| Anisa Ali Health Program Assistant Futures Without Violence Anisa has focused her academic and professional work on international and domestic women’s rights, with a focus on violence prevention. At FUTURES, Anisa provides technical assistance to partnerships between DV agencies and health providers. Anisa earned her MA in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. | |
| Rachel Allen Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Yoga Song Rachel Allen is a Registered Yoga Teacher, a Certified Music Practitioner, and a Reiki Master/Teacher. Rachel is committed to engaging music and the arts as tools for empowerment and self-expression, fostering healthy, joyful communities and presenting programs that connect the participant to the whole person - body, mind and spirit. | |
| Ana Lisa Alvarez Youth Board Member LA VIDA/CHASS Ana Lisa Alvarez is a native of Southwest Detroit and has worked with the LA VIDA Partnership for over four years as a youth board member and prevention educator. She is currently enrolled in college at the University of Michigan, Dearborn and is studying business. | |
| Kelley Amburgey-Richardson PREA Program Coordinator Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Kelley Amburgey-Richardson, JD, PREA Program Coordinator at the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (WCSAP), is responsible for engaging stakeholders and building readiness of sexual assault programs to serve incarcerated survivors of sexual violence in jails, juvenile facilities, and prisons. She previously served as WCSAP’s Advocacy Specialist with a focus on legal advocacy and confidentiality. Kelley has worked in the anti-sexual violence movement for 14 years in various roles, from sexual assault advocate to legal aid attorney. She has been involved in WCSAP's work related to advocacy for incarcerated survivors for over three years and has been on the coalition staff since 2011. | |
| Cordelia Anderson Founder/Director Sensibilities Prevention Services Cordelia Anderson, MA, Founder/Director Sensibilities Prevention Services has been working to promote sexual health and prevent sexual abuse and violence since 1976. She consults and collaborates with a broad range of organizations including: Just Beginnings Collaborative, ATSA Prevention Committee, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and CALCASA/Prevent Connect. | |
| Jane Anderson Attorney Advisor AEquitas AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson (JD) served as an Assistant State Attorney and founding member of the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Human Trafficking Unit/Task Force. She also served as a Chief of Litigation and held several supervisory positions where she oversaw the prosecutions of sexual assault and other felony-level crimes. | |
| Liz Anderson Assistant Professor of Social Work Western Carolina University Liz Anderson, DSW, LCSW is Assistant Professor of Social Work and Women’s Studies Coordinator at Western Carolina University. Liz’s recent work includes research, presentations, and grant writing in sexual assault on college campus and mental health ethics in healthcare. She has worked in healthcare community, both in a clinical capacity as well as in quality improvement and leadership. | |
| Nancy Bagnato RPE Coordinator CA Dept of Public Health Ms. Bagnato currently manages the Rape Prevention and Education Program within the California Department of Public Health, and has worked for over 20 years to prevent violence against women. Her responsibilities include providing public health program and policy development for local, state, and national initiatives on violence prevention issues. | |
| Elizabeth Balcarcel Latino Services Specialist Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault Elizabeth Balcarcel works with the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault as the Latina Services Specialist providing support to Iowa State Programs. She has experiences working with Latino survivors. She also provides awareness workshops like: "Know Your Rights", sexual violence prevention, Spanish Seeking Safety Groups, life skills and legal remedies for immigrant women. | |
| Camila Barrera Prevention and Education Coordinator The Middlesex Partnerships for Youth Camila coordinates YASS programs for The Center for Hope and Healing in Lowell. Her work includes training youth workers, developing social media outreach, providing medical advocacy and counseling to youth survivors, leading a GLBTQ youth group, and facilitating a youth leadership program. She is a graduate of UMass Amherst. | |
| Shelly Barth Adolescent Health Program Manager & Rape Prevention and Education Director Wyoming Department of Health Shelly Barth works as the Wyoming RPE Director and serves on the Steering Committee for the Wyoming Sexual Violence Prevention Council. Shelly and her Wyoming team participated in the Action Planning Meeting for Campus Sexual Assault and she has been active with the Cross-state Initiative from the beginning. | |
| Margaret Bassett Director of Expert Witness Program The University of Texas Austin IDVSA Margaret Bassett, LPC-S, has worked in the field of DV and SA since 1984 as an advocate and counselor. She has provided expert witness testimony in criminal and civil cases. She is the Director of Expert Witness Programs at UT Austin, IDVSA. She teaches a graduate level course on DV. | |
| Amy Battersby Director of Clinical and CAC Services Day One Amy Battersby is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Certified Traumatic Stress Clinician. She runs the Trauma-Informed Clinical program at Day One, RI's only SV Coalition, as well as oversees the states only Children's Advocacy Centers. Amy has a team of 25 clinicians and two yoga teachers who use trauma-informed, expressive and bottom up approaches in all of their work with survivors. Elizabeth Butler is a 500YT certified yoga teacher with years of experience working with vulnerable populations. Liz incorporates creativity and choice into all of her classes. | |
| Claudia Bayliff Project Attorney Legal Momentum Claudia J. Bayliff is an attorney and educator with nearly twenty-eight years of experience working on issues related to sexual assault. She is developing a national curriculum for victim advocates, to help them provide legal advocacy for sexual assault victims. She presents at conferences throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. | |
| Pierre Bearstain Communications and Marketing Manager Casa de Esperanza Pierre R. Berastaín serves as the Communications and Marketing Manager for the National Latin@ Network. Originally from Peru, Pierre immigrated to the United States with his family in 1998 and remained an undocumented immigrant for 14 years. He holds a Bachelor’s in Social Anthropology and a minor in Ethnic Studies/Human Rights from Harvard University as well as a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. Prior to Casa de Esperanza, Pierre worked for Renewal House, a domestic violence shelter in Boston, Mass as the Restorative Justice Advocate, and served as the Director of Media Relations for the Hispanic Black Gay Coalition. He is the Co-Founder of the Massachusetts Restorative Justice Collaborative and served as the Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) Domestic Violence Coalition. Pierre was a 2012-2013 Fellow at the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's National People of Color Media Institute. As a contributor to the Huffington Post, he writes on domestic violence, restorative justice, and general issues of social justice. | |
| Kris Bein Resource Sharing Project Assistant Director Iowas CASA/ RSP Kris Bein is the Assistant Director for the Resource Sharing Project, where she provides training and technical assistance to state coalitions and rural rape crisis centers on sexual assault services, agency structure, and capacity building. Ms. Bein has been a part of the anti-violence movement since 1995. Ms. Bein holds a master’s degree in Human Services, specialization in Social Services Administration, from the University of Illinois. | |
| Judy Benitez Deputy Director, Transitional Housing Program National Network to End Domestic Violence Judy Benitez leads the Transitional Housing Program at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. She has worked in the movement for 26 years, including at a prosecutor-based rape crisis program, 20 years as director of Louisiana’s state sexual assault coalition, and as director of a regional domestic violence program. | |
| Sophia Blaha Primary Prevention Program Coordinator Albion Fellows Bacon Center Sophia Blaha, MSW, LSW, is the Primary Prevention Program Coordinator for a DV/SV advocacy center in Indiana. Prior to this role, she worked as a victim advocate for six years. She coordinates primary prevention efforts for a variety of settings including schools, universities, and youth service organizations and community partners. | |
| Amy Borror Director of Policy & Outreach Office of the Ohio Public Defender Amy Borror is the Director of Policy & Outreach for the Office of the Ohio Public Defender. She oversees OPD’s legislative and media efforts, and is tasked with expanding OPD’s role as a resource for public defenders, private defense counsel, and others in Ohio’s justice system. | |
| Chimi Boyd-Keyes CEO & Founder CBK Enterprises Chimi has directed two university Women’s Centers, including at a historically black university (HBCU). She was the co-Principal Investigator of the only published study on Sexual Assault at HBCUs and has been a consultant for the DOJ's Office on Violence Against Women and the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault. | |
| Abigail Boyer Associate Executive Director of Programs Clery Center for Security On Campus Abigail Boyer, MS is the Associate Executive Director of Programs for the Clery Center for Security On Campus. Abigail presents nationally on topics related to campus safety, the Clery Act, dynamics of sexual and domestic violence, and victims’ services. Ms. Boyer manages a comprehensive array of services and programs for the Center, including Jeanne Clery Act Training, on-line curriculum development, and National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Prior to joining the Clery Center, Ms. Boyer served as the Community Outreach Coordinator for The Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, Inc., where she was instrumental in the development and implementation of prevention education programs targeted towards students, parents, and other community members. She earned a B.A. in Political Science at West Chester University and an M.S. in Organization Development and Leadership with a concentration in Adult Learning and Training at Saint Joseph’s University. | |
| Bonnie Brandl Director National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later LIfe (NCALL) As the Director of the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), Bonnie Brandl, MSW, oversees NCALL’s administrative functions; acts as a liaison for national elder abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault and aging networks; oversees and provides national technical assistance, training, program development, and support regarding abuse in later life. | |
| Erika Brosig Supervisor of Direct Services Victim Services Inc. Erika Brosig is a licensed social worker and a Reiki Master/Teacher. She has worked in the anti-sexual violence movement for 12 years. Erika believes in an integrative approach to healing and has extensive training in the treatment of trauma. She is proud to be the coordinator for Cambria County's SART. | |
| Gail Brown Prevention Services Manager Pittsburgh Action Against Rape Gail Brown is the Manager of Prevention Services at Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. Ms. Brown has worked at PAAR for 12 years doing sexual violence education and prevention programs to a wide variety of audiences including students in 1st-12th grades, college students, parents, community groups. | |
| Skye Brown Program Coordinator Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault Skye works on LGBTQ+ focused violence prevention efforts state wide as the Program Coordinator for the Multicultural Efforts to end Sexual Assault (MESA) program and serves as the Director of Communications for Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc and enjoys writing and performing spoken word poetry. | |
| Debra Bryant Advisor National Alliance to End Sexual Violence Debra Bryant, President of Unified Solutions, advocates for her clients in a dynamic and relentless manner. She has more than thirty years of experience in federal advocacy and coalition building. Debra has represented the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence since 2010, focusing on increasing appropriations for services and prevention. | |
| Jeffrey Bucholtz Director We End Violence Jeffrey S. Bucholtz, co-director of We End Violence, has worked extensively in the fields of sexual violence, masculinity, relationship violence, popular culture, stalking, bullying, working in alliances, collaboration, and the intersectionality of oppression. Jeff is an award winning instructor who teaches courses about popular culture, and violence at San Diego State University and various communication courses at Southwestern College. | |
| Dr. Kurt Bumby Senior Associate Center for Effective Public Policy Dr. Kurt Bumby provides training and technical assistance to policymakers and practitioners nationwide regarding effective responses to the treatment and community management of sex offenders on behalf of the Center for Sex Offender Management. He is a clinician and published author in the areas of sex offender assessment and treatment. | |
| Elizabeth Butler Yoga Instructor Day One Elizabeth Butler is a certified (500yt) yoga teacher with years of experience working with vulnerable and underserved populations. Liz utilizes choice, empowerment and creativity in all of her classes. | |
| Ana Maria Cabezas Counselor SafePlace Ana Maria Cabezas holds a master’s degree in Health Psychology from Texas State University-San Marcos. She is an LPC, certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and a Registered Play Therapist. She has over six years of work experience with survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse at SafePlace. | |
| Sarah Cannady North Carolina Field Coordinator Provide Sarah serves as the North Carolina Field Coordinator with Provide. She brings over 10 years’ experience working in women’s health and rights with a particular emphasis on woman-centered reproductive health care. A proud, native Southerner, Sarah is a passionate advocate for bringing resources to women in areas so often underserved. | |
