“We are just finishing up the MVP grant. It has been a great experience. The students really connected with the program, and it has gotten better each semester. Thank you for all you have done to make this program successful. We all learned so much from you.”

Janet Epstein, Syracuse University Violence Prevention Project

Jeffrey O’Brien
National Director, Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Program

Jeff O’Brien is the National Director of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, a partnership between Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University and the University of Central Florida’s National Consortium for Academics and Sports.

Through his work with MVP, O’Brien has provided trainings for thousands of student-athletes at dozens of universities, through the first of its kind conference-wide training relationship with the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He has also worked with dozens of pro sport teams and leagues including: the National Football League; Major League Baseball; the National Basketball Association; and Major League Lacrosse.

He joined the Sport in Society staff in 1998 as Massachusetts Director of the MVP Program, and quickly retooled existing curriculum and managed the development and implementation of comprehensive leadership, education, and awareness initiatives. He was promoted to the position of MVP National Director in September 1999. O’Brien regularly speaks at conferences and with the media about issues involving gender, violence and sport.

In 1991, he was named Director of the Athletes Helping Athletes program at Canisius, coordinating the community outreach efforts of the athletic department and for all campus National Student-Athlete Day activities. In 1995, he became the initial director of Canisius’ AmeriCorps program – Athletes in Service to America (AIS).

He holds a BA in English and MS in Education from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York and is currently pursuing a Ph. D. in Sociology from Northeastern University. O’Brien was a four-year starter at tight-end at Canisius College. He was an All-ECAC and Small College All-America selection following his junior and senior seasons and remains the school record holder for career receptions and touchdowns. Jeff was inducted into the Canisius’ Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

He is married to Jennifer Williams and lives in Orlando, Florida.

Shannon Spriggs
Assistant Director, Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Program

Spriggs joined Sport in Society in 2004, serving as the site coordinator for Athletes in Service to America. Less than a year later she became a manager for Urban Youth Sports (UYS), training and outreach, where she had oversight responsibility for all aspects of UYS training and outreach programming and worked to optimize program effectiveness and develop best practices for program expansion.

Shannon Spriggs is the assistant director for Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP). Her primary responsibility is the effective and efficient operations of the program. She coordinates training and travel, leads marketing and branding strategies, and works on curriculum and training development and evaluation.