Justin Carter, Carter Prevents (he/him/his)

Justin Carter is a rising leader in the field of violence prevention. Justin has worked with universities, non-profits, state and local agencies on Bystander Intervention, Consent Education, Title IX, Masculinity programming and Outreach with underserved populations. Justin promotes social justice, inspires inter-group collaboration, and cultivates a welcoming climate through facilitation, education, and evaluation. Justin has spoken at local, state, and national level conferences, podcasts, and rallies.

Quote: "You can't legislate good will. That comes only through education." - MLK 

Molly (Margaret) DeLoris, Client Services Coordinator, Roberta's Place-Grants, NM (she/her/hers)

I am Molly (Margaret) DeLoris-a mother, survivor and forever advocate. I am from the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico. I am the Client Services Coordinator at Roberta's Place, Inc in Grants, NM. I have been in the Domestic Violence field for eight years and a survivor over 17 years. I am the mother of three children and continue to live within my Native American community serving my people and the populations in the surrounding areas.

Roberta's Place is a small non-profit organization that serves an area of both city and rural communities. Donations of any kind are always appreciated. 

Shafeka Hashash, Economic Justice Programs Director, Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (she/her/hers)

Shafeka Hashash is the Economic Justice Programs director at the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence where she works to achieve economic justice for survivors both through programming and policy reform. In this role she has developed and secured funding for an equitable entrepreneurship model which harnesses survivor skills, supporting their dreams and economic independence for their families. Her diverse economic justice work has spanned supporting shelters and grassroots programs in project implementation, supporting union and labor causes,  to spending the last three years on the anchor team to close the Atlanta City Detention Center, known as the “extra jail”  and turn it into a Center for equity and wellness.

Alba Jaramillo, J.D., Executive Director, Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors (she/her/hers)

Alba Jaramillo is the Executive Director of Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors, a non-profit organization that provides immigration advocacy and legal services to low-income immigrants and asylum seekers. Alba holds a Juris Doctor from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Arts in theatre arts and anthropology from the University of Arizona.  Alba is a recognized community leader in the areas of gender-based violence prevention, immigration, racial justice and human rights. She has created programs that have served thousands of immigrants in Arizona. Previously, Alba was the Co-Director of the Virginia statewide sexual and domestic violence coalition. She currently serves as a Co-Chair for the Southern Arizona Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) and is an advocacy consultant for National Justice For Our Neighbors network. Her passion for immigration and gender-based violence prevention stems from her own experience as a survivor and having grown up in the United States undocumented. 

Quote: “We can never truly prevent gender-based violence against immigrant victims, if we are not working to dismantle our broken and unjust immigration system.”

Nnenna Minimah, Executive Director at Southeast Advocate for Family Empowerment (SAFE) and Founder of Mission Avisée (she/her/hers)

Nnenna Minimah has prioritized inclusive policies and practices within her organizations and when responding to the unique needs of all survivors. Nnenna is also a leader in the movement of domestic & sexual violence who provides leadership in the area of wellness for staff and advocates. Her motto is "Lead, Love, Live”. 

Quote: “Let's have more days of joy than not, if you find your days less joyous, then maybe its time for a change."

Mona Muro, MSW, Economic Justice consultant (she/her/hers)

Mona Muro is an Economic Justice consultant based in Texas. Over the last decade and a half of her career in the non-profit sector, she has championed anti-gender-based violence work with grassroots organizations, community members, and fought to keep survivor voices at the heart of the movement. She is a recognized presenter, facilitator, and trainer in her field, having spoken in front of state and national audiences. During the legislative session, Mona spends her time advancing policy for people impacted by gender-based violence (GBV) and has over overseen state, and national economic justice policy and systems. She is an experienced policy professional focusing on immigration, consumer rights, economic wellbeing, and public benefits legislation. Mona has co-led policy efforts addressing coerced debt; a unique form of non-consensual credit-related debt occurring in GBV relationships, leading to the passage of two landmark coerced debt laws in the state. She believes that reflection and growth are critical to human-centered policy initiatives and strives to center equity in policymaking. Mona has a growing passion for working with organizations, to reflect, evaluate, and create a healthy organizational culture. In this vein, she values and promotes the role of power-sharing models and racial and economic equity in the workplace.  Mona is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, a Tejana, a Social Worker, a dog mom, an anti-oppression social justice proponent. She supports and mentors progressive leaders through her board service with the New Leaders Council – Austin chapter, and every chance she gets she’s enjoying international hiking trips and collecting and cooking with spices she finds during her travels.

Roy Rios, Prevention Manager, Texas Council on Family Violence (he/him/his)

Roy Rios is the Prevention Manager at the Texas Council on Family Violence in Austin, TX. Rios has worked extensively with victim, offender, and prevention programming service providers on best practices, advocacy, and facilitation. He has worked in the movement to end gender-based violence since 2002; Rios’ current areas of expertise are on issues related to developing trauma-informed prevention practices, understanding the impact of technology on prevention and intervention advocacy, engaging men to end gender-based violence, and effectively serving LGBTQ populations. 

Quote: “​​Engaging a trauma-informed framework in all your prevention work ensures a safer connection to the communities we serve.”

Christina Semenchuk, Programs Manager/DVOTI Specialist, Roberta's Place, Inc. (she/her/hers)

Christina Semenchuk works as the Programs Manager and DV Offender Treatment Intervention Specialist at Roberta’s Place, Inc. in Grants, NM. In addition to providing direct services to families and assisting with the day-today operations for the program; she is the primary service provider to the domestic violence offender treatment intervention program. Christina has worked with offenders for over a decade, starting her career with the New Mexico Corrections Department as a caseworker. Working with incarcerated individuals ignited a passion for helping others, and herself, heal from past trauma. She is currently working towards her master’s degree in social work.

Arlene Vassell, Vice President of Programs, Prevention & Social Change, NRCDV (she/her/hers)

Arlene Vassell is the Vice President of Programs, Prevention & Social Change at the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. She joined NRCDV as staff in 2015. Prior to joining staff she served for several years as Vice-Chair of NRCDV’s Board of Directors. Arlene provides leadership to NRCDV’s Programs & Prevention and Communications Teams and oversees several key initiatives, including the Domestic Violence Awareness Project , PreventIPV and the Women of Color Coalition Leadership Project. Arlene has over 25 years of multi-faceted experience within the movement to end domestic and other forms of gender-based violence. Her “formal” advocacy work began in Virginia at the YWCA Women’s Advocacy Program. She later worked at the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance and the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Arlene has served on numerous state-level and national committees and workgroups and has received many awards and recognitions for her advocacy work.

Arlene is a proud immigrant, born in Jamaica, a mother, a mentor, an Auntie, an entrepreneur, a published author, a storyteller, a thought-leader, a joy-seeker and a self-proclaimed hope dealer.