| Meghan Carton Strategic Initiatives Specialist Meghan Carton is a Strategic Initiatives Specialist with the Illicit Massage Business initiative. In this role her focus is on program implementation, with a focus on trauma-informed care, and performance management. Meghan has nearly seven years of monitoring and evaluation, data visualization and program management in state and federal governments. She holds a BA in International Relations from American University and a Master's in Public Policy from Georgetown University. | |
| Murphie Chappell Title IX Coordinator University of North Carolina, Greensboro Murphie Chappell, J.D., is the Title IX Coordinator for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Murphie is responsible for ensuring compliance with Title IX through University policies and procedures, coordinating the investigation and response of all complaints of gender equity and sex discrimination, and developing University training and education around prohibited conduct under Title IX. Prior to joining UNCG, Murphie was employed as the Staff Attorney at the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA). Murphie was responsible for NCCASA’s legal program, representing victims of sexual assault in a breadth of legal areas including education, immigration, privacy, and safety, and providing training and technical assistance to all members. | |
| Susan Chasson SANE Coordinator Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault Susan Chasson is the SANE Coordinator for the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She has helped hospitals and communities create programs for providing health care and forensic evidence collection to victims of sexual violence for more than 25 years. She is a family nurse practitioner at the Merrill Gappmayer Family Medicine Clinic. | |
| Maia Christopher Executive Director ATSA Maia Christopher is the Executive Director of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). Ms. Christopher started her work providing treatment services and developing treatment protocols for individuals in prisons who have offended sexually and non-sexually. She has worked with Correctional Services of Canada and Washington State Department of Corrections. Ms. Christopher currently holds the position of Executive Director of ATSA. Focusing on preventing sexual abuse through understanding and interrupting the behaviors of people at risk offending ATSA specializes in disseminating research, defining and supporting effective treatment practices and promoting evidence base policies. Ms. Christopher has presented extensively in the areas of practice guidelines of sex offender treatment, collaborating with community stakeholders invested in successful offender reintegration and policy pertaining to sexual offending. | |
| Megan Clarke Director of Statewide Capacity NCCASA Megan Clarke, MPH is the Director of Statewide Capacity at the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She has over 15 years of experience in program planning and implementation, training, and direct service provision, working to end violence and to promote equity and economic justice. | |
| Joyce Cody Executive Director My Sister's Place Joyce Cody is the Executive Director of My Sister’s Place, a non-profit that seeks to end sexual assault and domestic violence by offering victim assistance and community awareness. Joyce has a Bachelors Degree in Social work from Mars Hill University. | |
| Cathy Coleman Underserved Communities, Training and Resource Specialist Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance Cathy has been working for the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance for over 20 years, first as coordinator of the Virginia Family Violence & Sexual Assault Hotline and now as Underserved Communities, Training and Resources Specialist. The majority of her training experience has been on diversity issues and as a specialist in outreach to underserved populations, particularly women of color and faith communities. She also works with “Break the Silence” a special initiative for the African-American community on recognizing and responding to signs of domestic and sexual violence. She is also a member of coalition’s Racial Justice Task Force and the WOCC (Women of Color Caucus). With over 500 hours of domestic and sexual violence training and being a survivor of domestic and sexual violence, she brings a profound understanding of the links between violence, race and economics to the work. Before coming to the Action Alliance, Cathy worked for the Genieve Shelter in Smithfield, Virginia. | |
| Samantha Collier Founder, Confidential Sexual Wellness Advocate TeamTeal365 Samantha Collier ounded and created TeamTeal365 a small grassroots organization devoted to the goal of empowering, educating, advocating and supporting ALL survivors of sexual assault in 2009.I have a personal purpose to serve and be a visible witness to my community with, what a Sexual Abused woman- person looks like- Samantha as abused as a child 6-9 years old and also rape at 27!.. TeamTeal365, became and Liability License Company in 2012. An organization wrapping each survivor in compassion and trust staring with the simple words, “I believe you”.The words she knows firsthand help victims move from surviving to thriving. Samantha is a voice of powerful visible change. This crisis of violence and sexual assault leave victims living in fear, some never get the CHANCE to realize their full potential because the pain weighs out their strength. Our goal is to reach out to as many survivors of SV- also the entire family, their partners and siblings to the victim, moving towards surviving and one day “Thrive”. We have strong allies and support with our partners: Planned Parenthood- University of Milwaukee- The Boys and Girls club- The Healing Center- Women on Fire- Milwaukee Public and private Choice Schools just to name a few. | |
| Laurie Cook Heffron Post-Doctoral Fellow University of Texas at Austin Laurie Cook Heffron, PhD, MSW, is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Texas-Austin. Her research explores violence against women and migration. Laurie also has direct social work practice with a variety of immigrant communities and provides pro bono psychosocial assessments for immigration cases of women seeking asylum in the US. | |
| Beth Corbin Board Member National Organization for Women Beth is a board member of the National Organization for Women. She is a business owner and consultant with extensive experience in grassroots activism and nonprofit management. She was recently the national field organizer for American United for the Separation of Church and State. | |
| Amparo Cruz Prevention Coordinator Pathways for Change Amparo provides supportive services to adolescent and adult survivors of sexual violence. She holds a Master in Business Administration and oversees the prevention education department at Pathways for Change. She works to coordinate prevention, male outreach, YASS, and survivor services into comprehensive supports for youth-serving organizations and youth survivors. | |
| Diane Daiber Pediatric Training Specialist International Association of Forensic Nurses Diane Daiber, Pediatric Training Specialist for IAFN, responsible for development of the National Protocol for Sexual Abuse Medical Forensic Examinations-Pediatric, and onsite IAFN, Pediatric SANE Course instructor. A RN for 34 years, with experience in forensic nursing program development, management and presenter on many topics nationally and internationally. | |
| Kim Day Director SafeTA Project International Association of Forensic Nurses Kim Day, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, is a technical assistance provider at the IAFN. A Registered Nurse for 37 years, certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner certified SANE-A and SANE-P Mrs. Day has worked on national level projects addressing sexual violence, and presented at national, state and local conferences and webinars. Mrs. Day has also spoken nationally and internationally. She has authored several publications. | |
| Sarah DeGue Senior Health Scientist CDC's Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) Sarah DeGue, Ph.D. is a Senior Health Scientist in the Research and Evaluation Branch of CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention (DVP). She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, specializing in forensic evaluation. Dr. DeGue's primary research interests concern perpetrators and victims of interpersonal violence, with an emphasis on sexual violence. Since joining CDC in 2008, her work has been focused on the development and evaluation of strategies to prevent sexual violence perpetration. Her recent collaborative work in this area includes: a systematic review of primary prevention strategies for sexual violence perpetration, a review of alcohol policy approaches to sexual violence prevention, a systematic review of sexual violence risk and protective factors, and development of an economic estimate for the societal costs of sexual violence. She also serves as project lead for CDC’s Dating Matters® Initiative. | |
| Maria del Carmen Cabrera Especialista en Prevención de AS Centro de Ayuda a Victimas de Violación María de el Carmen Cabrera, holds a Masters in Community Social Psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus. She has been the Sexual Assault Prevention Specialist at the Centro de Ayuda a Víctimas de Violación (CAVV) (Help Center for Victims of Violence) since 2008. She is responsible for the coordination of the National Plan on Primary Prevention for sexual violence in Puerto Rico. In addition, she works with the National Sexual Resource Center to coordinate the SAAM campaigns in Puerto Rico for the month of April and coordinates the administration of the curriculum Women and Men Preventing Sexual Violence in PR (MVP-PR) of CAVV. | |
| Dr. Amy Dellinger Page Professor and Chair of Sociology Appalachian State University Dr. Amy Dellinger Page is a Professor and Chair of Sociology at Appalachian State University. Amy holds a MA in Counseling Psychology from Radford University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She regularly teaches courses about gender and interpersonal violence, and has published in the areas of police officers' attitudes toward women and rape, North Carolina sex offender policy, interpersonal violence, and gender variance. She serves as Co-Chair of Appalachian State University's Interpersonal Violence Council and also co-chaired their committees for training and assessment of the campus climate. | |
| Avinder Deol Executive Director Transformative Healing Avinder Deol, LMSW, MA is the Executive Director of Transformative Healing, a statewide organization that serves LGBTQIA survivors of sexual violence in the state of Iowa through mobile advocacy and prevention efforts. She holds Masters Degrees in Social Work and Health Advocacy, with an undergraduate focus on Sociology and Political Science. | |
| James Dill President ITIS, LLC Jim is a Summa Cum Laude Graduate of the Indiana University of PA – and was valedictorian of the Criminology Department. Jim has dedicated his entire law enforcement career to matters dealing with investigative technologies. He is a 30 year veteran of the PA Office of Attorney General (OAG) with 27 of those years served as an agent, supervisor, or director of the unit responsible for investigative technology and technology threats. Jim currently serves as a subject matter expert and instructor for his own company (ITIS, LLC) as well as Alutiiq International and the Northeast Counterdrug Training Center. His “Darker Side of Technology” series has provided valuable insight and understanding on today’s technology to law enforcement, judges, businesses, victim advocate groups, students, educators and community organizations across the country. | |
| Jenny Dills Director of Violence Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jenny Dills, MPH is a Health Scientist in the Division of Violence Prevention at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Her work focuses primarily on campus sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and teen dating violence prevention. Prior to coming to CDC, she worked for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and in the University of Missouri Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center. | |
| Michelle Dixon-Wall Resource Sharing Project TA Provider WCSAP/RSP Michelle Dixon-Wall works with the Resource Sharing Project at the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs as a technical assistance provider to sexual assault coalitions. Prior to this, Michelle worked in dual advocacy programs for 11 years in Washington and California. She is a graduate of the Evergreen State College. | |
| Patrick Donovan Youth Clinical Outreach Coordinator Boston Area Rape Crisis Center Patrick has worked in sexual and intimate partner violence prevention and response for ten years. As the Youth Clinical Outreach Coordinator at BARCC, he works to improve youth access to services by training youth workers to respond to disclosures, co-facilitating a peer leadership program, and building youth-serving capacity at BARCC. | |
| Catherine DuBois Program Manager Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network/National Sexual Assault Hotline Catherine DuBois is the Program Manager of the National Sexual Assault Hotline (NSAH), a bilingual telephone and online hotline that supports survivors of sexual assault. Catherine has conducted research with former child soldiers who experienced sexual abuse, and has served as a training consultant for a local rape crisis center. | |
| Laura Dunn Executive Director SurvJustice SurvJustice Founder and Executive Director Laura Dunn helped pass the 2013 VAWA Reauthorization, advised the White House Task Force to Protect Students Against Sexual Assault, and served on the 2014 VAWA Rulemaking Committee. She is now a published legal scholar and adjunct law professor at the University of Maryland. | |
| Rachel Epperly Program Assistant Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault Rachel Epperly, Program Assistant for the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, joined MECASA in 2014, following work for campus-based anti-violence efforts and the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention program for LGBTQ youth. She supports MECASA’s prevention programming, is active in several community-based social change efforts, and is a baker extraordinaire. | |
