Nebraska Anti-Violence Conference Agenda

Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

The majority of the presentations within the conference agenda meet the criteria for Continuing Education for Licensed Mental Health Professionals (LMHP), Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioners (LIMHP), and Social Workers. Learning objectives and certificates of attendance will be provided at the conference. The maximum number of CEUs is 8.0.

Relaxation Room

We recognize that topics discussed during this conference may be emotionally intense. A quiet, supportive space is available throughout the day for anyone needing a break. Please take care of yourself.

Printable Agenda

Download an abbreviated and printable agenda.

Day 1 Agenda

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | check-in

(choose either option a or option b)

1:00 p.m - 5:00 p.m. | option a: workshop (80-person max)

• Replenish Workshop (80-person max)
  • Description: We live, work, and play in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) times. What does this mean for how you are showing up in your work and how you are showing up compassionately for yourself? Everyone is a leader and can profoundly impact the people and environments within their sphere of influence. Systems are people; leadership is relational. Replenish is an opportunity to create inclusive, intentional leadership that builds a better future that affirms our lived experiences. During these complex times, agencies and individuals need to define their core values, shift their inner dialogue and practice alignment to their leadership intention. 
    Thriving as a leader means establishing your own model for personal sustainability. In addition to examining effective leadership, this workshop will provide space for growth and healing through self-reflection, dialogue and storytelling. Get honest about what’s working and what’s not. No one is coming to save us; we must be holding space for conversations of value. This Replenish experience rejects the standard model of self-care as insufficient; we need a more restorative model of personal sustainability. To build lives that are healthy and functional we must examine our relationships and establish boundaries, both personally and professionally. 
    Join us for an immersive experience focusing on building community and connection through leadership development, dialogue and reflection. 
  • Presenters: Jo Bair is the Executive Director of enCourage Advocacy Center, where she has led transformational change in both organizational culture and community impact since 2016. Andrew Aleman is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and National Consultant with almost 20 years of professional experience including: nonprofit leadership, direct support services, mental health therapy, higher education, and board leadership.

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | option b: speaker 1

• Online Violence is Real Life Violence: Gender-Based Hate in a Digital World
  • Description: Journalist Alia Dastagir will draw on her own experiences with online abuse as well as her extensive reporting on the topic to address the landscape of violence against women online, exploring the psychological and physical impact of online abuse against women, the intersection of online harassment with other issues, the overlap between online abuse and disinformation, and strategies for coping with and resisting violence on the Internet. 
  • Presenter: Alia Dastagir is an award-winning journalist and former reporter for USA Today. Her work focuses on gender and mental health. Dastagir was one of eight U.S. recipients of the prestigious Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. She won a first-place National Headliner Award for a series on suicide and was awarded the American Association of Suicidology’s Public Service Journalism Award. Her book on women and online abuse, “To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person: Words as Violence and Stories of Women’s Resistance Online,” was published by Crown in 2025. She has an MFA in creative writing from NYU, where she was an Axinn fellow. For more info: https://aliadastagir.com/

2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | option b: break

2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | option b: speaker 2

• Cultural Stigma, Systemic Fear & the Work of Decolonizing Gender-Based Violence
  • Description: How do we ask for help in cultures where survival means silence? Adriana Alejandre—licensed therapist and daughter of Guatemalan survivors of domestic violence—invites participants into a conversation about how stigma, inherited trauma, and systemic threats shape the way survivors experience and access safety. This talk will explore the intersection of wellness and awareness of biases that can impact professionals working with gender-based violence survivors.
  • Presenter: Adriana Alejandre is a Trauma Therapist, Consultant and Speaker from Burbank, California, who has a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. Adriana owns her own bilingual group practice, EMDR and Trauma Therapy focusing on wellness for Black, Brown and Indigenous people. She is also the founder of internationally recognized, Latinx Therapy, a directory and bilingual podcast that destigmatizes mental health myths & provides education to combat the stigma. In 2021, she launched a community non-profit with a program called Therapy Dinero to create access to therapy services.

3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. | option b: break

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | option b: speaker 3

• Panic at the Dentist
  • Description coming soon!
  • Presenter: Kim Carpenter

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | social event (network organizations only)

• More information coming soon!

