Conference Day Agenda

• 8:30-9:30 Registration and Light Breakfast
• 9:30 Welcome Remarks
• 10:00-11:30 Workshop 1
• 11:30-1:15 Lunch & Keynote Address
• 1:15-2:45 Workshop 2
• 3:00-4:30 Workshop 3

Keynote Address

• Teresa Stafford-Wright

This empowering keynote invites participants to explore the intersection of personal
healing and professional leadership through the lens of Teresa Stafford-Wright’s inspiring
journey from survivorship to leadership. Beginning her career as a victim advocate, Teresa
used her lived experiences of overcoming incest, rape, and teen dating violence as a
foundation to support and empower others. Today, she leads the Hope & Healing Survivor
Resource Center, LLC. This keynote provides participants with tools and insights to
channel their own experiences into leadership opportunities while fostering inclusive,
survivor-centered environments in their communities and organizations.

Workshops
An Integrated Approach to Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations, Advocacy
Services, and the Neurobiology of Trauma: Focus on Strangulation

Presenter: Shelby Lieber & Tammy Robertson (Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence)

Description: Sexual Assault Survivors frequently encounter fragmented systems of care
that may unintentionally intensify trauma and limit access to support. This session
presents and integrated, trauma-informed approach to sexual assault medical forensic
examinations that centers collaboration between medical providers and advocacy services
while incorporating current research on strangulation and the neurobiology of trauma.
Participants will explore how coordinated care models improve survivor safety, autonomy,
and health outcomes. The presentation highlights advocacy as an essential component of
the forensic process, offering emotional support, informed consent guidance, and
continuity of care. Special attention will be given to strangulation, a highly lethal and often
under-identified form of violence, with emphasis on medical assessment, documentation,
and long-term neurological risks.
The session also examines how trauma impacts brain function, memory, and behavior,
reframing survivor responses through a neurobiological lens. Understanding trauma
physiology allows professional to reduce traumatization, strengthen survivor-centered
practice, and enhance the quality of medical and forensic documentation.
This presentation integrates evidence-based research, clinical expertise, an practical
strategies to support interdisciplinary teams in delivering ethical , effective, and
compassionate care.

Prepared to Respond: Enhancing SANE Confidence Through Deliberate Practice and
Simulation

Presenter: Randilyn Lewis (Penn West University)

Description: Participants will gain an understanding of how deliberate practice and
simulation-based education enhance SANE confidence and clinical readiness. Attendees
will explore common barriers to confidence during sexual assault examinations, apply
trauma-informed principles within simulated scenarios, and evaluate the effectiveness of
simulation in strengthening forensic skills. The session will provide practical strategies for
incorporating deliberate practice into ongoing SANE education and program development.

The Intersection of Sextortion and Suicide Risk

Presenter: Jamie Pfister

Description: Sextortion is a rapidly growing form of online exploitation that
disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults. It is a crime where an offender(s)
threatens to share intimate images, videos, or messages in exchange for more content,
money, or something of value. This training provides an overview of sextortion dynamics,
including common tactics used by offenders, the psychological impact on victims, and the
connection between sextortion-related distress and increased suicide risk. Participants
will learn to recognize warning signs of victimization and acute suicide risk, understand
why victims often feel trapped or hopeless, and identify barriers to disclosure. This training
emphasizes trauma-informed, victim-centered response strategies, including how to
listen, validate, preserve evidence, and connect individuals to appropriate supports
without blame or panic. Prevention strategies, digital safety, artificial intelligence (AI), and
clear reporting pathways are also addressed. By increasing awareness and confidence
among educators, advocates, counselors, law enforcement, and youth-serving
professionals, this training aims to reduce harm, interrupt exploitation, and prevent suicide
through early intervention and supports.