| Camilla Eubanks Regional Director Provide Camilla serves as the Region I Director with Provide and has worked for over 12 years with domestic and sexual violence advocates in North Carolina. Prior to launching the Provide Referrals Program in North Carolina, Camilla worked at West Virginia FREE and at the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence. | |
| Julie Evans Director of Crisis & Prevention Pittsburgh Action Against Rape Julie Evans, MSW, Director Crisis & Prevention Services, at Pittsburgh Action Against Rape for 20 years. Recipient of the Jody Pinto Advocacy Award for her work in Pennsylvania and the Shining All-Star Award for Social Outreach in Pittsburgh. She works with wonderful hard working individuals to end sexual violence. | |
| Mighty Fine Deputy Director, Center for Professional Dev. & Public Health Systems and Partnerships American Public Health Association Mighty Fine, MPH, is the Deputy Director of the Center for Professional Development & Public Health Systems and Partnerships at the American Public Health Association. Mr. Fine applies his analytical capabilities to the design, development, and evaluation of public health programs; and provides technical assistance and consultation to key stakeholders on an array of public health issues. | |
| Alexis Flanagan Assistant Director HopeWorks of Howard County, Inc. Alexis Flanagan is an artist-activist, advocate, and organizer who has worked in anti-violence and racial justice movements for 10 years. She is the Assistant Director of HopeWorks of Howard County, in Columbia, Maryland | |
| Wm. Michael Fleming Associate Professor, Director of Research and Evaluation University of Northern Iowa Center for Violence Prevention Dr. Fleming's work has for over a decade focused on understanding the dynamics associated with interpersonal violence; models of prevention and early intervention; education and training of victim advocates; and issues associated with compassion fatigue, secondary victimization and burnout among paid and volunteer domestic and sexual violence advocates. | |
| Kimberley Freire Team Lead, Program Evaluation & Translation Team CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control DVP Kimberley Freire, PhD, MPH, is the Team Lead for the Program Evaluation & Translation Team at CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in the Division of Violence Prevention (DVP). Kimberley also leads a study that examines how practitioners implement and adapt evidence-based violence prevention programs in their local settings and how practitioners’ adaptations influence intervention sustainability and outcomes (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). Prior to coming to CDC, Kimberley worked at the University of North Carolina’s Injury Prevention Research Center and the North Carolina Public Health Institute. She has worked in public health within state and local government, non-profit, and academic institutions for the past 17 years. Her current research and practice interests include translation of evidence-based interventions to practice, evaluating interventions developed in practice settings, working with communities to use data for quality improvement and social change, and organizational learning models to advance public health practice. | |
| Terry L Fromson Managing Attorney Women's Law Project Terry L. Fromson is the Managing Attorney of the Women’s Law Project, a Pennsylvania-based public interest law center with national impact, and a national expert on police response to sexual assault. Currently, Fromson serves as an advisor to the American Law Institute’s project to update the Model Penal Code’s sexual assault provisions. | |
| Meg Garvin Director & Clinical Professor of Law National Crime Victim Law Institute Meg Garvin, M.A., J.D., is the executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute and a clinical professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School. Ms. Garvin is recognized as a leading expert on victims’ rights, having testified before Congress, state legislatures, and the Judicial Proceedings Panel on Sexual Assault in the Military. In 2014, she was appointed to the Victims Advisory Group of the United States Sentencing Commission and during 2013-2014 she served on the Victim Services Subcommittee, of the Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crime Panel of the United States Department of Defense. Ms. Garvin received the John W. Gillis Leadership Award from National Parents of Murdered Children in August 2015. Prior to joining NCVLI, Ms. Garvin practiced law in Minneapolis, Minnesota and clerked for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. | |
| Kate Gasiorowski Rape Prevention and Education Coordinator Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Kate Gasiorowski is the RPE Coordinator at the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She holds a Masters in Public Health and is a proud graduate of Purdue University. She is a board member of the Indiana Public Health Association and has presented at multiple state and national conferences. | |
| Annie Gebhardt Training & Technical Assistance Director Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape Annie Gebhardt is the Training & Technical Assistance Director at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, where she coordinates training resources regarding sexual violence prevention and response. She previously served as Training Specialist at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, coordinating the development of e-learning resources for the field. | |
| Rachel Gettler Attorney in Program Legal Group U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Rachel Gettler, J.D. has been an attorney in the Program Legal Group in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) since 2009. She primarily works on policy issues related to Title IX, including sexual harassment and sexual violence; pregnant and parenting students; and providing opportunities for women and girls in math and science. Prior to joining OCR, she worked on issues related to early childhood education in the Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Rachel earned her J.D. from the University of Southern California in 2006, and graduated from the University of California, San Diego where she studied Political Science. | |
| Patti Giggans Executive Director Peace Over Violence Patricia Giggans (aka Patti) has been the Executive Director of Peace Over Violence since 1985. Giggans has held numerous leadership and advisory positions in the sexual assault and domestic violence arena both statewide and nationally. She has been active in the movement to address violence against women for more than 35 years and is considered a national expert on sexual, domestic violence, teen dating violence and prevention. | |
| Morgan Givens Program Officer Just Detention International Morgan Givens is a Program Officer at JDI's Washington D.C. office. He provides training and assistance to support corrections agencies in their implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act standards. Prior to joining JDI, Morgan was a police officer with the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. He is a committed LGBT advocate and, as a member of a panel based at Appalachian State University, helps lead community discussions to promote and protect the rights of transgender people. | |
| Shannon Goodhue Therapist and Group Facilitator Wendt Center for Loss and Healing Shannon Goodhue is a licensed clinical social worker with over 10 years experience working as a trauma therapist. Currently she serves as a clinician at the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing providing individual and group counseling to adult survivors of sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse. | |
| Maddie Graves-Wilson Lead Advocate Beyond Survival Studied Psychology at The Evergreen State College. Started her career as Event and Outreach Coordinator for StandUP for Kids Olympia a organization serving homeless youth. Transitioned to advocating for drug and alcohol addicted mothers in Grays Harbor County Washington. She now is Lead Advocate for Beyond Survival where she has taken interest in evaluating services for homeless survivors to have a greater impact on the Micro and Macro levels. She is currently obtaining her MSW from Eastern Washington University. | |
| Donna Greco Title IX Coordinator Dickinson College Donna Greco has devoted her career to social justice and large-scale policy and systems change work. She has worked in sexual violence prevention and response for over 15 years at local, state, and national levels. Her work at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and National Sexual Violence Resource Center focused largely on issues of poverty, campus sexual violence, prevention, and advocacy. She currently serves as the Title IX Coordinator at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There, she brings the values of the anti-sexual violence movement into her everyday prevention and response practices. Donna has a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut and has been a social work adjunct faculty member at Shippensburg University for four years. | |
| Leah Green Rural Technical Assistance Specialist Resource Sharing Project Leah has been part of the anti-violence movement since 2010 and has worked for several centers across Iowa.Leah is part of the Resource Sharing Project where she provides training and technical assistance to state coalitions and rural dual-service programs across the country. | |
| Trey Greene Co-Founder Transcend Charlotte Trey Greene is an MSW student working with the Center for Wellness Promotion at UNC Charlotte with a special interest in promotion of trans awareness especially as it relates to trauma prevention and recovery. He identifies openly as a transgender man and is founder of Transcend Charlotte, an organization which serves transgender adults in the Charlotte area. He plans to seek licensure to practice therapy as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) following the end of his graduate program in May. | |
| Verna Griffen-Taylor Executive Director Center for Community Solutions Verna Griffin-Tabor has worked in the field of sexual assault and relationship violence for more than 30 years. Since 1998, she has been CEO of Center for Community Solutions, which is an innovative 48-year-old private, non-profit social services agency serving victims of sexual assault, human trafficking, domestic violence and elder abuse in San Diego County. | |
| Michele Hamilton Board Member National Organization for Women NOW Michele Hamilton is on the National NOW Board representing the Mid Atlantic States. She is also Vice President of Pennsylvania NOW. She works at a shelter for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and coordinates their Domestic Violence support group. She is also active a multiple civic and social justice organizations. | |
| Katie Hanna Executive Director Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence Katie Hanna is the Executive Director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence and is a board member of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. | |
| Michael Heidingsfield Director of the Office of Police The University of Texas System Office of the Director of Police Michael Heidingsfield is the Director of Police for the University of Texas System. Director Heidingsfield is responsible for the leadership and operation of the University of Texas System Police, its 14 police departments, and the University of Texas System Police Academy. During his 43 year law enforcement career, Director Heidingsfield served as Senior Assistant Sergeant at Arms for Police Operations and Homeland Security for the United States Senate, in addition to executive police positions in Tennessee, Arizona, and Texas. He is a retired Air Force colonel and has served in various military positions in recent years. He is a published author and speaker in the fields of criminal justice policy, policing, leadership and ethics. | |
| Alan Heisterkamp Director, Center for Violence Prevention University of Northern Iowa Alan Heisterkamp, Ed.D., is director of the Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. He oversees campus bystander education training and implementation, curriculum infusion of prevention strategies within pre-service teacher education programming, and gender violence prevention education to Iowa’s PreK-12 school districts and colleges. | |
| Barbara Hernon Staff Attorney Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) Barbara Hernon, Esq. is a staff attorney with the Victim Rights Law Center's (VRLC) Boston office. Barbara has been involved with the VRLC since January 2013, first as a full-time law clerk and later as a volunteer attorney. Barbara provides direct representation to victims throughout Massachusetts, with a focus on education, safety, and privacy. Barbara also works on developing practical and effective guidance materials for colleges and universities. Barbara is a graduate of University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of New Hampshire School of Law. | |
| Amy Hill Silence Speaks Director StoryCenter Amy Hill’s twelve-year history in women’s health and violence prevention program development led her in 1999 to found Silence Speaks, which teaches survivors and witnesses of violence how to create short digital stories of courage and healing and shares these stories in training, community organizing, and policy advocacy contexts. | |
| Destie Hohman Sprague Associate Director Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault Destie Hohman Sprague, Associate Director for the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, has focused her career on social justice capacity building. At the Coalition, she oversees MECASA’s programming, including sexual violence training and technical assistance; MECASA’s anti-trafficking efforts; and the Maine Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers. | |
| Dr. Suzanne Holroyd Prevention Team Lead Dept of Defense (SAPRO) Dr. Suzanne Holroyd is the Senior Prevention Advisor for the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. This office is responsible for the oversight and policy development of DoD programs on sexual assault prevention and response designed to implement the Department’s comprehensive sexual assault prevention strategy. Dr. Holroyd oversees a wide variety of prevention-related initiatives designed to educate internal and external audiences on DoD prevention policy and programs. In addition, she identifies promising practices from sexual assault programs as well as other issue areas which can be adopted and adapted for DoD use. She chairs a Department-wide collaborative forum with the Services to foster information sharing. She coordinates with federal civilian organization to establish collaborations for leveraging existing sexual assault prevention practices. | |
