Presentation Topics Include:

• Athletes As Leaders: A Prevention Program for Girls' Sports Teams
  

  This workshop will introduce Athletes As Leaders, a program for high school athletes on girls’ sports teams.  The program aims to empower female-identified youth to take an active role in promoting healthy relationships and ending sexual violence. It is based on research and best practices in the field of sexual assault prevention.  Athletes are encouraged to be leaders in changing peer norms and school climate to a culture of safety and respect.  The presenter will share curriculum content, evaluation results, and case examples from a diverse urban high school in Seattle and from a small national pilot.
  

• From #MeToo to #HimThough to All of Us:  What Will It Take?
  

  “Engaging men and boys” is an important strategy in our prevention work, and many resources are directed at these efforts.   When it comes to preventing perpetration of violence, men should play a key role in challenging toxic masculinity and rape culture among men and boys.  But what about the girls, women and non-binary folks?  Their voices should be at the forefront, as they are disproportionately affected by this issue and are great social change leaders.  In this talk, we will explore how to engage all genders in your prevention efforts, and how to avoid the traditional “prevention” messages aimed at girls and women that tend to be victim-focused and ultimately victim-blaming.

• Power, Privilege, and Prevention:  

  In this presentation, David Lee, the Director of Prevention at the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the national project PreventConnect, will discuss how domestic and sexual violence prevention is aligned with ending  oppressions. Whether we are examining social determinants of health, prevention strategies highlighted in the CDC technical packages to prevent sexual violence and intimate partner violence, or dismantling white supremacy, we must look for broad social change strategies that change the norms in our communities and society. 

• Student Activists Ending Dating Violence
  

  Founded in 2004, the Student Activists Ending Dating Abuse (SAEDA) program of the Center for Safety & Change in Rockland County, New York, is a four-day, 28-hour training dedicated to challenging oppressive social norms, promoting leadership, and inspiring youth to end gender-based violence. Rockland was one of five counties in New York to be awarded a grant through the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) called the DELTA Project. The goal of the DELTA Project initiatives was to create evidence based and sustainable programs to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault through effecting change in local communities by creating primary prevention programs. As a primary prevention program, SAEDA aims to address the root causes of violence, to challenge attitudes and beliefs that support violence, and to change the norms in our communities that allow gender-based violence to thrive. Throughout the training teams of adults and teens work together to deliver presentations and activities that address dating abuse and violence prevention, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, sexism, racism, adultism, sexism, heterosexism, and other intersecting oppressions.   The SAEDA program has been evaluated and is considered a promising prevention practice by the CDC and by NYSCADV. In this workshop, participants will learn about the SAEDA program and training, and how they can bring SAEDA and promising primary prevention activities, to their community. 

  
  
• The State of Domestic Violence Prevention in New York State
  
• To Be A Man
  

  To Be A Man began as an idea that was to be presented at Vera House’s annual Report to the Community on Domestic and Sexual Violence. It was piece that was written with the goal of helping men re-examine some of the messages they are given about what it means to be a man in today’s society. Eric and Anthony McGriff wrote this piece to explain their journey of masculinity, and how societal expectations of manhood affected them, growing up. Since its premier in December of 2016, the To Be A  Man video has been featured at United Nations Women’s Artists Week, it has been used to open up the Gender Equality unit at the United States Institute of Peace, and it even won gold at the National American Advertising Awards. Copies of the DVD are available through Vera House, and come with a discussion guide, to help further the conversation about redefining masculinity and engaging men as allies in ending domestic and sexual violence. 

• New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault & Campus Engagement
• Unpacking the Prevention Toy Box
  

  As the prevention team at ICADV began to engage in community-level prevention strategies, we found that the use of allegories, diagrams and activities were invaluable in helping us to communicate these ideas with our partners. Over time, these tools evolved into the games and discussion activities included in our Prevention Toybox. In this workshop we will “unpack” ICADV’s Prevention Toybox by describing the history, purpose and potential audiences for this resource.

  The Indiana Coalition against Domestic Violence has developed a “toybox” of prevention activities to help us communicate abstract prevention concepts with diverse audiences. This session will provide an overview of the five activities included in the toybox, and participants will have the opportunity to play two of the games.
  

• What Surrounds Us, Shapes Us: Preventing Violence by Promoting Supported Childhood Conditions

  What goes on around us, shapes us. This is true for all of us, but it is particularly true for youth. Findings from the national Adverse Childhood Experiences Study have shown us that early experiences of significant adversity result in negative physical and emotional health outcomes across the lifespan. Conversely, the CDC has identified safe, stable, supportive relationships and environments for youth as a promising strategy for preventing multiple forms of violence. 

  With this workshop we will discuss innovative strategies for enhancing safety, stability and nurturance within our relationships, families, organizations and communities to promote the optimal wellbeing of all community members.

• And More!
  

Featured Presenters

David Lee, MPH

David S. Lee, MPH, is the Director of Prevention Services at the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault where he provides training and technical assistance on prevention. David manages the national project PreventConnect, an online community of violence against women prevention practitioners, funders, researchers and activists. For over 27 years David has worked in efforts to end domestic violence and sexual assault.

Rebecca Milliman, MSW

Rebecca Milliman, MSW, is the Prevention and Education Coordinator at the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress in Seattle, WA.  She works with professionals, parents, and youth to prevent sexual assault and to create safer communities.  She is a co-founder of the Violence Prevention Coalition, co-author of the F.L.A.S.H. (Family Life and Sexual Health) curriculum, and lead author of the Athletes As Leaders program.

