Jana’s Campaign

This week, Drs. Curt and Christie Brungardt, faculty members at Fort Hays State University and founders of Jana’s Campaign, will speak at a national conference at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire on the issues of reducing gender-based violence on college campuses. They will be presenting on a panel with other experts who have moved from victimization to activism.

The Brungardts also have been selected to be part of a 90-member coalition of national experts to develop and implement strategies on college campuses across the United States.

“This is such an honor to be asked to participate at this level,” said Christie Brungardt, mother of the late Jana Mackey. “We will use this opportunity to learn and bring back suggestions to benefit FHSU and our regional community.”

Over the next three years, this national action group will formulate recommendations and engage campuses to improve their prevention and response to dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

“Jana’s Campaign and our sponsored event, the Heartland Campus Safety Summit, will help facilitate these action steps with colleges and universities throughout our six-state region,” said Curt Brungardt, Jana’s Campaign president.

Jana’s Campaign is a regional gender violence prevention and education organization located in Hays. Jana’s Campaign was created in honor of Jana Mackey who lost her life to domestic violence in 2008. Mackey, a Hays High School graduate, was a law student at the University of Kansas and had spent years herself volunteering and helping victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in Lawrence.