| Vivian Huelgo Chief Counsel ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence Vivian has worked for twenty years to improve response to gender based violence. She is Chief Counsel to the American Bar Association Task Force on Human Trafficking and Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence. | |
| Zachary Hunsinger Assistant Director Veterans Program Health & Disability Advocates Zach Hunsinger LSW, Esq., Assistant Director of Veterans Programs, joined Health & Disability Advocates in 2010. He received his Juris Doctor and Master of Social Work degrees from Loyola University Chicago. Zach helped write HDA's Veterans programs’ training component for behavioral health practitioners, specifically the curriculum about military sexual assault which discusses first disclosures, treatment modalities, and trauma informed practices. | |
| Amanda Immel Training Specialist National Sexual Violence Resource Center Amanda Immel, Training Specialist for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, specializes in resource and training creation, development, and coordination. She was previously employed with Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape where she designed resources and coordinated training. Her passion is creating online interactive resources, social media, and unique resource development. | |
| Brenda Ingram Director of Clinical Services Peace Over Violence Dr. Ingram is a licensed clinical social worker who has over 25 years of working in the mental health and education fields specializing in trauma and cultural competence. She is the Director of Clinical Services for Peace Over Violence, a non-profit that provides prevention and intervention for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and the Clinical Consultant/Coordinator for the YWCA Sexual Assault Crisis Services Program. She is a lecturer with UCLA Social Welfare Department. She has been a consultant and trainer for various social service, mental health, and public health organizations on traumatic stress. | |
| Neil Irvin Executive Director Men Can Stop Rape Neil Irvin is a highly committed and collaborative professional with over 25 years of youth development and leadership experience. Neil is the Executive Director of Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR), which seeks to mobilize men to use their strength for creating cultures free from violence, especially men’s violence against women. He is responsible for leading the organization’s national work, as well as cultivating strategic partnerships with state and federal agencies and private and corporate foundations; and overseeing all programs, which include the award-winning youth development program, training and technical assistance for youth-serving professionals, and Strength Media public awareness campaign | |
| Mahri Irvine Statewide Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Specialist Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Dr. Irvine is an anthropologist who studies sexual violence and gender inequality in the United States. Her research examines how rape culture impacts the lives of incarcerated women. She conducts applied research for Indiana University, and teaches classes for American University. She has also served as a victim advocate. | |
| Ivetta Izea-Martinez Community Engagement Manager Casa de Esperanza Ivette Izea-Martinez oversees the development, implementation, and enhancement of Casa de Esperanza's ur community-based Fuerza Unida Amig@s initiative which provides opportunities for Latin@ youth, Latin@ adults, and allies to enhance their leadership skills, learn about domestic violence, and develop and lead community action projects. | |
| Maria Jirau-Torres Language Access Coordinator National Sexual Violence Resource Center Maria Jirau-Torres is the Language Access Coordinator for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), having worked in the Domestic and Sexual Violence arena for almost 7 years. In those 7 years, she has advocated with and for victims of trafficking, Spanish speaking only survivors and assisted clients in the process of T Visa’s and U Visas. She worked as the child advocate, counselor, prevention educator, medical and legal advocate for the Spanish speaking and Latin@ community. In her current role as Language Access Coordinator, Maria facilitates culturally-informed and linguistically-accessible efforts, nurtures partnerships across languages and cultures, develop and provide trainings at local, state and national levels, provide culturally-specific and linguistically accessible technical assistance. | |
| Keith Jones IMPACT: Ability Consultant IMPACT Boston & Triangle Keith Jones is an African American disability activist and entrepreneur focused on issues such as housing, employment, and sexual violence prevention. He has been recognized for leadership by the President’s Commission for Employment for People with Disabilities. He is the Disability Law Center’s 2011 Individual Leadership Award recipient. | |
| Robert Kandra Adjunct Professor Criminal Justice Mars Hill University Robert “Bob” Kandra is an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Mars Hill University. He served as a Senior Intelligence officer with the CIA and as part of Senior Executive Leadership Team for the FBI. Mr. Kandra provided executive oversight and direction of all FBI programs for Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, and the FBI's Directorate of Intelligence. Additionally, he served as the CIA and Special Intelligence advisor to the Director FBI, Robert S. Mueller and United States Attorney General, Eric Holder. He currently holds a seat on the U.S. Council of Foreign Relations. | |
| Rochelle Keyhan Director of Strategic Initiatives Rochelle Keyhan is the Director of Strategic Initiatives focused on Ending Trafficking in Illicit Massage Businesses. Before joining Polaris, Rochelle spent six years as a prosecutor of gender-based violence crimes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she is bar certified to practice law. As an Assistant District Attorney Rochelle championed the need for increased investigation and prosecution of human trafficking in Philadelphia. Her work facilitated the collaboration between key local and federal stakeholders, and led to her successful investigation and prosecution of the first two human trafficking trials in the city and county of Philadelphia. Her approach to prosecution involves a perpetrator-focused process that centers the victims, limiting added trauma while maximizing survivor empowerment. | |
| Madisyn Kirby Student Voices of Courage Madisyn S. Kirby is currently a junior at the University of Wyoming studying Elementary Education. She is a sexual assault survivor and founding member of Voices of Courage. She focuses on the prevention and recovery of sexual assault cases on the University campus. | |
| Alison Kiss Executive Director Clery Center Alison Kiss, MS is the Executive Director at the Clery Center. (March 2011) and previously served as Director of Programs at Security On Campus (September 2005- September 2009). She has provided services as an expert witness in campus sexual assault civil cases and is affiliated with many professional organizations, including: Rapid Response Expert Network, Violence Against Women Online Resources (VAWNET), Expanded Partners Group, "Vision 21: Transforming Victims Services", Department of Justice: OVC-sponsored project. Most recently. Alison served as part of the negotiated rulemaking committee for the VAWA amendments to the Clery Act. Prior to her work at the Clery Center, Ms. Kiss worked as a police liaison and in education, health education and counseling. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Spanish from The Catholic University of America and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Saint Joseph's University. She has contributed book chapters to “Campus Crime: 3rd Edition” and “Victims of Sexual Assault and Abuse.” She is currently writing her dissertation on the role of transformational leadership in sexual assault prevention and compliance with the Clery Act and expects to graduate with a doctoral degree in higher education policy in June 2015 from Northeastern University. | |
| Ashleigh Klein Training & Technical Assistance Coordinator California Coalition Against Sexual Assault Ashleigh Klein, MPA, is a Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator at the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault/PreventConnect. Ashleigh previously worked for the Sexual Assault Crisis Agency and the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles. While with both agencies she had the opportunity to work collaboratively with community and state colleges on implementing sexual violence prevention programs. | |
| Rachel Knaff Student Voices of Courage, University of Wyoming Rachel Knaff is currently an undergraduate studying Social work at the University of Wyoming. She is a member of Voices of Courage, a group on campus promoting awareness of sexual assault. | |
| Viktoria Kristiansson Attorney Advisor AEquitas AEquitas Attorney Advisor Viktoria Kristiansson (JD) served as a Deputy and Special Assistant Attorney General in New Jersey and an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia. She is a member of the NJ Governor's Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence and the NJ Coalition Against Sexual Assault Law Enforcement Advisory Board. | |
| Tomei Kuehl Unit Supervisor Violence and Injury Prevention - Mental Health Promotion Branch Tomei manages the Sexual Violence Prevention Program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Tomei has worked in the domestic violence/sexual violence field for over six years. Her passion is focused on shared risk and protective factors to leverage funding and resources. | |
| Sally J Laskey Outreach Director National Sexual Violence Resource Center Sally J. Laskey joined the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in 2001 and currently serves as the Outreach Director. For over 20 years, Ms. Laskey has worked for social change at local, state and national levels. She has experience as an advocate, prevention educator, trainer, researcher, and as the Direct Services Coordinator for the Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Program at the University of New Hampshire. Ms. Laskey received her master's in Community Psychology and Social Change from Pennsylvania State University. Ms. Laskey manages NSVRC social media and online activities, including the development of mobile applications. | |
| Mary Lauby Communications/Proposal Development Prevention Innovations Research Center Mary Lauby served in various SV/DV leadership roles for 35+ years. Currently promoting PIRC’s key research and TA programs, she coordinated development of PIRC’s Campus Consortium. She was a coalition director, state funder, served on the National Advisory Committee on VAW and on various local, state and national S/DV boards. | |
| David S Lee Director of Prevention Services California Coalition Against Sexual Assault David S. Lee, MPH, is the Director of Prevention Services at the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault. David manages PreventConnect, the nation’s leading online community to advance primary prevention of violence against women. Mr. Lee has been involved in the movement to end sexual assault and domestic violence since 1982. In 2015 David was selected by the NoVo Foundation as a “Movement Maker” for its Move to End Violence initiative. | |
| Mary E Lentschke Assistant Chief of Police Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Mary Lentschke is a 32-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, Houston, Texas. She began her career in 1983 as a police officer and promoted through the ranks, achieving the position of Captain in 2004. In 2013, she was promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief and currently oversees the East Patrol Command which is responsible for patrol operations for the east side of the city. Currently, Assistant Chief Lentschke is a member of the multi-disciplinary group that was assembled in response to the Houston Police Department receiving one of two national NIJ action-research grants to assess and evaluate the accumulation of untested sexual assault kits. She is a member of PERF, IACP and the NIJ SAFER Working Group Committee that was assembled to develop national best practices and protocols on the collection and processing of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases. Assistant Chief Lentschke attended Sam Houston State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement and Police Science in 1983 and her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration in 2000. She also attended the FBI National Academy, graduating in December 2000. | |
| Carmen Levasseur Director of Social Work Services Stone Belt, Inc. Carmen earned her bachelor degree in Sociology from Queens College in New York City. She went on to earn a Master in Social Work degree from New York University in 2007. She worked with adults with mental illness and other co-occurring disorders, utilizing group and individual therapy. Carmen used Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavior Therapy in her work with clients. She understands the importance of the therapeutic relationship as an instrument for change. Carmen joined the Milestone's team in July 2014 and is responsible for supervising the social work department, with a focus on Stone Belt group homes. | |
| Amanda Lindamood Director of Training & TA DC Rape Crisis Center In the role of Director of Training & TA, Amanda equips advocates to provide crisis support on a 24 hour hotline while providing oversight and ongoing training. She supports community members in building literacy and gaining tools that enable survivor centered crisis support and self monitoring. | |
| Candice Marie Lopez Director, National Sexual Assault Hotline Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) Candice Lopez has been a professional advocate in the field of sexual and intimate partner violence prevention and intervention since 2000. Candice worked as a victim advocate locally with adults and children impacted by trauma and nationally as a campus organizer. Candice also worked as a consultant, creating trainings for legal professionals on sexual assault and intimate partner violence response. Currently, Candice is the director of the National Sexual Assault Hotline at RAINN. Candice provides support to 1,000+ sexual assault service providers. She also manages RAINN's hotline services, which have recently grown; increased staffing and new online services in Spanish. | |