Day 2 Agenda

8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. | check-in

8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | keynote

• When Survival is Misread as Resistance: Reframing Help-Seeking in Communities Impacted by Collective Trauma
  • Description: Adriana Alejandre, trauma therapist and founder of Latinx Therapy, offers a deep dive into why many survivors—especially immigrants and BIPOC individuals—struggle to reach out for support. Drawing on her own experience as someone who quit therapy after one session due to cultural stigmas, Adriana will unpack the historical and emotional weight of mistrust in government-linked services, the mental health impact of immigration threats, and the inherited silence passed through generations. 
  • Presenter: Adriana Alejandre is a Trauma Therapist, Consultant and Speaker from Burbank, California, who has a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. Adriana owns her own bilingual group practice, EMDR and Trauma Therapy focusing on wellness for Black, Brown and Indigenous people. She is also the founder of internationally recognized, Latinx Therapy, a directory and bilingual podcast that destigmatizes mental health myths & provides education to combat the stigma. In 2021, she launched a community non-profit with a program called Therapy Dinero to create access to therapy services.

10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | break

10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | breakout sessions (choose one to attend)

• Prevention Panel
  • Lisa Schulze joined the Women’s Fund in April 2015 and currently serves in the role of Education and Training Director. Prior to that, she was an educator for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland for 15 years. Ms. Schulze has been a guest reviewer for the American Journal of Sexuality Education and was a trainer for Answer on sex education for persons with intellectual disabilities at Rutgers University. She was awarded the National Association of Social Workers – Nebraska Chapter 2016 Public Citizen of the Year award for her work advancing comprehensive sex education. She is currently a mentor at Kids Can and is obsessed with making strawberry-basil shrub beverages with herbs from her ever-struggling garden. She holds a Master of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University and became an AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator in June 2014.
  • Stephanie Olson is a speaker, an author, a podcaster, and the CEO of The Set Me Free Project ®. Stephanie helps leaders build resilience. Her work on teaching resilience in leadership has inspired people across the United States with topics such as leadership, trauma, a toxic workplace, mental health, and resilience. As a woman of color and a survivor of domestic and sexual violence, Stephanie brings lived experience, research, and humor to impact lives. She is a sought-after speaker on women, youth, human trafficking, and social media safety while leading The Set Me Free Project ® to help prevent youth and young adults from personally experiencing trafficking.
  • Libby Valerio-Boster is the ACEs Training Specialist at BraveBe Child Advocacy Center. She holds a degree in Community Health and Wellness from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and is passionate about helping other understand the last impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences. Through research-based trainings and sessions, Libby provides information to professionals and caregivers, equipping them with strategies to understand trauma, support healthy development, and promote resilience. She is committed to raising awareness and helping communities create safer, more supportive space for children and families. Outside of work, you can find Libby out for a run, listening to a true crime podcast, or baking something sweet. 
  • Aubrey Yost is a Training & Outreach Coordinator at BraveBe Child Advocacy Center, where she has worked for a decade. With a BSW and her MSW expected in May 2025, Aubrey has dedicated her career to advancing the child welfare field. She presents locally and internationally on topics such as child abuse and neglect, trafficking, trauma, and survivor empowerment, drawing on both her professional expertise and lived experience as a survivor. Passionate about educating and supporting others, Aubrey leverages her knowledge to inspire meaningful change in communities. When not advocating for vulnerable populations, she enjoys spending time with her two children and celebrating her favorite time of year—spooky season.
  • Darin J. Dorsey is an expert in violence prevention, policy advocacy, and organizational change management. With over 17 years of experience in social and political movement organizing, Darin has held a wide range of roles, including survivor advocate, prevention educator, policy advocate, fundraiser, political organizer, and organizational leader. A passionate advocate for mission accountability, Darin has provided training and technical assistance to violence prevention and advocacy organizations across the United States. Through this work, he recognized a recurring challenge: many organizations become disconnected from the movements that inspired their creation. In response, Darin and his partner, Cecily Dorsey, founded Rooting Movements, an initiative focused on helping organizations realign with their core values and movement roots.
