Conference Agenda
Tuesday, May 5th
7:00 am - 8:30 am Breakfast & Check in
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Welcome and Conference Opening
9:00 am - 9:45 am
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Teresa M. Stafford-Wright is a nationally recognized nonprofit executive, author, and sought-after keynote speaker whose work centers healing, equity, and courageous leadership. With more than 25 years in the gender-based violence field, she has dedicated her career to transforming how systems respond to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking.
Teresa currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center in Ohio and is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Inspiring Change, LLC.
A survivor of incest, rape, and teen dating violence, Teresa brings both lived experience and executive leadership expertise to every stage she steps onto. She is the author of Beyond Surviving: The Courage to Heal and Lead. Her work challenges audiences to move beyond compliance toward transformational change that centers dignity, accountability, and liberation for all survivors. Her message is clear: healing is not separate from leadership. It is the foundation of it.Ballroom A/B
10:00 am - 11:30 am
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Drawing from Deaf cultural knowledge and trauma-informed, survivor-centered frameworks, the session challenges participants to move beyond surface-level accommodations toward meaningful, accountable, and Deaf-affirming care.
This session will examine power and control dynamics unique to Deaf survivors, identify gaps in current systems, and reimagine prevention and healing as collective, justice-centered work.
Attendees across movements will be invited to rethink what safety, healing, and community care truly look like when Deaf survivors are no longer pushed to the margins. -
Sex-ed is often a missing link in sexual violence prevention programming. In this session, presenters look at why it can sometimes be easier to talk about sexual violence rather than sexual pleasure and how that is detrimental to young people. They will outline how to utilize resources and team work to create culturally specific curriculum and to build comfort with the content in order to help students see sex-ed beyond STIs and birth control.
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Description TBA
11:45 pm - 1:15 pm
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Join us for lunch in the ballroom as we honor some of the incredible people across New Mexico supporting survivors of sexual violence.
Ballroom A/B
1:15 pm - 2:45 pm
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Description TBA
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This interactive discussion will focus on the foundations of trauma informed approaches to our work and ways to expand from philosophy and attitude to consistently implementing strategies in practice
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What does justice mean to survivors of sexual harm—and what if the criminal legal system isn't the way to get it?
This workshop explores restorative justice (RJ) as a trauma-informed, survivor-centered alternative to traditional systems. Participants will examine the differences between RJ and the criminal legal system, examine the anti-oppressive nature of circle processes, and hear a personal case study.
Through guided reflection and dialogue, participants will explore their own assumptions about justice and accountability. The session includes tools and resources for supporting survivors seeking alternative paths to healing and justice.
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
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This session provides an overview of military sexual trauma (mst) and harassement including how military cultural norms impact the prevalence of MST and create barriers for survivors.The presenter will look at challenges such as under reporting, vulnerabilities, gendered differences, and policy to help participants better understand and support the communities across New Mexico.
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Grief care is intrinsic to our growth as humans, and crucial to those of us in advocacy and caregiving roles. This workshop utilizes journaling as an access point to unmasking grief and exploring it within a framework that centers the griever within their culture and lineage, accessing their somatic and sensory wisdom as tools for transformation.
Learners will be introduced to five guiding principles which can be used to create a holistic and full spectrum exploration of the grief experience. Blending personal narrative, creative flow, and cultural wisdom, journaling participants will find themselves within a deeply supportive context.
As a group, we will engage in a guided experiential journaling session followed by reflection and sharing to identify common threads. This inclusive and holistic style of self reflective journaling can be utilized in the professional setting, in leadership, with clients, or as a modality of self reflection and self development.
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This interactive session provides an overview of ableism as a supremacy system and explores how it contributes to the prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional violence, intimate partner (including caretakers) violence experienced by the disabled community.
The presentation then explores how bodily autonomy, self and cultural pride, dignity, and body sovereignty are protective factors which empowering communities and prevent violence.
Wednesday, May 6th
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast & Check in
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Welcome
9:00 am - 10:15 am
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David Adams is the co-founder of Parnall & Adams Law, LLC, where he focuses on civil rights, wrongful death investigations, and matters related to Indigenous law. His work includes advocating for justice in overlooked cases involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP).