Pennsylvania’s Rape Kit Tracking System and What it Means for Sexual Assault Response

Presenters: Mahalia Sealy and Jamie Long (Respect Together, PCAR)

Description: Sexual Assault Response: Getting it Right the First Time requires systems that
honors survivor autonomy, reduces delays, and ensures accountability. The National
Sexual Assault Initiative (NSAKI) has reshaped the landscape of sexual assault response by
addressing untested kit backlogs, establishing standardized investigative practices, and
elevating survivor-centered forensic procedures. This workshop will explore how SAKI’s
principles: prompt kit delivery, standardized forensic protocols, multidisciplinary
cooperation, and survivor-centered practices—serve as a model for states seeking to
modernize their responses.
Participants will gain insight into the common challenges that historically created
“backlogs” of untested kits: inconsistent tracking; resource constraints in labs; and lack of
coordinated policies between healthcare, law enforcement, and advocacy stakeholders.
This workshop will use NSAKI as the central framework for understanding how justice
outcomes. Participants will explore the core pillars of NSAKI: including multidisciplinary
collaboration, laboratory capacity expansion, robust data collection, and victim-centered
notification practices—and learn how these pillars address longstanding systemic gaps.
Attendees will examine how to translate NSAKI-derived best practices into local protocols
that uphold survivor rights, increase transparency, reduce untested-kit backlogs, and
promote collaboration. Topics can include: establishing chain-of-custody procedures;
coordinating among health care providers, law enforcement, forensics, and advocacy
partners; and implementing victim-notification and consent protocols that align with
trauma-informed care. This workshop can equip professionals with a forward-looking,
practical roadmap for improving their own agency practices.

Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence

Presenter Lana Ramjit (Aequitas, National Resource Center on Cybercrimes)

Description: Technology-facilitated sexual violence is frequently minimized or dismissed
more than other forms of sexual violence. However, technology can play a significant role
in sexual violence. Not only can technology be used to facilitate location tracking, or
stalking that may accompany physical sexual assault, behaviors such as non-consensual
distribution of intimate images are increasingly prevalent. More than 1 in 7 people in the
US have experienced some form of image-based sexual abuse, with young people nearly
1.5-2x more likely to have harmful experiences of image-based sexual assault (IBSA).
Research shows that survivors of technology-facilitated sexual violence experience severe
negative health outcomes, frequently isolating themselves from public and private life or
coping with self-harm. Unfortunately, fewer than 40% of survivors of technology-facilitated
sexual violence have reported their experiences to the platform or law enforcement,
making it even more difficult for survivors to access needed support and resources. In this
workshop, participants will learn to recognize technology-facilitated sexual violence,
understand its impacts on victims, and learn what resources are available to support
survivors.

Improving Access to Direct Services for Survivors Who Are Men

Presenters: Jennifer Benner & Karla Vierthaler (Respect Together, National Sexual Violence
Resource Center)

Description: In this workshop, we will identify barriers men face while seeking sexual
violence services from both community-based and systems-based organizations, as well
as suggest strategies for overcoming those barriers. We will specifically review access and
service needs for men who are currently or formerly incarcerated.

Vital Signs: Enhancing the Healthcare Response to Stalking

Presenters: Kendra Eggleston and Dana Fleitman (SPARC, Stalking Prevention, Awareness,
and Resource Center)

Description: Stalking is a prevalent, dangerous, and often misunderstood victimization that
affects victims’ health. Heathcare settings are critical alternative access points to the
criminal justice system for victims to disclose and r3eceive care and referrals. This session
explores the dynamics of stalking, focusing on the highly contextual nature of the crime by
discussing common tactics used by perpetrators, the health impacts of stalking, and
considerations for healthcare professionals, criminal justice professionals.

LGBTQ+ and Law Enforcement

Presenter: Ted Hoover (Persad Center)

Description: LGBTQ+ and law enforcement provides an examination of some foundational
te3rms and concepts regarding the LGBTQ+ community. A more detailed look at the
gender diverse population follows with a discussion about SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity/Expression). We focus on the “context of discrimination” as it effects
sexual and gender minorities and the resulting social/medical/legal disparities. The
workshop concludes with a look at the legal issues in the community, including the lack of
laws protecting LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians against discrimination in employment, public
accommodation and housing and a detailed discussion of the 2009 Shepard/Byrd Hate
Crime Prevention Act and how this federal law effects local law enforcement.