  • Michaela Atkins 
• One Goal, Many Roles: Bridging Advocacy and Child Welfare to Support Survivors and Their Children
  • Domestic violence advocacy and child welfare have long served many of the same families, but often from different lenses and divergent roles. These differences can lead to strained relationships and siloed efforts, even when everyone is working toward the same goal of safety and healing for survivors and their children. In 2021, the Lancaster County Safe and Healthy Families Initiative was launched to begin bridging that gap. The aim? To foster stronger, more collaborative relationships between advocacy and child welfare, and to build a coordinated response that is both DV-informed and grounded in the realities of the work. This session brings together voices from both sides of the bridge, highlighting what’s worked, what’s been hard, and how partners are learning to move forward together. 
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Identify common challenges and barriers in collaboration between child welfare and domestic violence advocacy professionals.
    • Explore real-world strategies and lessons learned from the Lancaster County Safe and Healthy Families Initiative to inform coordinated community responses.
    • Gain practical ideas and inspiration for strengthening community responses at the intersection of domestic violence and child welfare.
  • Presenters: Jamie Bahm, MS, IMH-E is an Assistant Project Director with the Nebraska Resource Project for Vulnerable Young Children at the University of Nebraska’s Center on Children, Families, and the Law. Lindsey Turner, MA, LIMHP is the Associate Executive Director at Voices of Hope. Kim Lauenroth is the Domestic Violence Team Supervisor with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Children and Family Services.
• Changing the Narrative of Gender Based Violence: How to Engage with Local Media to Tell Your Story
  • Journalists shape public perception of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking through their reporting and the language they use. "Changing the Narrative of Violence Against Women and Girls” is a media toolkit and training which can be used in any location to shift the conversation and more accurately represent the realities of gender-based violence. Learn how to better partner with journalists in your community, and what to do with media reports that are misleading, incorrect or harmful to survivors.
    Participants will engage in a headline writing activity to begin to look at new ways to tell stories. Each attendee will also learn how to develop and tailor key messages for any communications opportunity.
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Grow personal knowledge of local media landscape, 
    • Gain comfort in participating in media interviews
    • Learn how to positively impact media narratives around gender-based violence.
  • Presenter: Jill Heggen is the Communications Director at the Women’s Fund of Omaha, where she works with grantees and community partners to ensure consistent messaging and a clear understanding of all initiatives and campaigns--internally and externally.
• Harm Reduction as an Anti-Violence Strategy
  • Description: 
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Explore harm reduction principles and practices
    • Identify harm reduction practices that already exist within IPV spaces
    • Examine personal biases, hesitations, concerns regarding harm reduction
    • Develop strategies for implementing harm reduction principles into current work environments and practices
  • Presenter: Andrew Aleman, LCSW (he/him/his), is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker residing in Omaha, NE, where he works to confront systems of oppression and shift power to those who are often targets of these oppressive systems. 
• A Silent Epidemic: Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence and People with Disabilities 
  • Description: Women and men with disability face a significant risk for experiencing sexual violence and intimate partner violence. This presentation will discuss the scope and nature of sexual and intimate partner violence in the context of disability. Audience members will also gain a better understanding of disability community and resources to better recognize or serve people with disabilities who experience sexual and intimate partner violence. 
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Coming soon!
  • Presenter: Brad Meurrens is the Public Policy Director at Disability Rights Nebraska. Brad’s work involves educating state and federal legislators and other policymakers on disability issues, policy, and legislation. Brad also collaborates with other advocacy organizations on public policy reform and provides support to individuals with disabilities who wish to engage in advocacy.

11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | lunch

1:00 p.m - 2:30 p.m. | breakout session (choose one to attend)