Previously, David served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the Department of Justice, where he prosecuted major criminal cases and acted as Tribal Liaison to the 22 Pueblos and Nations across New Mexico. During his tenure, he led prosecutions under a pilot initiative with the Office on Violence Against Women, earning national recognition from U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch for his impactful contributions to public safety and his commitment to addressing violence against women.
Throughout his career, he has delivered hundreds of trainings to organizations nationwide, emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed approaches in the response to violent crime.Ballroom A/B
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Immediately following David Adams
Teresa Garcia is a first-generation Mexican Indigenous graduate of the University of New Mexico. Originally from El Paso, Texas, she is bilingual, with Spanish as her first language. As a survivor of domestic violence, Teresa left her 10-year pharmaceutical career to advocate for survivors and strengthen community systems, serving in various local and statewide roles.
A committed public servant, Teresa has run for office twice, elevating survivor-centered policy, transparency, and equitable systems change. She was appointed to Chair the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Commission for the City of Albuquerque, where she works to strengthen coordinated community response and close systemic gaps.
Teresa previously served as Director of Training and Community Engagement at the NMCADV. She now serves as the Digital Marketing and Communications Specialist for the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, leading strategic engagement efforts that expand education, strengthen partnerships, and advance survivor-centered advocacy statewide and nationally.Ballroom A/B
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
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Description TBA
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Drawing on their experience at a dual DV/SA program within the Jicarilla Apache community, the presenters will discuss esablishing and sustaining community-based responses to sexual assault and domestic violence that emphasize culturally responsive collaboration among service providers. Through activities and case studies, participants will explore how multidisciplinary partnerships and community relationships strengthen survivor support and sustainable responses to violence.
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Storytelling is more than a buzzword. It has been an ancient practice passed down from our ancestors across generations and also utilized by our Black, Brown, and Native American visionaries and leaders for liberation.
Ethical and anti-exploitative storytelling when practiced in safe, trauma-informed, accessible, and culturally sensitive spaces, has the power to foster empathy, discover our voice, build community, and redefine and reclaim intergenerational healing.
In this interactive session, we will first explore how culturally responsive storytelling can be used as an innovative tool for prevention, individual and collective care, promoting solidarity, and finding strength and wisdom in our and each other’s stories. Participants will then be guided into individual story-writing activities using grounding activities and prompts, followed by peer sharing and group reflections. Participants will leave the session feeling empowered, having mapped their individual and collective vision of care and healing, and with resources to continue this journey.
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
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Join us in the ballroom for a buffet lunch.
Ballroom A/B
1:15 pm - 2:45 pm
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Alejandra Casarrubias, BSN RN, presents three Sexual Assault Nurse Exam cases each with unique challenges to explore and offer insights into the barriers survivors face, the role of resilience, and the importance of collaboration between organizations.
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Rhythm is deep within our human capacity and is an incredible biological gift we can easily tap into by being reminded that it is at our fingertips and by engaging in simple rhythmic and patterened activities as a form of regulation and connection. This workshop will explore the power in rhythm as a tool for healing and regulation, especially regarding managing the trauma response and will offer simple and easily accessible activities that help us and those we serve get back in balance and find our rhythm.
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This session will look at recent research into how reducing sex/gender stereotypes reduces instances of sexual violence perpetration and victimization. The presenters will then discuss how they have taken some of the actionable steps mentioned in the research in Albuquerque Public Schools and the results they have seen over the past two years.
They will highlight promising efforts including 1:1 education with students who exhibit sexual aggression, partnerships with clinical therapists for students with more severe sexual aggression, and navigating when students are hearing conflicting, harmful messages from their families and homes.
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
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In New Mexico, prosecutors’ offices face challenging barriers such as inadequate funding, rapid turnover, and a lack of sufficient mentorship for newer attorneys. For sex crimes and child abuse prosecutors, these realities are exacerbated by the fact that these fields are both legally complicated and personally traumatic.
