2025 OFR National Forum Encore Event Skills Training: Essential Elements for Facilitation

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in collaboration with the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) team at the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR), invite overdose fatality review (OFR) facilitators  to this no-cost training on March 12, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Eastern Time.  

About the Webinar  

This interactive, introductory session is designed to equip OFR facilitators with four fundamental skills needed to effectively facilitate OFR meetings. This training requires attendees’ full participation in group discussions, group activities, and role playing.  

Space is limited. This session is intended for OFR facilitators only. If you are a facilitator, please register here for a limited spot!  

Meet Your Presenter 

Melissa Heinen is a manager with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR). She works on the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP). She provides day-to-day oversight of staff members and programmatic activities including coordination and provision of support to overdose fatality review (OFR) teams and information sharing/privacy issues, as well as assistance with overseeing the field-initiated suicide fatality review grant, document development, project evaluation, and provision of training and technical assistance to COSSUP grantee sites. Ms. Heinen has expertise in facilitating meetings; data analysis; program design, implementation, and evaluation; strategic planning; grant writing; and training and technical assistance delivery.