• From Story to Strategy: Shifting the Rural Narrative, One Voice at a Time
  • Rural communities are often painted as quiet, safe, and simple, but for many survivors, they can also be isolating, resource-limited, and resistant to change. In this session, Misty Rowley will take participants on a journey from surviving domestic violence in a rural town to directing life-saving services in the very same environment. She will explore the layered complexities of providing support where everyone knows everyone, where a sheriff might also be a neighbor, and where driving over 100 miles for services is the norm. This presentation blends personal narrative with real-world strategies for supporting survivors in rural and underserved areas. Attendees will walk away with a renewed understanding of how prevention and intervention go hand in hand and how every voice matters when shifting the narrative.
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Identify three key barriers survivors face in rural communities, and how those barriers are often invisible to urban-centered systems.
    • Recognize the emotional impact of being both a survivor and a professional in a small town.
    • Apply trauma-informed, survivor-centered strategies to strengthen both prevention and intervention efforts in rural or under-resourced communities.
    • Take away actionable steps to shift the narrative in their own communities through storytelling, advocacy, and culturally grounded connection.
  • Presenter: Misty Rowley is the Program Director of Bright Horizons’ rural offices in Ainsworth and O’Neill, Nebraska.
• Presenting Uncomfortable Topics of Violence to Youth from a Cultural Perspective
  • This presentation will focus on engaging youth in intimate partner violence awareness and prevention. This interactive workshop will showcase examples and best practices for working with youth to address intimate partner violence and healthy relationships.
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Learn ways to actively engage youth in topics surrounding violence
    • Become knowledgeable of narratives and resources available to address topics of violence with teens (i.e. body sovereignty, ancestral teachings towards violence, national and local resources, etc.)
    • Understand how to respond to teen violence issues from a culturally relevant, intersectional, and trauma-informed manner
  • Presenter: Kirby Williams (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) is the executive director for Nebraska Tribes Addressing Violence Coalition (NETAV). 
• What to Shift, What to Hold: Strategic Choices in Complex Times 
  • Description: This interactive workshop explores strategy not as a fixed plan, but as a dynamic, ongoing process that evolves in alignment with your mission and values. Participants will learn how to design and implement programs that are flexible by design—capable of adapting proactively to emerging challenges and opportunities, rather than reacting after the fact. 
    We’ll explore tools for engaging stakeholders in meaningful decision-making, identifying which program elements can shift and which must remain constant to preserve purpose and integrity. Using real-world scenarios and case studies, participants will practice navigating strategic adjustments while staying grounded in their core purpose. 
    By the end of the session, participants will be better equipped to lead adaptive change, maintain values alignment, and strengthen impact in the face of complexity. 
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Work through sample scenarios in an interactive activity. 
    • Learn methods for engaging stakeholders in decision-making.
    • Identify core, non-negotiable elements that anchor responsive planning. 
    • Leave with a proactive approach to program planning that enhances agility and mission alignment.
  • Presenter: Darin J. Dorsey, founder of Rooting Movements, is an expert in violence prevention, policy advocacy, and organizational change management. 
• Teaching Accountability: Understanding DVIP as a Critical Component of Survivor Safety
  • Description: Many advocates working with survivors hold understandable skepticism about whether people who use domestic violence can truly change. This panel session, led by experienced DVIP facilitators from enCourage Advocacy Center's Rebuild program, will provide an honest examination of what effective domestic violence intervention programming actually looks like and how it enhances survivor safety.
    Drawing from Nebraska's state standards and real-world implementation, speakers will explore how quality DVIPs hold perpetrators accountable, challenge harmful beliefs, and teach new skills while maintaining victim safety as the primary priority. The panel will address common concerns about DVIPs while examining both the potential and limitations of intervention work, discussing realistic markers of accountability and how DVIPs complement survivor advocacy services within coordinated community response systems.
    This interactive session will challenge participants to examine their own beliefs about behavior change while providing practical information about evidence-based program components, victim notification protocols, and collaboration with courts and probation.
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Understand DVIP fundamentals: Participants will be able to describe the core components, structure, and evidence-based approaches used in domestic violence intervention programs.
    • Connect DVIP to survivor safety: Participants will understand how effective intervention programs enhance survivor services and safety planning.
    • Examine beliefs: Participants will critically examine assumptions about who can change while understanding that individuals are responsible for their attitudes and beliefs and can eliminate abusive behavior.
  • Presenters: Elias Bair is an Intervention Specialist of enCourage Advocacy Center, where he coordinates the High Risk Team, facilitates the Rebuild DVIP program, leads Green Dot Bystander Intervention Trainings, and is the creator of Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids. Jo Bair is the Executive Director of enCourage Advocacy Center, where she has led transformational change in both organizational culture and community impact since 2016. Dustin Bower is a Domestic Violence Intervention Specialist at enCourage Advocacy Center, where he facilitates the Rebuild DVIP program and works with individuals who have used abusive behavior in intimate relationships to take accountability, examine harmful beliefs, and practice healthy ways of relating. Jazmin Serrano Cortez is the Sustainability Specialist at enCourage Advocacy Center, where she supports survivors of domestic violence through advocacy, empowerment, and trauma-informed care. 
• Alia Dastagir Book Reading & Signing
  • Presenter: Alia Dastagir is an award-winning journalist and former reporter for USA Today. Her work focuses on gender and mental health. Dastagir was one of eight U.S. recipients of the prestigious Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. She won a first-place National Headliner Award for a series on suicide and was awarded the American Association of Suicidology’s Public Service Journalism Award. Her book on women and online abuse, “To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person: Words as Violence and Stories of Women’s Resistance Online,” was published by Crown in 2025. She has an MFA in creative writing from NYU, where she was an Axinn fellow. For more info: https://aliadastagir.com/ 