Additional Presenters Include:

Michelle Carroll, Director of Campus Engagement, NYSCASA

In her role at NYSCASA, Michelle developed and currently manages the statewide New York State Campus Consent Consortium program. Michelle oversees the Consortium’s in-person and webinar training and education program; including organizing webinars on student rights in New York State, trauma informed investigative techniques for university police, and trainings on developing partnerships between rape crisis programs and colleges. Michelle speaks publically on the importance of intersectional prevention education, university student Title IX rights, and New York State’s Education Law 129 B. Michelle also built and manages NYSCASA’s online comprehensive collegiate resource guide. Prior to joining NYSCASA, Michelle worked as a political consultant and served as a Teach For America Corps Member. Her articles are published in the online publications Guerrilla Feminism and The Radical Notion.

George Kilpatrick, Educator, Vera House

George Kilpatrick is a certified educator at Vera House. Vera House is a comprehensive domestic violence and sexual assault agency, providing outreach to men in the prevention of domestic violence, sexual assault, and healthy masculinity. He conducts workshops and trainings nationally, and is a member of the Futures Without Violence Coaching Boys into Men National Advisory Council. Kilpatrick also facilitates the Vera House 12 Men Model where men engage and hold their peers accountable through conversation to redefine masculinity and healthy relationships. Training includes Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP); Men Can Stop Rape MOST Club; Men Stopping Violence; and the Healthy Masculinity Institute. 

Kilpatrick is a sought-after keynote speaker, facilitator, and media talent.  He has hosted and produced shows on radio and TV.  He also works with businesses and nonprofits to tell their story through media.  His signature radio program of “Inspiration for the Nation” airs on Power 620 WHEN-AM in Syracuse, and on Power 88 KCEP Las Vegas.   He received a BA from the College of Arts and Sciences and his Master’s Degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Anthony & Eric McGriff, Educators, Vera House

Anthony and Eric McGriff began their work to end gender based violence while they were in High School, as chairmen to their school’s White Ribbon Campaign. The twins immediately fell in love with the work, as the message of the campaign resonated them, personally. With a newfound passion for ending interpersonal violence, the McGriff’s continued to learn and grow as allies and facilitators when they began school at Syracuse University. First they joined the student organization A Men’s Issue where they adopted the mission to “Redefine masculinity and make a difference to end sexual and relationship violence, one man at a time”. This is an organization that their younger brother, Jordan, is currently the President of. They were also trained as facilitators for a healthy sexuality group called Sex-Esteem and the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program, as well as members of Syracuse’s Take Back The Night Committee and It’s On Us Campaign. Eric and Anthony are faces of United Nations Women’s He For She Campaign and continue to develop workshops and presentations that mainstream ideas of healthy masculinity and relationships to the youth they engage every day. Eric is currently an Educator for his local domestic and sexual violence prevention and intervention agency, Vera House, Inc. Here he works with youth (K-12) and with perpetrators of domestic violence, to educate and redefine the cultural norms that condone and facilitate interpersonal violence. Anthony recently left his position as Campus Educator for Vera House and is now an 8^th grade Writing teacher in Brooklyn, working with Teach For America while earning his Master’s in Education. The twins are adamant about living their lives as real examples of the counter story to the negative messages perpetuated by hegemonic masculinity. And even though they are in different cities, they (along with their little brother Jordan) are still in constant contact about how to develop better strategies for engaging community member in ending sexual and relationship violence. 

Laura Plotkin, Director of Training and Education, Center for Safety and Change 

Laura Plotkin is the Director of Training & Education at the Center for Safety & Change in Rockland County, New York. Ms. Plotkin has more than ten years of experience working in the gender-based violence prevention field. Before joining the Center for Safety & Change she lived in Portland, Maine working as a youth advocate and prevention educator helping to provide support and resources for teens who have been victims of dating violence and sexual assault. Ms. Plotkin was a co-founder of the Portland, Maine chapter of Hollaback!, a grassroots movement to end street harassment against women and LGBTQ people. For the last five years she has been the Director of Training & Education at the Center for Safety & Change, leading the Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program, Student Activists Ending Dating Abuse program, and providing training for universities, community groups, workplaces, law enforcement agencies, and medical personnel. She has had the honor of presenting on Media Literacy programs at the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s national conference, as well as being asked to present on a New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault webinar on “ Working Together: Best Practices for How Colleges and Universities and Community Organizations Collaborate to Address Sexual Violence.”  Ms. Plotkin has done multiple media interviews on the topic of gender-based violence, including as a guest on the national program, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, on MSNBC.

Colleen Yeakle, Coordinator of Prevention Initiatives,  Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Colleen Yeakle has served as an advocate in the domestic and sexual violence field for 19 years and currently coordinates the DELTA FOCUS project for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. With the DELTA FOCUS project, Colleen works with national, state and community partners to develop new strategies for preventing intimate partner violence by creating community conditions that promote safety, respect and equity for all members. Colleen received her Master’s Degree from the Indiana University School of Social Work, and was recognized as the school’s Distinguished Alumni in 2015.

And the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Logistics

Dining Information:  Food and drink will NOT be provided during this training. Please tend to your food and drink needs before you arrive. Attendees will be provided a 90 Minute lunch break. There are a number of easily accessible food options within and near the training location. 

Overnight Accomodations:  There are two nearby hotels reccomended for overnight accomodation.  

• The Desmond
  660 Albany Shaker Road Albany, NY 12211
  P: 1-800-448-3500
• Hampton Inn Albany-Wolf Road
  10 Ulenski Drive Albany, NY 12205