and doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

• With almost 30 years of experience, Dr. Christina Steinbacher-Reed has dedicated her life’s work to leading systems that transform lives and communities. As the executive director of BLaST Intermediate Unit 17, she leads a team of approximately 325 professionals providing educational services across Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, and Tioga counties. Dr. Steinbacher-Reed completed her academic studies at Drexel University, Temple University, and Lebanon Valley College.

• A licensed social worker, Nicole Klees serves as the director of mental and behavioral health for BLaST Intermediate Unit 17. She provides leadership to two K-12 partial hospitalization programs and a unique dual diagnosis program and is currently launching a youth outpatient counseling clinic. A graduate of Marywood University with a master’s degree in social work, she has dedicated her career to the mental health field, including 10 years focused on children’s mental and behavioral health.

Following the Speaker Series, the Human Services Expo will be held from 3-6 p.m. at PCT’s Field House. Follow Flick’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/RepFlick for updates or call his district office at 570-321-1270 for more information.



Representative Jamie Flick
83th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Nate Temple
717-260-6396
ntemple@pahousegop.com
repflick.com