| Kira Luna Prevention Education Specialist Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico Kira Luna works with middle and high school youth as the Prevention Education Specialist at the Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico. She enjoys engaging youth in activities and honest conversations around gender, healthy relationships, consent, and taking a stand against sexual violence. | |
| Charity Mackey Counselor NOVA (Networ of Victim Assistance) Charity Mackey is a Licensed Professional Counselor at NOVA, the Network of Victim Assistance in Bucks County. She has counseled victims of crime at NOVA for 8 years, and has presented nationally on topics pertaining to counseling and trauma. | |
| Nicole Madonna-Rosario Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator Center for Wellness Promotion Nicole Madonna-Rosario, LCSW is has been at UNC Charlotte as the Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator since April 2014. Nicole has been spearheading the awareness and education on UNC Charlotte’s campus surrounding relationship violence, stalking and sexual assault. Nicole also provides individual survivors with confidential consultations about reporting options, education about consent, sexual assault and relationship violence and stalking. She is originally from New York and has been working with trauma survivors as a therapist for over 10 years. Prior to coming to Charlotte she was working in the Bronx, NY at Lehman College as a psychotherapist as well as leading the college's efforts surrounding awareness education. | |
| Desiree Magsombol Senior Program Officer Just Detention International Desiree Magsombol, JD, is a Senior Program Officer with JDI's survivor outreach team. A certified domestic violence and rape crisis counselor and Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Auditor, Desiree provides support, information, and referrals to survivors of sexual abuse and their loved ones, corrections officials, and advocates. She also assists corrections facilities in implementing the PREA standards, providing support with staff training, policy review, and collaboration with community service providers. Before joining JDI, she worked as a community advocate for LGBT survivors of domestic violence and as a residential counselor at a youth detention facility in Massachusetts. | |
| Venus Malave Online Resource Specialist National Sexual Violence Resource Center Venus Malave is the Online Resource Specialist at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. She has been with the coalition for over 8 years assisting the Technical Assistance Department in PCAR. With over 12 years of Administrative skills and an Associates Degree in Information Technology, her skills and eagerness to learn has assisted the TA Team with the organizations new software systems, registration and social networking collaboration in helping move organization forward towards New Age Technology and the empowerment of Racial Justice within the Sexual Violence movement. | |
| Sandra Malone Coordinator of Prevention Education Day One of Rhode Island Sandra Malone, M.A., is the Coordinator of Prevention Education at Day One of Rhode Island. Day One is the sole agency in Rhode Island to receive Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. | |
| Beckie Masaki Co-Director Asian Pacific Instituted on Gende-Based Violence Beckie Masaki, MSW, is the Associate Director of the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, a national resource center on gender violence in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Beckie has worked in the movement to end violence against women for thirty years. | |
| Laura Masgalas Program Manager for Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Services YWCA of Carlisle Laura Masgalas has been with YWCA Carlisle for seven years. She’s currently the Program Manager for Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Services of Cumberland County. Laura has a Master’s degree in social work from Shippensburg University and is a Licensed Social Worker in Pennsylvania. She has a passion for social justice issues and is committed to anti-violence work in the community. Her other passions include spending time with her family, cooking, reading, and occasionally finding time for a good Netflix series. | |
| Emily McCarthy Deputy Chief Educational Opportunities Section, Civil Rights Division of DOJ Emily McCarthy, J.D. is a Deputy Chief in the Educational Opportunities Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). During her 15 years in the Section, she has handled an array of cases involving discrimination against students based on sex, race, national origin, disability, and religion. Her work to combat sex discrimination has addressed sexual harassment and assault, gender stereotyping, athletics, and STEM and includes teaching a course entitled Women and the Law at Georgetown. Prior to coming to the Civil Rights Division, she was a trial attorney in DOJ’s Civil Division where she handled constitutional and other civil litigation. Prior to DOJ, she clerked for then Chief Judge Norma Holloway Johnson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Brown University | |
| Kate McCord Communications Director Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance Kate McCord has been working on building and promoting racial justice since being introduced to the realities of white privilege and racial oppression 17 years ago through coalition work. Her activism has been channeled into a variety of racial justice initiatives, including establishing an affordable housing campaign in her hometown, participating in a statewide anti-racial profiling campaign, developing racial justice learning resources as part of the coalition’s Racial Justice Task Force, parenting some awesome kids to grow into active anti-racists, and most recently developing and delivering workshops for victim advocates who wish to incorporate racial justice into their trauma-informed advocacy. In 2007, Kate was honored with the Social Change Award for proactive leadership in promoting anti-racism work by the Women of Color Caucus of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic violence Action Alliance. In her current role as Communications Director at Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance, Kate coordinates the national Red Flag Campaign, develops statewide primary prevention initiatives, leads the graphic design for the coalition, serves as liaison with press and media, and promotes community education about sexual and intimate partner violence through a racial justice lens. | |
| Linda McFarlane Deputy Executive Director Just Detention International Linda McFarlane, JDI's Deputy Executive Director, has over 25 years of experience working with survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence. She has trained thousands of corrections officials, medical and mental health practitioners, and service providers in the prevention and response to sexual violence behind bars and worked with dozens of corrections agencies to implement programs to make facilities safer. Ms. McFarlane was formerly a staff member, unit supervisor, and then therapist in a juvenile detention facility for girls with mental illness. Ms. McFarlane has also worked in community rape crisis programs, foster care, and with adults with mental illness. | |
| Sara McGirr Graduate Assistant Michigan Public Health Institute Sara McGirr is a Ph.D. candidate in Community Psychology at Michigan State University. As a Graduate Assistant with the Michigan Public Health Institute her work focuses on sexual violence prevention and increasing health and wellness of pregnant and parenting adolescence. | |
| Robert McGrath President McGrath Psychological Services Robert J. McGrath is President of McGrath Psychological Services, an international consulting practice. For over 30 years, Bob has specialized in preventing sexual abuse through his work assessing, treating, and conducting research on individuals who have committed sexual offenses. He provides training, consulting, program development, program evaluation, and research services | |
| Enid Melendez Training Projects Coordinator Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape Enid Melendez is the Training Projects Coordinator at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape.he assists in coordinating programs to combat assault and human trafficking as well as law enforcement trainings on sexual assault and culturally specific trainings to Latin American advocates. She also trains staff on STOP Grant requirements on the forensic exam and polygraph, and Sexual Assault Courses. Ms. Melendez previously was employed at Mindteck, Inc., where her duties included assisting applicants in the H-1 and Visa process for immigration and is also an eight year veteran of the U.S. Military. | |
| Christy Melo Caisse Educational Programs Coordinator Katie Brown Educational Program Christy Caisse is an experienced educator and public speaker. She is an expert in the fields of Dating and Sexual Violence Prevention. She holds a degree in English and Education from University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. She is the Educational Coordinator at the evidence-based relationship violence prevention organization Katie Brown Educational Program. | |
| Dakota Metzger Student Voices of Courage Dakota C. Metzger is currently an undergraduate studying History at the University of Wyoming. She is a founding member of Voices of Courage, a group on campus promoting awareness of sexual assault. | |
| Kelly Miller Executive Director Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence Kelly Miller works to cultivate healthy relationships and compassionate communities as a way to end violence against women and girls, men and boys. She has been privileged to work alongside social change agents in the domestic and sexual violence field for more than 30 years. | |
| Nadiah Mohajir Co-founder & Executive Director HEART Women & Girls Nadiah Mohajir is the co-founder and Executive Director for HEART Women & Girls, a nationally recognized nonprofit that works to promote sexual health education and sexual violence awareness in faith-based communities. In just five years, she has led the organization to provide health education programming to over 2000 Muslim women and girls in the Chicagoland area as well as several communities across the nation, breaking many cultural barriers and raising awareness about important issues such as sexual and reproductive health, sexual violence, and media literacy. | |
| Rosa Molina Program Assistant Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault | |
| Dr. Tyffani Monford Dent Clinical Director/Psychologist Abraxas Community Counseling Center-Cleveland Dr. Dent is a licensed psychologist and has over 15 years of experience in the field of sexual abuse violence serving both juvenile sexual offenders as well as sexual abuse survivors. Dr. Dent serves on the boards of local, state, and national organizations/committees addressing sexual violence intervention and prevention. | |
| Javier O Morales-Nazario Holds a Masters Degree in Public Health specializing in Mother and Child of the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Puerto Rico, where he was certified as Breastfeeding Educator. In addition he has served as a theater professor, cultural manager and community leader. He is a proud parent of three and over the past years has developed outreach initiatives, comprehensive services and popular education aimed at defending human rights especially those of women, girls and children. He is the creator of the inne-CESAREA.org campaign and since October 2013 directs the "Se Pare" Program at the Municipality of Vega Baja, a program that serves Pregnant and Post-Partum Women and their families. He has been invited to participate in local and international conferences where he presented his research on various topics and lectured. These include: Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica and the United States. His work is aimed at developing communities with greater equality and social, sexual and reproductive justice. | |
| Carol Mosely Director We End Violence Carol Mosely served as Director of the Rape Prevention Education Program at the UC Santa Barbara, from 1995 – 2008. In 2010 Carol retuned to work for the University of California as the Project Director for the final year of a grant to the UC system from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. Currently Carol is co-director of her social business, We End Violence. | |
| Mandy K Mount Director, CARE University of California Irvine In this role, Dr. Mount oversees advocacy and holistic healing programs, prevention education programming, engages in research and policy development, serves on the campus response team for sexual misconduct, conducts individual and group psychotherapy, and teaches academic courses. She provides training and consultation for law enforcement, student conduct hearing boards, mental health providers, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grantees, community organizations and campus groups. Dr. Mount also directs a Department of Justice OVW grant to reduce sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking, and she chaired the Victim Services Subcommittee for the UC Systemwide grant, developing a comprehensive legal and policy resource directory for use by the University of California system. Dr. Mount chairs the UC Irvine Women's Empowerment Initiative and has co-coordinated Girls Conference Orange County since 2012. | |
| michael munson Executive Director FORGE michael munson is the Executive Director of FORGE, a national training and technical assistance. Munson's educational background is in psychology, with an emphasis on trauma-informed care and non-traditional healing modalities. His work on violence against transgender and gender non-conforming individuals stresses the intersectionality between complex components of identity, experience, and societal constructs that can both spur violence, as well as catalyze healing. | |