Barriers to Reporting for Victims with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities

Presenter: Brittany Hayes (University of Cincinnati)

Description: Our research team has identified gaps and brainstormed “fixes” to support
victims with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in reporting sexual assaults.
We connected with professionals (e.g. law enforcement, victim advocates), individuals
with IDD, and the community (e.g. caregivers, support persons). We will discuss barriers to
communication, current policy, and available accommodations to support individuals with
IDD, and areas for training. This work is foundational to support individuals with IDD to
report victimization.
Individuals with IDD are often missing from the creation of data due to , among other
things, communication differences. We developed several tools to address this: inclusive
interview guides, visual schedules, and social stories. Because people with IDD
experience a higher risk of victimization than those without disabilities, we seek to prioritize
their voices and make sure they are heard. We will share these tools to others may ensure
that individuals with disabilities are actively involved in decision-making.

Ecology 101: Environmental, Experiential, and Evidential Considerations When Serving
Survivors

Presenter: Patti Tanner (PA Department of Military & Veteran Affairs)

Description: This workshop will discuss the principles of trauma-informed care, and the
opposing forces of cultural lag, cognitive dissonance, and the status quo. Humancentered
design activities will invite participants to engage in perspective-taking and
perspective-making as they ideate and conceptualize implementable ecological
improvements and responses—that get it right the first time! Cultural enablement
strategies and ecological considerations will be explored for the following themes:
environment, experience, and evidence.

Live Demonstration of the Flash Technique for Reducing Trauma Intrusions in Sexual
Assault Survivors

Presenter: Molly Wolf (Aspen Counseling)

Description: Sexual Assault survivors frequently intrusive trauma symptoms—such as
distressing body images, bodily reactivity, and emotional flooding—that interfere with
medical care, investigative interviews, legal proceedings, and engagement in longer-term
therapy. While several evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
exist, many require sustained exposure to traumatic material, which can be intolerable or
inaccessible for some survivors, particularly early in the response process. This workshop
introduces the Flash Technique, an emerging, brief, trauma-focused intervention designed
to reduce the intensity and frequency of trauma intrusions without requiring detailed
verbalization of traumatic memories.
A core component of this workshop will be a live, trauma-informed demonstration of the
Flash Technique. The demonstration will be conducted ethically, without disclosure of
personal trauma content, and will model how the technique can be explained and
implemented in a manner that prioritizes survivor autonomy, safety, and consent.
Emphasis will be placed on how professionals across disciplines—including advocates,
clinicians, nurses, and first responders—can understand, support, and appropriately refer
for the use of this technique within a coordinated sexual assault response system.

First Contact Under Pressure: How Provider Stress and Trauma influence Sexual Assault
Response

Presenter: Morgan Krumeich (AHN Sentinel at Allegheny Health Network)

The initial response to sexual assault can significantly influence survivor engagement,
trust, and long-term outcomes. While considerable attention is paid to survivor-centered
practices, less focus is given to how the internal state of responders—law enforcement,
healthcare providers, advocates, and clinicians—can shape those critical first interactions.
This workshop examines the intersection of provider stress, vicarious trauma, burnout, and
moral injury and how these factors may unintentionally impact communication, decisionmaking,
and trauma-informed care during sexual assault response. Drawing from
evidence-based research, real-world interdisciplinary experience, and trauma psychology,
participants will explore how cumulative exposure to trauma and high-pressure
environments affects perception, emotional regulation, and cognitive flexibility.
Participants will learn to recognize early indicators of vicarious trauma across disciplines
and understand how unmanaged tress and burnout can lead to reduced empathy,
increased rigidity, or reliance on cognitive shortcuts—responses that may compromise
survivor trust even when intentions are appropriate. The workshop emphasizes that
supporting provider well-being is not separate from survivor care, but rather a foundational
component of ethical, effective response.