Amelia Meman is an activist, educator, and researcher from Baltimore, MD currently working toward their PhD in clinical and community psychology at UMBC. Amelia's research is on sexual violence prevention and radical pedagogy. Before joining their doctoral program, Amelia led the Women's Center at UMBC for 5 years developing intersectional feminist programming and collaborating with campus community members to cultivate more equitable and inclusive practices.

Institution: University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Anne Dufault, MS, MEd is a PhD student at Suffolk University in Applied Developmental Psychology. Her research focuses on how examining power and oppression in sexual violence prevention efforts can promote positive development both for young people who show warning signs they may cause harm, and young people involved in preventing harm on their campuses. Her work is informed by nearly a decade as a sexual violence prevention educator for Catharsis Productions, where she traveled the U.S. educating college students and U.S. military service members, and trained new educators how to facilitate interactive and engaging conversations about sexual violence. She is also a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, with a MEd in Educational Studies.

Institution:Suffolk University

April currently serves as the Associate Director for Student Accountability in the Office of the Dean of Students at the University of Utah. She serves as the main conduct officer for the University, protecting student rights and working through appropriate resolutions to student accountability cases. Prior to the Office of the Dean of Students, she worked in various student affairs departments at the University of Utah and the University of Georgia, where she received her master's degree in kinesiology while completing a graduate assistantship in the Department of Recreational Sports. She is currently a first-year Ph.D. student in Educational Leadership & Policy at the U. Outside of work and school, she teaches group fitness classes, spends lots of time outdoors, and love snuggling with her cat, Winnie.

Institution: University of Utah

Chris Toutain serves as the Martha A. Darling Dean of Students at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where he works to support student success both in and outside the classroom. For more than 12 years Chris has served in multiple student affairs roles, including within housing at Willamette University, the Dean of Students Office at Chapman University, and as Reed College’s Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator. Chris brings over a decade of sexual misconduct investigation and adjudication experience, along with a practitioner lens rooted in a prioritization of student care and a commitment to providing individualized support and equitable educational access. Chris completed his Ph.D. in Education, with an emphasis in Disability Studies, at Chapman University, and his research interests focus on issues of student disability across the co-curriculum.

Institution: Reed College

Clara Wellons holds an MPH from Columbia University's Mailman School, with a specialization in injury and violence prevention. She serves on the Advocacy and Policy Committee of The Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, is a member of the Men’s Health Caucus of the American Public Health Association, and is a member of North America Men Engage Network.

Ms. Wellons' professional background includes experience in research and the mental health sector, gained during her time working at McLean Hospital's Brain Imaging Center. Her master's thesis, "A Methodological Review of National WISQARS Surveillance of Interpersonal Community Level Non-Fatal Assaults", critiqued the standard use of injury data from victims as a proxy for data from those who cause harm.

She uses gender theory analysis to identify and understand root causes of perpetration of harm and to develop primary prevention strategies.

Institution: Columbia University's Mailman School

Dr. Grace Nickels has seventeen years of experience in higher education administration. She currently serves as the Deputy Title IX Coordinator and SAVE (Sexual Assault and Violence Education) Coordinator at LSU Health Shreveport. Prior to joining the LSU Health Shreveport team, she served in several positions, including the Director of Student Advocacy and Accountability and Title IX Coordinator, at LSU Shreveport. She earned a bachelor, masters, and doctorate degree from LSU Shreveport. Her doctoral dissertation examined Title IX Coordinators’ perceptions of ethical leadership, organizational support, and job satisfaction. Grace’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the Caddo Bossier Domestic Violence Task Force, Executive Board member for the Young Professionals Initiative of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, and member of Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier. She recently joined the Krewe of Barkus and Meoux and plans to get involved with initiatives, along with her Pomeranian named Druzy.

Institution: LSU Health Shreveport

Dr. Grace Poon Ghaffari is passionate about transforming systems that prioritize the realities of survivors of color, especially Asian women college survivors, which is why she created @AsianWomenCollegeSurvivors [link: https://www.instagram.com/asianwomencollegesurvivors/]. Grace earned her PhD in higher education at Azusa Pacific University by studying how systemic oppression and cultural wealth shape bodily harm and healing among Asian American college women survivors of sexual/relationship violence. Grace also works at Stanford University where she creates educational interventions to prevent violence and cultivate care among students. She believes that healing of trauma must be intersectional and intertwined with cultural wealth. Grace received her BA in Economics from UC Irvine and MA in Higher Education and Student Affairs from New York University, and has worked in various areas within student affairs (i.e., greek life, residential life, student activities, multicultural affairs). Grace finds joy anytime she is playing with her daughter, moving her body, and tasting all the foods.

Institution: Stanford University

Jacquelyn Mesenbrink, DrPH, MPH, CHES is an assistant professor at Georgia Southern University in the Jiann-Ping HSU College of Public Health. Her research experience includes program development for social justice programming including violence prevention, COVID-19, and mental health. Her subject matter experience includes a well-versed understanding of college campus populations and sexual violence prevention programming. She currently serves as the Rape Crisis Center, Mary's Place, Board Chair in Savannah.