| Quillin Musgrave Programs and Services Manager Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance Quillin got their start in more non-conventional community organizing work with groups like Anti-Racist Action and Food Not Bombs and built the foundation of their liberation politics on feminism and anti-oppression work through the lens of punk rock music and riot grrrl roots. Quillin served as a collective member of the Richmond Queer Space Project, a local queer organizing collective. Quillin has worked in restaurants most of their life, including one Quillin operates with their partner in Richmond serving homemade vegetarian food. Quillin is currently the Programs and Services Manager at the Action Alliance and participates in the coalition's Racial Justice Task Force and helps provide training and resources to the field on incorporating racial justice as a key component of work to end violence. | |
| Kimber J Nicoletti MESA Director Purdue University Kimber J. Nicoletti, MSW, Director and Founder of Multicultural Efforts to end Sexual Assault housed at Purdue University, has been an advocate for Farm Worker and Immigrant communities for over 20 years. Kimber created Mujeres del Movimiento, a national resource and support group for Latina women working in violence prevention. Kimber has worked with various organizations to address vicarious and organizational trauma. | |
| Nwando Ofokansi College Programs Coordinator Katie Brown Educational Program Nwando Ofokansi graduated from Boston College with a degree in Sociology, Philosophy, and African & African Diaspora Studies. She is the College Programs Coordinator at the Katie Brown Educational Program, a relationship violence prevention program. She uses intersectionality and critical-race feminism to unravel the impact of culture, identity, and oppression on health outcomes. | |
| Lindsay M Orchowski Assistant Professor Alpert Medical School of Brown University Lindsay Orchowski, Ph.D. is a Staff Psychologist at Rhode Island Hospital and an Assistant Professor (Research) at Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her research focuses on the development and evaluation of sexual assault prevention programming. | |
| Kelly Parsley Professor Carroll College Parsley chairs Carroll College’s Health Sciences Department, and she has been a victim advocate for 19 years. She earned the National Outstanding Prevention Professional of the Year award (2011) and the Visionary Voice Award (2015). This spring she served on the White House Think Tank to end sexual violence. | |
| Eli Pascal Assistant Director University of California Irvine As the Assistant Director of the CARE Office, Eli brings with her more than 15 years of experience in the fields of advocacy, student affairs, organizational consulting, development, and nonprofit administration. She received both her B.A. and Master of Social Work degrees at Marywood University in Scranton, PA – a place where the community ignited and fueled her passions for engagement and organizing for change. Her current focus is on driving the sustainable growth of the CARE Office’s Holistic Healing programs while concurrently supporting its current programs and services. | |
| Deborah Pearlman Associate Professor Brown University Deborah Pearlman, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Brown University. She has partnered with Day One to evaluate and refine the Your Voice Your View Program. | |
| Cristina Perez Directora de acercamiento comunitario Women Organized Against Rape Cristina Perez (Clinical Psychologist) has worked for the past 18 years in a rape crisis center in Philadelphia with the Latino community, and has designed a community center called 'La Casa De Los Soles' (House of Suns) from the perspective of community resilience, for addressing social problems to be solved in Latino communities with multicultural and transgenerational with multicultural and transgenerational perspective, for victims of sexual violence. She also works on masculinity and the sexual assault of Latino men and the prevention of family violence. She has developed specific programs for mental health professionals, is lecturer on various topics related to patriarchy, feminism community the impact of the love and romance in the lives and the mental health of the women. | |
| Leah Perkinson Research Fellow CDC Foundation Leah Perkinson, MPH, is a Research Fellow with the CDC Foundation. She serves as part of a research team examining adaptations of evidence-based interventions in violence prevention. She is interested in exploring how practitioners, TA providers, developers and project managers approach, define and engage in adaptation and how this relates to successful dissemination and implementation. Leah earned her MPH from the University of North Carolina. | |
| Tara Peterson-Shabazz Program Director Just Detention International Tara Peterson-Shabazz, MA, is a National Program Director at JDI. She leads JDI's national training and technical assistance program and provides training and technical assistance to corrections officials and advocates across the country, ensuring that incarcerated survivors have access to crisis services. Tara has more than 15 years of experience addressing domestic violence, youth violence, sexual assault, and reproductive rights. She spent a decade working at the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, including five years as its Executive Director. While there, she led statewide policy, legislative, and budget advocacy efforts and represent the organization at the state and national level. Throughout her career, Tara has paid special attention to preventing violence against African American women and to protecting the wellbeing of underserved communities. | |
| Maya Pilgrim Primary Prevention Specialist Texas Association Against Sexual Assault Maya Pilgrim is a Primary Prevention Specialist at the TAASA. She has worked towards safer and healthier communities within the United States and abroad through the connected issues of youth development and violence prevention, reproductive health and justice, and migration. She has a BA in Psychology and a Master's in International Development and Social Change. | |
| Andrea Piper-Wentland Executive Director Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Andrea Piper-Wentland, MS, is the Executive Director of the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs where she oversees WCSAP financial operations and coalition functions. She has an extensive background in non-profit management, sexual assault advocacy, and victim service provision. Throughout her 15 year career in sexual assault work she has held positions of leadership and focused her efforts on enhancing individual and system responses to victims and survivors. Ms. Piper‐Wentland actively works on development of effective public policy and legislation related to sexual assault victimization, supervision and management of sex offenders, and community responses to sexual violence. She chairs the Washington State Sex Offender Policy Board and Victim Service Community Criminal Justice Roundtable. Ms. Piper-Wentland is also a National Technical Assistance Provider to state non-profit sexual assault coalitions helping them to enhance capacity building, systems relations, board functioning, and sustainability. | |
| James Pittenger Consultant SVJI Consultant Jim Pittenger, Captain (Retired), Rochester Police Department, Rochester, MN Jim was a Division Commander at the Rochester, Minnesota, Police Department and a 32-year member of the Department. He spent a significant amount of his time in law enforcement in investigations as an investigator, Unit Commander of the Person Crimes and School Liaison Units and as Division Commander. Jim attended the Administrative Officer’s Course at the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville and is a graduate of Concordia University - St. Paul. He has contracted with the Sexual Violence Justice Institute as a trainer and consultant since 2001. Jim was a founding member of the Olmsted County Sexual Assault Interagency Council. He served as an SAIC member for ten years, including eight years as co-chair. | |
| Peter Pollard Communications Director 1in6, Inc. Peter Pollard is Communications Director for 1in6, Inc., a national non-profit supporting men who had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood. He previously worked for 15 years as a state, child-protection social worker and was Public Education director at Stop It Now! Since 2003 he's been the Western Mass. coordinator for SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and also works for an Intimate Partner Violence Education Program. | |
| Terri Poore Policy Director National Alliance to End Sexual Violence Terri Poore, MSW, is the Policy Director of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. She has 20 years of experience working to end sexual violence and support survivors working previously with the Resource Sharing Project, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, a local dual program, and a prosecutor’s office. | |
| Jamie Posey-Woodson Educator Pittsburgh Action Against Rape Jamie Posey Woodson, M.S.W is also a Certified Addictions Counselor and Certified Co-Occurring Disorder Professional with the Pennsylvanian Certification Board. Jamie has presented and piloted various education programs to a wide variety of audiences including students, parents, community groups, and professionals. She has also developed curricula. | |
| Patricia D Powers Attorney Advisor AEquitas AEquitas Attorney Advisor Patricia Powers (JD) worked for twenty-seven years as a Deputy and Supervising Attorney for the Sexual Assault-Domestic Violence Unit in Yakima, Washington. Patti's trial practice includes over 200 felony jury trials litigated to verdict, and complex litigation involving multiple counts, co-defendants, and frequent use of expert testimony. | |
| Archi Pyati Director of Public Policy Tahirih Justice Center Archi joined Tahirih Justice Center as Director of Public Policy in February 2014. In this role, Archi works alongside service providers, activists, community members, survivors, academics, and policy makers to achieve an end to gender-based violence | |
| Sameera Qureshi Director of Education, Canada HEART Women & Girls Sameera is an Occupational Therapist who currently works with DC Public Schools. She is passionate about public health initiatives that focus on mental and sexual health, prevention, and community development. In addition to developing and running culturally sensitive programs with Muslim and immigrant populations in her hometown of Calgary, Canada, Sameera also works with HEART Women and Girls to facilitate sexual health education initiatives within Muslim communities across North America. Common areas of education include child sex abuse education; sexual health education from a developmental perspective; healthy relationships and domestic violence prevention; and preventing FGC, forced marriages and honor violence. She has presented about her work at several national and international conferences. | |
| Darakshan Raja Program Manager Washington Peace Center Darakshan Raja, MA is a community organizer who focuses on addressing state and gender-based violence, while supporting the local social movements in the District. Currently, Ms. Raja works as the Program Manager and Helga Herz Organizing Fellow at the Washington Peace Center where she supports grassroots organizing on racial justice initiatives in the District and manages a training program for organizers and activists in the DC community. Ms. Raja is also a Co-Founder of the Muslim American Women's Policy Forum, a collective of Muslim women organizers that organize against gender-based violence and state violence, with a focus on local policies that have a punitive impact on Muslim communities. | |
| Kathleen Ratajczak Graduate Teaching Assistant University of Kentucky Kathleen Ratajczak is a graduate student in the sociology PhD program at the University of Kentucky. She has a master's in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies. Her research focuses on how justice systems impact the healing process of survivors and the power of story-telling in regards to sexual assault. | |
| Danielle Reed Epidemiologist and Evaluator New Mexico Department of Health Danielle Reed, MA, is an epidemiologist and evaluator with the New Mexico Department of Health. Ms. Reed received her Master’s degree in Applied Psychological Research from Penn State University in 2010. She has spent her public health career designing, implementing, and evaluating prevention initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities. | |
| Andrea Ritchie Attorney Andrea Ritchie is a Black lesbian police misconduct attorney and organizer who has engaged in extensive research, writing, litigation, organizing and advocacy on profiling, policing, and physical and sexual violence by law enforcement agents against women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of color over the past two decades. In 2014 she was awarded a Senior Soros Justice Fellowship Andrea is co-author of Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women (African American Policy Forum July 2015); A Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations for Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People Living with HIV (Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School 2014); and author of Law Enforcement Violence Against Women of Color, in, The Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology (South End Press 2006), and a number of law review articles on racialized policing of gender, gender identity, and sexuality. She is currently at work on a book titled Invisible No More: Racial Profiling and Police Brutality Against Black Women and Women of Color to be published by Beacon Press in 2017. A nationally recognized expert on policing issues, she has testified before the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the White House Council on Women and Girls, and the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. | |
| Ralph Riviello Professor Drexel University Dr. Riviello is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Drexel University. He is an expert in the medical and forensic aspects of sexual assault, including strangulation. He serves on the advisory board of the Institute on Strangulation Training. | |
| Giselle Rodriguez State Outreach & Training Coordinator Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking Giselle Rodriguez is the State Outreach Coordinator for the Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking. She has trained first line responders, faith based organizations, social service providers, judges and prosecutors. Giselle is the Founder of the Tampa Bay Rescue and Restore which is a working group that solely focuses on the issue of DMST. Giselle has been able to collaborate and volunteer as a trainer for the Organization of America States Anti Trafficking in Persons Unit. Giselle has been able to train law enforcement officials, immigration officials, judges, prosecutors and consular officials on the issue of human Trafficking in countries that include Jamaica, St. Kitts and various other countries throughout the Caribbean. Recently Giselle was invited to partake in an Anti-Trafficking in Persons strategic meeting that took place at the Ministry of Affairs office in Lima Peru. Recently, Giselle’s work against human trafficking was commended by Florida U.S Senator Marco Rubio, FBI Special Agent Gregory Christopher and Florida Department of Children and Families Suncoast Regional Director, Dr. Mike Carroll. | |