2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | break

2:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. | breakout session (choose one to attend)

• Medical Care for Survivors Panel
  • Anne Boatright is a certified Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) and is currently the State Forensic Nursing Coordinator and Sexual Assault Payment Program Administrator in the Office of the Nebraska Attorney General. Anne strives to create best practice standards across the state, so victims of crime may receive the same care, regardless of their location.  Previously, Anne led a team of Forensic Nurse Examiners, where she and members of the team cared for victims of sexual assault, strangulation, domestic violence, elder abuse, and human trafficking. In 2006, Anne became a Registered Nurse and began working in Medical Intensive Care. Prior to beginning her work as a Forensic Nurse Examiner in 2009, she transitioned to working in an Emergency Department in Omaha.  Anne obtained her Master of Science in Nursing in 2015 from Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha.
  • Kathy Chiou, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her program of research is aimed at understanding the bio, psycho, and socio-determinants of cognitive functioning and outcome following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Dr. Chiou has particular interests in studying TBI in at-risk, marginalized, and underserved populations, including survivors of intimate partner violence. She hopes that research in this area will help bring about systematic changes to service delivery that ultimately improve outcomes and quality of life for all survivors with brain injury. 
  • Kalen Knight is the Forensic Nursing Specialist in the Education & Publications Department with the International Association of Forensic Nurses. He has extensive experience in clinical practice and education development from his prior professional nursing experiences, including emergency, trauma, infectious disease, biocontainment/quarantine, nursing education, and forensic nursing. He is a practicing SANE-A at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Neb., a Medicolegal Death Investigator in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and an adjunct lecturer for the Master in Forensic Nursing Program at Oakland University for the Quality, Legal, Matters of Death Course and Clinical.
  • Jodi Hayes is the Market Manager of Forensic Nursing for CHI Health's Midwest Division, where she coordinates and leads a forensic nurse examiner program that provides acute care for survivors of intimate partner violence, strangulation, sexual assault, and human trafficking throughout the states of Nebraska and Southwest Iowa.  Ms. Hayes was instrumental in creating the first forensic nurse examiner team for the CHI Health system in Omaha and the first Telehealth service for Forensic Nursing in the state of Nebraska. Today, this Telehealth program services eight hospitals in Nebraska and Iowa. Ms. Hayes has educated thousands of medical professionals on the importance of providing trauma-informed care and use of the PEARR Tool.
  • Melanie Tuamoheloa
• Leading From Everywhere
  • As Advocates in the field of domestic and sexual violence, it is important to embrace leadership beyond the top-down, one-dimensional models where only a couple of people are considered to be the “leaders”. Everyone is a leader, regardless of their role or title. Leading from Everywhere centers our “Leader Within” as we nimbly identify and shift to appropriate ways to share leadership and collaborate with our team. Whether we are leading from the front, behind, beside, or in the field, we acknowledge that leadership is strengthened by recognizing a multidimensional approach that includes a range of styles. In order to navigate the ongoing challenges of our changing world, we must learn how to lead from everywhere, allowing us to make the most of the diverse talents and abilities of all. 
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Embrace the truth that we are all leaders who bring unique strengths to our roles.
    • Gain understanding of leading from the front, behind, beside, and in the field.
    • Discover your preferred “go to” style of leading.
    • Collaborate with others to balance and productively share leadership.
  • Presenter: Lynne Lange, B.A., CPCC, brings over 30 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and capacity building to her work as a leadership coach, consultant, and facilitator.
• Not Just in Your Head: Reclaiming The Body and Rewiring the Narrative
