Dan Marburger MVP Advocacy Awards
About the Dan Marburger Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Advocacy Awards
Dan Marburger was the Principal at Perry High School who tragically lost his life from gun violence in January of 2024. Dan was a champion of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Strategies program. He epitomized MVP values through his convictions, words, and also in his actions. We are deeply saddened by his loss and want to honor his tremendous legacy to the MVP program through the creation of an award in his name. The Dan Marburger MVP Advocacy Awards will be given annually starting in fall 2024 to an MVP individual and team in Iowa who exemplify the same unwavering passion for violence prevention as Dan.
Eligibility for Consideration
The award recognizes an MVP team and individual whose advocacy of the Mentors in Violence Prevention program has had a positive effect in their community. Nominees can be current or past MVP advisors, school counselors, teachers, principals, superintendents or school board members, that have advocated or provided opportunities for a school community to effectively implement MVP.
Nomination and Recognition Process
The nominee will be selected by a committee through the Patricia A Tomson Center for Violence Prevention (PATCVP) at University of Northern Iowa. Nominees will receive an immediate notification via email and will be asked to attend a recognition ceremony in the spring semester to be honored and awarded publicly. The nominee will be asked to provide a short bio to be featured in newsletters, annual reports, social media outlets and other marketing publications through PATCVP.
Our 2025-26 Dan Marburger MVP Advocacy Awards recipients have been chosen!
We want to congratulate these tremendous champions for their work in creating safe school climates for their students.
Jolene 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.
Our 2025-26 Dan Marburger MVP Advocacy Awards recipients have been chosen!
We want to congratulate these tremendous champions for their work in creating safe school climates for their students.
Samantha Henriksen has taught art at Ft Dodge Senior High School for 3 years. For the past two years, she has helped lead the implementation of the MVP program at FDSHS.
Our 2025-26 Dan Marburger MVP Advocacy Awards recipients have been chosen!
We want to congratulate these tremendous champions for their work in creating safe school climates for their students.
Jocelyn Frohwein was an English teacher, Speech coach, and previous MVP advisor at Marshalltown High School for over 5 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 a part of MVP STAT team since its inception.