| Marianela Rodriguez Psicologa Se Pare Dr. Marianela Rodriguez is a mother, a clinical psychologist, Postpartum Doula and Certified Lactation Educator. For over 10 years she specializes in the emotional conditions of women in their perinatal and postpartum stages. Coordinates and facilitates a support group for people who have experienced gestational or perinatal loss and is also a respected lecturer on the subject of mental health of the pregnant and postpartum women. | |
| Tania Rosario Coord. Educacion y Asistencia Tecnica Paz para la mujer Tania Rosario is a mother, an artist, a group facilitator, doula, childbirth educator and feminist, with over 15 years of experience working with issues of feminine life cycle and the violence that that can occur. She has a B.A. Humanities, with concentrations in Drama and Literature and has several certifications in the use of popular education as a tool for community work and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health. | |
| Lynn Rosenthal Vice President Strategic Partnerships Lynn Rosenthal is the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at the National Domestic Violence Hotline. From 2009-2014, Lynn served as the first-ever White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. | |
| Judy Rowe President of the Board of Directors Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition Judy Rowe is a co-founder and President of the Board of the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition. Ms Rowe is co-author of the Walking in Balance with All Our Relations primary prevention curriculum for indigenous communities. Ms Rowe is a Psychiatric Nurse who has worked with many survivors over the years. | |
| Samantha Santos Prevention Coordinator LA VIDA/CHASS Samantha Santos, LLMSW is LA VIDA's Prevention Coordinator. Samantha has three years experience working with Southwest Detroit youth to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault and promote gender equity. | |
| Alena Schaim Executive Director/ Instructor IMPACT (NM) / IMPACT International Alena Schaim is the Executive Director and an Instructor with IMPACT and Vice President of IMPACT International. She has worked on issues of gender and violence for over a decade, including work with Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families in Santa Fe. Alena has presented at a number of conferences, including Creating Change, National Supervised Visitation Network and several statewide Advocacy in Action conferences. | |
| Jessica Seipel Senior Program Officer Just Detention International Jessica Seipel is a Senior Program Officer at JDI. As part of the domestic program team, Jessica supports corrections agencies and community rape crisis centers in developing partnerships to provide services for incarcerated survivors. Jessica also provides training and technical assistance to rape crisis advocates and corrections staff. Previously, she worked for community rape crisis centers, domestic violence programs, and sexual health agencies across California. Jessica is enrolled in the graduate public health program at George Washington University. She is a certified rape crisis counselor. | |
| Marnie Shiels Attorney Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Marnie Shiels is presently employed as an attorney in the Office on Violence Against Women of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2005, she received The Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contribution by a New Employee for her work on the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations. | |
| Orienne Shin Strategic Initiative Specialist Orienne Shin is a Strategic Initiatives Specialist at Polaris, where she works with key stakeholders across the country to address types of human trafficking and protecting trafficking victims in their community. She also reviews and analyzes policies, regulations, and state and local level laws and regulations to better identify and recommend promising practices to stakeholders. Ms. Shin joined Polaris as a fellow for the Government Relations and Policy department in the September 2014 and continued on as a consultant for both the Government Relations and Policy and the Strategic Initiatives departments, providing support in the monitoring and analysis of state and local laws and regulations related to human trafficking. Ms. Shin graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Asian Studies from Bowdoin College and a J.D. from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law. Oriene is fluent in Korean and has a basic proficiency in Mandarin | |
| Kaitlyn Sievert Research Associate Michigan Public Health Institute Kaitlyn Sievert graduated with a Master’s in Public Health from Michigan State University. Her work as a Research Associate with the Michigan Public Health institute focuses on program evaluation in support of sexual and gender-based violence prevention at the community and state level. | |
| Khnuma Simmonds-Esannason Executive Director Virgin Islands Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council Khnuma Simmonds-Esannason is the Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Council (DVSAC), and the Creator of SoKh Caribbean Dance Fitness. She is particularly fond of the arts and the empowerment that they offer through expression, creativity and healing. | |
| Barbara Sims Professor and Chair of Criminal Justice Mars Hill University Barbara Sims, Ph.D. (Professor and Chair of Criminal Justice and Women’s Studies Committee Member); Liz Anderson, DSW (Assistant Professor of Social Work and Women’s Studies Coordinator); and Robert Kandra (Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice) teach at Mars Hill University. Joyce Cody is the Executive Director of a victim assistance program. | |
| Boa Smith Program Associate Just Detention International Boa Smith is a Program Associate with Just Detention International. A certified rape crisis counselor, boa provides support, information, and referrals to prisoner rape survivors. Boa provides administrative and program support for JDI's domestic programs, assists in the developing and facilitating of workshops/training for Corrections Officials and Advocates. Before joining JDI, Boa spent 29 years in prison, where she served as a PREA and HIV/AIDS Peer Educator, teaching inmates about their right to be free from sexual violence. Boa is also a member of JDI's Survivor Council. | |
| Evelyn G Smith Primary Prevention Coordinator Middle Way House, Inc. Evelyn G. Smith coordinates primary prevention efforts for Middle Way House, Inc. a dual domestic/sexual violence crisis services agency in Bloomington, Indiana. Ms. Smith collaborates with local agencies to increase access to safe affordable housing and works with a variety of underserved populations, including teens and developmentally disabled adults. | |
| Matty Smith Communications Specialist Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault Matty Smith provides communications and media expertise to the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault as its Communications Specialist. He has a degree in journalism and has been actively involved in social justice work since 2010. | |
| Marla Sohl Prison Advocacy Coordinator NE Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Marla Sohl has worked in anti-sexual assault/domestic violence organizations since 2004. Her primary projects have included direct services to victims, outreach to campus communities, SART initiatives, prevention activities, intimate partner sexual violence, and sexual assault in detention facilities. She has a BA in Psychology with an emphasis in Mental Health. | |
| Devon Sokyrka Prevention Educator Center for a Non-Violent Community Devon Sokyrka is the Prevention Educator at Center for a Non-Violent Community, located in Sonora, California. Devon coordinates the Rape Prevention and Education Program, and is currently implementing Shifting Boundaries for middle school students in Tuolumne County. | |
| Glorina Stallworth Program Manager, Rape Prevention and Education Program N.C. Division of Public Health Glorina Y. Stallworth, BSW is the Program Manager for the Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services under the Division of Public Health. In this capacity, she oversees Federal funding through the RPE program for sexual assault prevention and manages the Rape Set Aside funding for the intervention of sexual assault in North Carolina. Glorina has been a community educator and advocate for more than 19 years on platforms addressing issues of child and adult mental health, domestic violence and Sexual Violence and services for individuals with developmental disabilities. She uses numerous platforms to promote sexual violence prevention across the state. Glorina is co-chair of the North Carolina’s State Sexual Violence Prevention Team and is a collaborative partner of the North Carolina DELTA Steering Committee. She is also a proud member of the North Carolina Society of Government Meeting Professionals. Glorina has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. | |
| Stacy Stanaway Advocacy Specialist Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Stacy Stanaway currently works as an Advocacy Specialist for the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. Her current projects focus on addressing sexual violence within Long Term Care facilities and advocating for the reproductive rights of pregnant and parenting women and teens. She previously worked as a sexual assault support group coordinator, facilitating women, men, non-offending caregiver, youth & college aged groups. This remains one of her areas of great passion and expertise. | |
| Jane Stapleton Director Prevention Innovations Research Center Jane Stapleton, Director, PIRC, teaches at UNH; has provided direct services; and developed/facilitated/evaluated campus-wide, sexual violence (SV) prevention programs. She is a SV subject matter expert for the US Army; leading development of a SV prevention video game; developer/evaluator of Know-Your-Power®; and trains U.S./Canadian colleges/universities/organizations on SV prevention strategies. | |
| Alaina Star Prevention Educator SafeQuest Solano Alaina Star is the Prevention Educator at SafeQuest Solano, located in Fairfield, California. Alaina coordinates the Rape Prevention and Education Program, and is currently implementing Shifting Boundaries in several schools in Solano County. | |
| Nan D Stein Senior Research Scientist Wellesley College Center for Research on Women Nan Stein, Ed.D. is a senior research scientist at Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. Dr. Stein conducts research on student-to-student sexual harassments, teen dating violence, and gender violence in K-12 schools and often serves as an expert witness in Title IX/sex discrimination-sexual harassment lawsuits in K-12 schools. | |
| Sarah Steinmetz Graduate Assistant University of Wyoming Sarah E. Steinmetz is currently a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Wyoming. Her research focuses on cognitive factors that influence survivors’ recovery from trauma as well as the prevention of sexual assault on college campuses. | |
| Eric Stiles Outreach Specialist National Sexual Violence Resource Center Eric Stiles is the Outreach Specialist for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. He received his master’s of Community Counseling from Shippensburg University. The focus of his work has been at the intersectionality of the work of the movement with an emphasis on keeping advocates engaged and supported. | |
| Meg Stone Executive Director IMPACT Boston & Triangle Meg Stone is the Executive Director of IMPACT Boston, and the Project Director of IMPACT:Ability, an abuse prevention program focused on people with disabilities that is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Meg is a member of the Massachusetts State Sexual Violence Prevention Team and the Chair of the team's Developmental Disabilities Task Force. | |
| Kelly Stoner Victim Advocacy Legal Specialist Tribal Law and Policy Institute Kelly Stoner graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in December 1988 and has focused on domestic violence and sexual assault issues in Indian Country. In 2013, Stoner took a position with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute and she has served as a tribal judge since 2011. | |
| Nan Stoops Executive Director Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Nan Stoops has worked in the anti-violence movement as an advocate, trainer, and organizer for more than 30 years. Currently, she serves as the executive director of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. | |
| Gael Strack Co-founder and CEO Alliance for Hope International Gael Strack is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the Alliance. Gael is a national expert on domestic violence, including strangulation, prosecution, and best practices. Prior to this position, Gael served as the first director of the San Diego Family Justice Center, the first of its kind. | |
| Irene Strong Oak Lefebvre Executive Director Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition Irene Strong Oak Lefebvre is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition. An Advisory Council Member of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center since 2010, Strong Oak has been involved in working on the research committee to evaluate effective approaches to sexual violence prevention. Strong Oak is the co-author of the Walking in Balance with All Our Relations primary prevention curriculum based on indigenous values and traditions. | |
| Caitlin Sulley Research Project Direcotr Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Caitlin Sulley, LMSW, is a Research Project Director at the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. She currently oversees research initiatives focused on interpersonal violence, victim-centered practices, and the criminal justice system. She also provides technical assistance around victim-centered practices within the criminal justice and advocacy fields. She has served survivors of sexual assault and family violence in law enforcement and community-based settings. | |