This panel discussion with the lawyers who created the Prosecution Mentoring Project Anne (Martha) Wood-Kelly, Susan Stinson, and Lisa Trabaudo will explore why this project was developed, what it is achieving for sex crimes and child abuse prosecutors, what else is needed to support the field, and the crucial role that partners play in transforming the efficacy of criminal cases. -
This interactive session discusses the history, challenges, and lessons of the Army's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program from someone has been with the program in different positions since 2005.
Through examining historic and ongoing efforts at reform and oversight, this session presents some of the continued barriers and opportunities in the future of prevention and response and the role partner organizations can play. -
Ilaw translates to “light”. Kapwa is a Tagalog word that roughly translates to “fellow being” or “others.” While the translated word in itself goes beyond, the meaning and term is on inherent unity and interconnectedness between oneself and others. It’s a recognition that we’re all part of a larger whole, and that our identities are inextricably linked to those around us.
Beginining with a brief overview of sexual violence history of APINH (majority on Filipino/a/x diaspora), this session looks at the intersections of civic engagement, language justice, community education, and community care with preventing and ending sexual violence.
Though examples of how organizations like NM Asian Family Center co-create healing spaces centering culturally specific care, the facilitator will provide an overview of practices including yoga, hilot (massage), reiki, tea ceremony, and food as "medicine" utilizing the feedback of the community who are engaged and participating.
Thursday, May 7th
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast & Check in
8:30 am - 10:00 am
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Rural communities face distinct challenges in effectively responding to domestic violence and sexual assault, including limited resources, geographic barriers, and community dynamics that can inhibit disclosure, safety, and accountability. This session presents a practical, adaptable framework for establishing a Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT) that also strengthens coordinated sexual assault response in rural jurisdictions.
Drawing on the successful model implemented in Eddy County, participants will learn how to build cross-disciplinary partnerships with law enforcement, advocates, forensic nurses, prosecutors, and community agencies; integrate survivor-centered practices into both DV and SA investigations; implement lethality and risk assessments; and design case-staffing processes that elevate offender accountability. The session will address the unique challenges rural agencies face in supporting survivors of both domestic and sexual violence and offer strategies to overcome them. Attendees will leave with a clear roadmap to create a sustainable, collaborative response that enhances safety, professionalism, and system-wide outcomes. -
This session invites participants to consciously give themselves permission—without guilt or judgment—to laugh at life as it unfolds. By embracing grace, we learn to soften our self-criticism and recognize that both the absurd and the serious moments of daily living are shared human experiences. Through reflection and lighthearted perspective, the session highlights how humor is not a dismissal of responsibility or pain, but a powerful coping tool that builds resilience, reduces stress, and restores balance. Attendees will leave encouraged to view everyday challenges with curiosity and compassion, discovering that laughter can coexist with struggle and serve as a meaningful pathway to emotional well-being.
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Sexual Assault Exam Kits (SAEKs) are an important option for survivors to pursue justice. Yet for decades, hundreds of kits across the country including in New Mexico were left untested and abandoned leaving survivors without answers. 10 years ago, New Mexico began the process of addressing this backlog, testing the kits, and setting up systems so that this wouldn’t happen again.
Recent delays in testing has led to the creation of the SAEK Backlog Taskforce to look into previous and ongoing challenges. This session helps attendees understand the history as well as the current barriers and what the taskforce hopes to achieve.
10:15 am - 11:15 am
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Something Oughta’ Be Said is a powerful, personal keynote tracing the evolution of sexual assault advocacy in New Mexico through memory, movement, and moral courage. Inspired by her grandmother—a quiet but formidable Creole woman whose guiding phrase became a lifelong call to action—Cathryn McGill reflects on her early work at the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center at the turn of the century, long before the Me Too movement reshaped public discourse.
Set in a time when sexual violence was dismissed as impolite conversation and survivor services survived on bake sales and goodwill, McGill recounts how a small group of women confronted political indifference, challenged entrenched power, and demanded sustainable public funding for prevention, intervention, and survivor-centered care. Weaving history, policy realities, and hard-earned wisdom, this keynote examines both the progress made and the silence that still endangers survivors today.
Something Oughta’ Be Said is a call to speak plainly, fund courageously, and refuse to confuse politeness with justice.