As part of the Anti-Hazing Coalition, several of the parents speak at college and high school campuses, as well as to organizations, to share their sons’ stories and educate about hazing prevention.
- Through the Love, Mom & Dad program, parents share their very personal stories of how hazing has impacted their families and lives, education about hazing prevention, and a call to action for your community or organization.
- We work with the families below to speak for organizations/campuses.
How to book:
- We ask that you provide potential dates, so we can gauge their availability. We will get back with you on which parents are available to come to your program. Their availability depends on their work and family commitments, as well as other speaking dates.
- To help share this message as widely as possible, costs are minimal. They simply require travel and lodging.
- If your school/organization would like to make a donation to their foundation to honor their work and their son, we can provide that information.
- The AHC will take care of making travel arrangements and will provide an invoice after the program.
Parent Speakers:
Richard and Maille Braham
Marquise Braham was majoring in bio-medical engineering at Penn State Altoona and was secretary of his residence hall association. He joined a fraternity to get further involved. Marquise was hazed and in his second semester and was urged to haze others. Over his spring break in 2014, Richard and Maille Braham lost their son when he took his own life. Since then, Rich has been an advocate against hazing and has spoken at many colleges and universities. Rich is a Managing Editor at ABC News and lives in Queens, New York, with his wife, Maille, and two children, Selene and Sebastian.
Danny and Debbie Debrick
Dalton was the kid that could light up the room with his smile or make someone’s day with one of his big hugs. Dalton loved life and loved being with his family and friends. Dalton said he wanted to make a difference in kids lives. Dalton was killed in a hazing incident just one day before he was to walk into his first college class as a freshman at Texas Tech. Dalton died on bid night after consuming beer and hard liquor during a hazing activity for the new members. Since then, Debbie Debrick has been an advocate against hazing speaking at universities and colleges and very active in getting the new hazing law passed in Texas in 2019. The Debrick’s raise money each year to fund scholarships and contribute to the Irving YMCA Sports and Aquatic programs in Dalton’s memory. Danny and Debbie live in Midlothian, Texas, with their youngest son Devon.
Steve and Rae Ann Gruver
Rae Ann and Stephen Gruver describe their son Max as a “gentle giant.” He was a sports fanatic and wrote for a sports website even before starting as a journalism major at Louisiana State University. Just weeks into his first semester, Max died after being forced to consume 190-proof alcohol in a fraternity hazing activity. The Gruvers have been fighting hazing ever since, including founding the Max Gruver Foundation and working to pass new hazing laws in Louisiana. Rae Ann is a Clemson University graduate and member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and Stephen is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Charlotte. They live in Roswell, Georgia, with their son Alex and daughter Lily Kate. (Max Gruver Foundation)
Carol King
Justin was a kind and happy soul. He was always kind and respectful to parents, teachers, coaches, and his teammates. He was a baseball player, a wrestler, a weightlifter, and an avid Philly sports fan. He was a leader – respectful, dedicated, enthusiastic, and driven. Justin wasn’t perfect, but he was generous and kind, helping his teammates and friends, encouraging and bringing out their best. As he finished high school, he had difficulty deciding whether he should join the military or go to college. He chose Bloomsburg University. He fell in love with the mountains and chose business/supply chain/MIS major. Three weeks after arriving at school, he died on impact after falling from a cliff following a fraternity party. His blood alcohol was 2.2, almost 3x the legal limit. Justin’s death killed his father, who was already suffering from some health issues and became sick and died a few weeks after Justin’s death. The close-knit King family was ripped apart, leaving his mother, Carol and his brother, Drew to pick up the pieces.
Since then, Carol has become an advocate for ending hazing. She has lobbied on a national level for legislation to prevent hazing in all college groups. As a Human Resources Executive who has led Professional and Executive Development programs, she is now dedicated to spreading the word on how devastating hazing can be, with a personal mantra to stop hazing in all college programs. Donations can be made to the Justin King Memorial Baseball Scholarship.
Lianne Kowiak
Lianne Kowiak is a hazing prevention advocate, a founding member of the Anti-Hazing Coalition (AHC), served on the Board of Directors for Hazing Prevention Network and has spoken to thousands of students at universities and organizations across the country. The AHC has met with key decision-makers in Washington, D.C., in their efforts to pass national and state hazing legislation.
Her son, Harrison, lost his life as a result of fraternity hazing during his sophomore year in college at the age of 19. Her mission is to raise awareness and educate students about the dangers of hazing, and to save lives.
She is a recipient of the Hank Nuwer Anti Hazing Award and has appeared on CNN, Inside Edition, Huffington Post Live, and other news media outlets.
Through the Harrison Kowiak Scholarship Fund, the family has distributed over 50 scholarships in their efforts to “pay it forward” and send the awarded scholars to the annual Hazing Prevention Institute.
Lianne and her husband reside in Tampa, FL, and their daughter, Emma, works in the healthcare field in New York City.
Jim and Evelyn Piazza
Tim Piazza dreamed of one day helping children and veterans through development of state-of-the-art prosthetics. His parents, Jim and Evelyn, describe him as a “loving kid” who invested in relationships with his family, friends and girlfriend. Yet in 2017, at 19, Tim passed away after a fraternity hazing ritual where he was forced to drink at least 18 drinks over an hour and a half and suffered injuries after a fall. Since then, Jim and Evelyn have been working to stop hazing. They were instrumental in passing a bill in Tim’s name to strengthen Pennsylvania’s hazing laws, and started the Timothy J. Piazza Memorial Foundation to provide help for children and adults who need prosthesis — doing their part to fulfill Tim’s dream. They live in Readington, New Jersey, and their son Mike graduated Penn State and will be working for a large accounting firm in Philadelphia starting Fall 2019. Jim is a partner in a large professional services firm and graduated from Rider University. Evelyn graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. (The Timothy J. Piazza Memorial Foundation)
Kathleen Wiant
Collin Wiant was best known for his electric, contagious smile. As the middle of five children he loved family more than anything. He was a loyal friend, a competitive athlete, and a dedicated volunteer with The Miracle League of Central Ohio. He attended Ohio University in the fall of 2018 where he double majored in Finance and MIS, and was proud to be named pledge class president of his fraternity. Weeks later, Collin died after enduring extreme hazing. Since then, Collin’s mother, Kathleen Wiant, has become an anti-hazing advocate and provides education on anti-hazing and courage to universities and organizations across the country through her speaking engagements. She lobbies on a national level for anti-hazing legislation and is drafting Ohio’s anti-hazing & anti-bullying law, Collin’s Law, on a state level. Kathleen, and Collin’s father, Wade, with Collin’s siblings, Austin, Olivia, Aidan, and Ava, keep Collin’s spirit alive through the Collin Wiant Foundation with the mission of bringing more Kindness + Courage to the world. (The Collin Wiant Foundation)
Student outcomes have included:
“Recruiting the right people and putting the right people in leadership positions.”
“Respecting every brother, no matter how long they have been a member, and engaging the older brothers to set the example and enact change in the culture.
“Creating positive brotherhood-building activities by bringing in positive alumni activities, increase transparency of brotherhood-building activities, partnering with other fraternities and sororities to create a healthy campus-wide Greek practice.”
“Stop minding my own business and hold our members and members of other organizations accountable for their actions, because the actions of one reflect on everyone.”
“Taking what I have learned home to our brothers, our chapters, our Greek systems, and communities starting today because it starts with ME.”
Learn more about the Anti-Hazing Coalition.