Institution: Georgia Southern University

Jessie Lynn Richards, PhD., is an assistant professor/lecturer in the Business School at the University of Utah where she teaches interpersonal and organizational communication and writing. Her research focuses on intersections of trauma, gender, and language in organizational contexts. She started Fight Against Domestic Violence (FADV), a non-profit foundation, to support survivors of domestic violence through business and individual partnerships.

Institution: University of Utah

Julia Broussard is the Associate Director for the Title IX office and a Deputy Title IX Coordinator at Tulane University in New Orleans. In this role, Julia collaborates in the development and implementation of new initiatives and projects related to sexual misconduct prevention and response as well as Title IX trainings, communications, policy, and data for the campus community. Julia previously worked in Case Management and Victim Support Services at Tulane. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and French from Tulane University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Louisiana State University. Julia is a licensed clinical social worker.

Institution: Tulane Univesity

Karla is a first-gen PhD student, graduate researcher, and confidential survivor advocate in the Higher Education & Organizational Change program at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies. Her research, scholarship and practice centers students of color impacted by campus sexual violence including their healing, resilience, and persistence in higher education. As a practitioner, Karla has developed and implemented various primary prevention strategies and survivor support efforts across several institutions, organizations, and campus communities. She has held various leadership positions in student affairs focused on creating equitable learning spaces for students, staff and faculty. Intersectionality, healing-centered and trauma-informed frameworks are critical components of her activism, resilience, and joy. She earned a double BA in Anthropology and Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California, and a MA in Higher Education from UCLA.

Institution: UCLA

Kevin Coe is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. Professor Coe’s research employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand political communication, news media, and public opinion. He is the coauthor of two books, The Ubiquitous Presidency: Presidential Communication and Digital Democracy in Tumultuous Times (Oxford, 2021, with Joshua Scacco) and The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America (Oxford, 2010, with David Domke), as well as numerous research articles. Professor Coe teaches courses on media, strategic communication, political communication, and content analysis. He earned his Ph.D. in speech communication at the University of Illinois.

Institution: University of Utah

As a first-generation student growing up in a refugee household, my lived experience, research, and education, have shaped my perspective. I’m passionate about bridging the gap between academia and the realities of marginalized communities like my own.
My studies in Psychology, Criminology, and International studies have deepened my understanding of human interactions, behaviors, and the complex influences of culture and society. In these academic pursuits, I've had the opportunity to observe how power dynamics can act as formidable barriers particularly affecting historically underrepresented populations. These dynamics, intertwined with pre-existing cultural biases and the absence of representation and cultural competence in supportive services often exacerbate harm and silencing of these communities. My aspiration is to contribute to education and prevention, recognizing it’s not just about mitigating harm but also empowering individuals within communities to regain control of their lives while fostering safer environments, and confronting concepts that often cause discomfort, but ultimately promote accountability and holistic reintegration into the community we all belong in. Beyond academics, I find solace in pottery, baking, gardening, healing, and being present with those I admire.

Institution: University of Utah

I am currently serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor for the Administration of Higher Education programs at Auburn University. Recently I graduated from Texas A&M University with my Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, with graduate certificates in Women and Gender Studies as well as College Teaching. I have experience teaching graduate level courses on college student development, social justice, higher education policy, higher education leadership, and qualitative methods. Previously I worked in student affairs as a Health Promotion Specialist. My research areas of expertise include sexual violence in higher education contexts, college students and allyship, and critical frameworks such as intersectionality.

Institution: Auburn University

Megan Karbley, Ph.D. (she, her, hers) is a practitioner and scholar in higher education student affairs (HESA). She currently serves as the Director of Compliance and Title IX Coordinator at Elon University in North Carolina. In Megan’s dissertation research, she sought to bring the experiences of HESA practitioners engaged in bias response to the forefront of institutional consciousness, with attention to their precarity as agents of institutional policies. With respect to Megan’s publications and research contributions, she focuses primarily on HESA practitioner experiences, including white DEIA educators and New Professionals in Higher Education and has published three book chapters in addition to this project. As a Title IX administrator, Megan is engaged in research projects and practices highlighting restorative justice’s application in sexual misconduct adjudication and respondent experiences.

Institution: Elon University

Robert has been involved with Title IX work for over 10 years in higher education as an investigator, deputy coordinator, and coordinator, with a broad background in student affairs. His research has centered around understanding and framing sexual assault and rape culture on college campuses. He is currently the Director of Title IX, EEO & Employee Relations at the Art Institute of Chicago/ School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has previously worked at North Park University, Loyola -University Chicago, Dominican University, and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He has a bachelor and master’s degree from Indiana University, and a doctoral degree from Northern Illinois University. Additionally, Robert has also worked with a non-profit specializing in gender-based violence prevention since 1999.

Institution: Art Institute of Chicago/School of the Art Institute of Chicago