| Laura Summers Supervisor of Prevention Services Pittsburgh Action Against Rape Laura Summers is the Supervisor of Prevention Services at Pittsburgh Action Against Rape working on sexual violence prevention education to a wide array of audiences in the county. In her six years at PAAR, she has launched the “got consent?” campaign to promote healthy sexuality and consent. | |
| Joan Tabachnick Fellow SMART Office, DOJ Over 25 years, Joan developed educational materials and innovative programs for national, state and local organizations. She has numerous publications including: “A Reasoned Approach: Reshaping Sex Offender Policy to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse,” Joan’s currently on a fellowship focusing on sexual violence prevention at Department of Justice SMART Office. | |
| Karlah Tanori Bilingual Advocacy Specialist Washington Coalition Sexual Assault Programs | |
| Katie Taylor Program Coordinator- Espavo Project FORGE Katie Taylor es Coordinadora de Programas en FORGE y tiene quince años de experiencia en asesoramiento/activismo en los movimientos Queer, de la violencia sexual y doméstica y de justicia ambiental. Obtuvo su maestría en Psicología Comunitaria y Cambio Social de la Universidad Estatal de Pennsylvania, con un enfoque en estudios de género, resiliencia y activismo a largo plazo. | |
| Lauren Taylor Director Defend Yourself Lauren R. Taylor has taught skills for stopping harassment, abuse, and assault to thousands of people of all genders, ages, and walks of life. She specializes in teaching survivors of abuse and assault, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people. Lauren presented NSAC 2013 on Safe Bars, a program that uses bystander education and self-defense strategies to empower DC-area bar staff to stand up against sexual harassment and assault. | |
| Taylor Teichman Online Resource Specialist National Sexual Violence Resource Center Taylor is the Online Resource Specialist for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Her involvement in the movement to end sexual violence also includes advocating to end all forms of violence, serve as an ally to LGBTQIAH communities and to advocate for gender equity professionally and personally. Prior to NSVRC, her professional background involved work as Education Advocate for a wide range of children, adolescents and adults in providing domestic and sexual violence prevention education, community activism and as a crisis counselor. Other professional experience includes over 6 years of project coordination and communications. Taylor received her Bachelor of Science in Speech Communication, with a concentration in Public Relations, from Millersville University, Pennsylvania. | |
| Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams Prevention Specialist Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, MA is a Prevention Specialist at Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence whose work focuses on priority populations. Ms. Thomas-Williams works collaboratively with the ICADV prevention team to develop, implement, evaluate and report on strategies supporting Indiana’s sexual violence prevention plan and intimate partner violence prevention plan. | |
| Scheherazade Tillet Co-Founder and Executive Director A Long Walk Home Scheherazade Tillet has worked as an artist, therapist, and feminist leader to create a national platform that speaks out against violence against women and girls. She is the co-founder and executive director of A Long Walk Home, Inc., a Chicago-based non-profit that uses art therapy and visual and performing arts to end violence against girls and women. | |
| Jennifer Torres Research Scientist Michigan Public Health Institute Jennifer Torres is a Research Scientist at Michigan Public Health Institute. Her current work focuses on the areas of sexual violence prevention, reproductive and sexual health, and tribal health and wellness. Jennifer received her Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Michigan in 2014. | |
| Cynthia Totten Senior Program Director Just Detention International Cynthia Totten is a Senior Program Director at JDI's Washington D.C. office. She provides training and technical assistance for corrections agencies and direct service providers around the country on preventing and responding to sexual violence in detention. She also advocates to bring basic international human rights standards into U.S. prisons and jails, and has contributed to JDI's federal policy and international programs. A lawyer with nearly two decades of experience in human and civil rights advocacy, Cynthia previously represented plaintiffs in employment class action lawsuits. | |
| Carol Tracy Executive Director Women's Law Project Carol E. Tracy is the Executive Director of the Women’s Law Project, a Pennsylvania-based public interest law center with national impact, and a national expert on police response to sexual assault. The Women’s Law Project led reform of the Philadelphia Police Department after the media exposed they were shelving one out of every three rape complaints, a project that continues today through unprecedented annual audits of sexual assault complaint files. | |
| Kerri True-Funk Associate Director Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault Kerri True-Funk is the Associate Director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She started in the anti-rape movement as a volunteer, and worked as both an advocate and director of a stand-alone rape crisis center. Kerri received her MA in Human Services Administration from University of Illinois at Springfield. | |
| Jessie Urban-Guzman Youth and Legal Program Manager LA VIDA/CHASS Center Jessie Urban-Guzman, LMSW, MPH has been working with Southwest Detroit youth for eleven years around issues of dating violence and sexual assault. Jessie has worked in preventing and intervening in these issues. She currently provides onsite counseling at four local Southwest Detroit schools for youth victims of dating and sexual violence. | |
| Dalila Valdovinos Youth Outreach Worker LA VIDA/CHASS Dalila Valdovinos, B.A. is a Southwest Detroit resident and recent college graduate who has worked with the LA VIDA Partnership for 3 years. She oversees LA VIDA's Youth Board and is passionate about working to help teen survivors of dating violence and sexual assault. | |
| Jessica Van Ipreren SART Case Review Resources Project Coordinator MNCASA Jessica Van Iperen a Collaboration Specialist and the Case Review Resources Project Coordinator with SVJI at MNCASA began working in the sexual violence field in 2009 as the coordinator for a Minnesota SMART. Before joining MNCASA in 2015, Jessica coordinated the SMART team while providing advocacy services for victims of sexual assault, facilitated survivor support groups, directed and presented a relationship series program for ninth grade health classes, and co-facilitated a girlsBEST group. Jim Pittenger, Captain (Retired), Rochester Police Department, Rochester, MN Jim was a Division Commander at the Rochester, Minnesota, Police Department and a 32-year member of the Department. He spent a significant amount of his time in law enforcement in investigations as an investigator, Unit Commander of the Person Crimes and School Liaison Units and as Division Commander. Jim attended the Administrative Officer’s Course at the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville and is a graduate of Concordia University - St. Paul. He has contracted with the Sexual Violence Justice Institute as a trainer and consultant since 2001. Jim was a founding member of the Olmsted County Sexual Assault Interagency Council. He served as an SAIC member for ten years, including eight years as co-chair. | |
| Kate Vander Tuig Health Program Specialist Futures Without Violence Kate Vander Tuig is the Health Program Specialist at Futures Without Violence and has worked as an educator and survivor advocate. She is interested in the connection of health to healthy relationships throughout the lifespan and believes that strong, connected communities, not one organization or system, will end GBV. @katesvt | |
| Karla Vierthaler Advocacy and Resources Director National Sexual Violence Resource Center Karla Vierthaler is the Advocacy and Resources Director for National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). She works on the Lifespan Project, which helps victim service professionals find and adopt trauma-informed practices to meet the needs of survivors of sexual violence from childhood to later life. | |
| Robert Vines Victim/Witness Coordinator Washakie (Wyoming) County Attorney Before becoming a victim/witness coordinator, Bob Vines spent 12 years with a daily newspaper in Wyoming and has been recognized for his column and feature writing. During his career he has worked in nearly all aspects of print journalism from reporter/photographer to editor and trainer. | |
| Carlotta Walcott Program Liason Virgin Islands Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council Carlotta Walcott is the Program Liaison at the Virgin Islands Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council. She presents a weekly radio program call “Faith Intervention” that seeks to end domestic violence and sexual assault by raising awareness, offering tools, resources and referrals for clergy victims, and their families. | |
| Tiba Walter Instructor for Life Long Learning Stone Belt, Inc. | |
| Rebecca Ward Directora Centro de Ayuda a Victimas de Violación Rebecca Ward holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Caribbean Centre of postgraduate studies. She is an advocate at Centro de Ayuda a Víctimas de Violación (CAVV the Help Center for Victims of Violence) since 1992 holding various positions within the organization. In the CAVV she has provided therapy to individuals, groups, and families of sexual assault victims, is an expert witness in court and a consultant to professionals in the field. She is Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Family Health and Integrated Services and represents the Ministry of Health on issues related to gender violence and child abuse. Dr. Ward is responsible for the policies and programs of the CAVV where she advises and participates in the design of standards, procedures and public policy on prevention and intervention with victims of violence and domestic violence. Participates as a resource in the media and is a public policy consultant on prevention of sexual violence; by promoting strategies for primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of sexual violence as part of the public policy of the Department of Health. | |
| Liat Wexler Training Specialist Center for Community Solutions Liat Wexler is the Training Specialist at Center for Community Solutions with 13 years experience. They provide professional development and crisis intervention training, as well as workshops to other agencies. They specialize in motivational interviewing and LGBTIQ communities. Liat has a B.A. in Cognitive Science and Gender Studies from UVA. | |
| Mary Wheelan Member of the Board of Directors Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition Mary Wheelan is a member of the board of the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition. As a board member of VBCIC, Mary co-authored the Walking in Balance with All Our Relatiions primary prevention curriculum based on indigenous values and traditions. Ms Wheelan has co-facilitated workshops based on the Walking in Balance with All Our Relations Curriculum at several national and regional conferences. | |
| Rebecca Wills Public Training Coordinator The Abuse Network, Inc. Rebecca Wills holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and serves as the Public Training Coordinator for her agency as well as being a victim advocate. She is also credentialed by the National Organization for Victims Assistance. | |
| Kelly Wilt Director of Prevention, Education & Advocacy Center Dickinson College Kelly started at Dickinson in 2014 after several years of traveling globally, collaborating with communities to discover new ways of building healthy and peaceful communities where all people can live free of violence. She currently serves as Director of the Prevention, Education & Advocacy Center on campus. With a background in transformative education, community building, and holistic healing, Kelly leads Dickinson’s efforts to create a safe and inclusive campus community through education related to positive sexuality, healthy relationships, violence prevention, and community engagement . A whole foodie, runner, and cupcake enthusiast, she can be found playing in the kitchen, chasing sunshine, and rummaging through old things—dreaming of new possibilities. Kelly studied International Politics and Women’s Studies at the Pennsylvania State University and has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Prescott College. | |
| Tracy Wright Resource Sharing Project Technical Assistance Provider/WOC Leadership North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault - National Resource Sharing Project Tracy D. Wright is the Technical Assistance Provider and Women of Color Leadership Project Coordinator with the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA) for the National Resource Sharing Project. Her current work provides technical assistance and training to 16 state and territorial sexual assault coalitions. | |
| Chee Yang Program Director Valley Crisis Center Chee is the Program Director for Merced's Valley Crisis Center. She has been in the position for 6 months and previously served as the Shelter Coordinator. | |
| Ellen Yin-Wycoff Nonprofit Sustainability Technical Assistance Specialist Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault Ellen Yin-Wycoff is the Nonprofit Sustainability Technical Assistance Specialist for the National Resource Sharing Project at the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, where she provides technical assistance, trainings, and resources to OVW nonprofit grantees. She is also a Member of the Advisory Council at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. | |
| Michelle Zinke Training and Resource Coordinator NE Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Ms. Zinke has worked in sexual and domestic violence organizations for twenty years, including as a direct services advocate, outreach coordinator, trainer and community organizer. She currently serves as the Training and Resource Coordinator for the Nebraska Coalition. She has a BA in Anthropology/Spanish, and a MA in Leadership Arts. | |
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