CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Jolene Hays and Samantha Henriksen, MVP advisers at Fort Dodge Senior High School, and Jocelyn Frohwein, MVP coordinator at Marshalltown Community College, are the 2025-26 recipients of the Dan Marburger Mentors in Violence Prevention Advocacy Awards presented by the Patricia A. Tomson Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Northern Iowa.

The award recognizes individuals whose advocacy of PATCVP’s Mentors in Violence Prevention Strategies program has had a positive impact in their communities and reflects the same commitment to violence prevention demonstrated by the late Perry High School principal Dan Marburger. The program trains student leaders and supportive adults to guide discussions and activities around scenarios that depict interpersonal violence and bullying, with an emphasis on the role of bystanders in prevention.

Hays has served as a school counselor in Fort Dodge since 2013, dedicating her career to student advocacy, mental health support and violence prevention. In 2019, she became an MVP advisor, guiding implementation of the program within her school.

Henriksen has taught art at Fort Dodge Senior High School for three years. For the past two years, she has helped lead the implementation of the MVP program at the school.

Frohwein was an English teacher, speech coach and former MVP advisor at Marshalltown High School for more than five years. She now coordinates MVP implementation at Marshalltown Community College where she also serves as an assistant professor of broadcasting and digital media. She has been part of the MVP STAT team since its inception.

“We want to congratulate these tremendous champions for their work in creating safe school climates for their students,” said Alysa Mozak, PATCVP director. 

Award winners will be recognized at a private event later this spring. “We continue to honor the profound impact Dan Marburger had in his school community and through his support of our MVP program,” said Mozak. “We are grateful to Dan’s family for helping us continue this recognition through an award in his name.”

The Patricia A. Tomson Center for Violence Prevention is the lead training center for MVP in the Midwest and has supported more than 70 secondary schools and 25 colleges and universities in Iowa in this primary prevention program since 2012. First established at the University of Northern Iowa in 2011, the center marks its 15th anniversary in 2026. During that time, it has helped shape the landscape of violence prevention at the state and national level by educating and empowering young people and professionals to prevent bullying, interpersonal violence and other harmful behaviors.