  • The first portion of the workshop will focus on education around brain development, trauma’s impact on neural networks, and how healing is possible through neuroplasticity. Using accessible visuals and simple language, we’ll explore: The roles of the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex in trauma responses; How trauma gets “stuck” in the nervous system and interferes with memory, language, and self-perception; The science of neuroplasticity and how new, healing narratives can be built through repeated experiences of safety and connection; Why “talk therapy alone” isn’t always enough—and how body-based and sensory interventions engage the brain’s natural repair system. 
    In the second portion, we’ll explore: Somatic grounding techniques to increase felt safety and emotional regulation; How EMDR’s use of bilateral stimulation supports integration and desensitization of traumatic material; Parts work (IFS/ego state-informed) as a tool for helping clients understand and soften internal conflicts, protective mechanisms, and feelings of shame; How to help clients begin shifting internal narratives from "What’s wrong with me?" to "What happened to me—and what do I need now?
  • Learning Objective:
    • A brain-based understanding of trauma that can be shared with clients
    • Practical, client-friendly language to explain brain-body responses
    • A toolbox of somatic interventions and narrative reframing techniques
    • Strategies to integrate EMDR, parts work, and body-based practices into talk therapy or
      advocacy
    • Deeper insight into how to hold space for survivor stories without re-traumatization
  • Presenters: Miranda Stoll is a licensed independent mental health practitioner and a licensed alcohol and substance abuse counselor. Breana Songers is a clinical mental health therapist who specializes in sexual assault.
• Supporting Immigrant Survivors
  • Description: An educational session for those working with immigrant and refugee survivors on providing accurate and thoughtful information on their rights and safety. The session will help reduce fear, prevent exploitation, and promote community safety through informed advocacy. 
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Prevent Exploitation - Help community members recognize and avoid fraudulent legal services and notario scams.
    • Build Community Trust- Strengthen trust between immigrant communities and local organizations through accessible legal education.
    • Encourage Preparedness- Support individuals and families in creating safety plans, such as emergency contact lists, family preparedness documents, and legal representation strategies.
  • Presenter: Raúl Arcos Hawkins has worked in the nonprofit sector for over a decade, currently serves as the Executive Director of the Multicultural Coalition of Grand Island, and is also an entrepreneur and owner of Arcos Consulting Group, LLC. 
• Empowered, Not Exploited: Preventing Sexual Violence Through Sexual Health Education in the I/DD Community
  • Description: While people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) are among the most at-risk populations for sexual violence, they are often excluded from mainstream prevention efforts and sexual health education. This 90-minute session is designed specifically for professionals and advocates working in the field of violence prevention and survivor support. It will highlight how comprehensive, accessible sexual health education is a crucial and often overlooked primary prevention strategy for reducing sexual abuse in the I/DD community.
    Drawing on evidence-based practices from Elevatus Training, we will explore how a lack of information, autonomy, and support contributes to vulnerability—and how we can shift this narrative by empowering individuals with I/DD through inclusive, rights-based education. Participants will leave with actionable strategies, language tools, and trauma-informed frameworks to help them integrate disability-inclusive approaches into their prevention programming and advocacy work.
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Understand the intersection of disability and sexual violence, including risk factors and systemic gaps in prevention.
    • Recognize how ableism and misinformation perpetuate vulnerability among people with I/DD.
    • Describe how sexual health education, grounded in consent and rights, can be a powerful tool for preventing abuse.
    • Identify specific strategies to make anti-violence work more inclusive of people with I/DD.
    • Access resources and frameworks (including Elevatus methods) to begin integrating sexual health education into existing prevention and advocacy efforts.
  • Presenter: Danielle Smith is a passionate educator and advocate in sexual and reproductive health, with a focus on supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).