Organizational Members
American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
APSAC, The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, founded in 1987, is a nonprofit national organization focused on meeting the needs of professionals engaged in all aspects of services for maltreated children and their families. APSAC serves the attorneys, educators, law enforcement personnel, nurses, pediatricians, nurses, psychotherapists, social workers, child advocates, forensic interviewers, and any other professional working in or researching child maltreatment. APSAC’s mission is to improve society’s response to the abuse and neglect of its children by promoting effective interdisciplinary approaches to identification, intervention, treatment, and prevention of child maltreatment. As a multidisciplinary group of professions, APSAC achieves its mission in a number of ways, most notably through expert training and educational activities, policy leadership and collaboration, and consultation that emphasizes theoretically sound, evidence-based principles.
Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse
The Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) is an international multidisciplinary organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse. ATSA promotes sound research, effective evidence-based practices, informed public policy, and collaborative community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment, and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse. Our mission is creating a world where ending sexual harm is a shared responsibility and an achievable goal. Together, we can shift narratives on preventing sexual abuse perpetration.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Since 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is incredible potential. As the nation’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 5 through young adulthood in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. Helping to ensure the safety and well-being in the life of every child that engages with our local agencies is our highest priority.
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
The mission of the Boys and Girls Clubs is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Kids and teens need safe, welcoming places where they can learn, grow and thrive. That’s where Boys & Girls Clubs of America comes in. For more than 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs have been a second home for generations of families. We believe every young person deserves access to meaningful life experiences designed to empower youth to lead healthy, productive lives. Through caring mentors, innovative programs and an unwavering commitment to safety and inclusion, Clubs do whatever it takes to support kids and teens on their paths to great futures.
Carousel Child Advocacy Center
Carousel Child Advocacy Center (Carousel CAC), established in January 2000, is the primary resource in Southeastern North Carolina for child abuse survivors, their families, and investigative partners seeking justice. Serving Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties, Carousel CAC is the region’s only accredited Child Advocacy Center, providing vital services such as child forensic interviews, NC-rostered child medical evaluations (CMEs), comprehensive family advocacy, and high-quality trauma therapy for victims and their non-offending caregivers. In addition to offering support for survivors, Carousel CAC is dedicated to preventing child abuse through community education, training, and advocacy. Our mission is to support healing, promote justice, and foster resilience in children impacted by abuse, while striving to create a safer, more resilient community for all.
Center for Child Counseling
BeKidSafe, powered by the Center for Child Counseling, is building the capacity of educators, professionals working with children, and the larger community to promote child safety, resilience, and well-being. Our goal is to help adults who work with children learn how to keep them safe through effective strategies that prevent abuse, build safety and communication skills, promote positive relationships and resilience, and identify risk early. We are dedicated to transforming the lives of children, families, schools, and communities through effective prevention education that is easily accessible and offering reliable information developed by our team of child development and safety experts.
Center for Violence Prevention Research
The Center for Violence Prevention Research is a federally funded, leading research institution focused primarily on violence prevention that works at the ground level, hand-in-hand with organizations delivering services to their communities. We serve as a true community partner, aligning our research with organizations’ needs, moving quickly and nimbly to accommodate the realities of direct service and combining accessible research with actionable plans to improve programs, achieve better outcomes, and save more lives. At the same time, we continuously examine new data to understand every aspect of violence and shape better strategies to prevent it.
Centers for Disease Control, Division of Violence Prevention
For nearly 40 years, the Centers for Disease Control, Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) has utilized and shared the best available data and conducted research to identify what works to prevent various forms of violence. DVP identifies, evaluates, and applies solutions to these preventable public health problems, including child sexual abuse. We bring together partners and connect data, science, and action to inform the development, implementation, and sustainability of violence prevention strategies proven to be effective. DVP provides leadership and builds bridges across sectors to use data and conduct research to inform prevention activities with a focus on those at greatest risk for violence to elevate the health and well-being of all people.
Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center
Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center and our partners are the front-line responders in Chicago to reports of child sexual abuse. We also respond to physical abuse, witness to violence, and other cases of serious maltreatment. Since opening our doors in 2001, we have served more than 45,000 children. We are the city’s only nonprofit organization that coordinates the efforts of child protection staff, law enforcement professionals, family advocates, medical experts, and mental health clinicians under one roof. All of our work falls under three distinct service lines aimed at reducing trauma so that children and families may begin the healing process, or preventing child sexual abuse before it happens.
Childhelp
Childhelp is dedicated to ensuring all children and families live in safe, stable, supportive, and nurturing environments that are equitable, inclusive, and free of abuse and neglect. Through a continuum of prevention, intervention, and treatment, our programs and services include child advocacy centers, adoption, foster, and relative caregiver programs, a residential treatment facility, the National Child Abuse Hotline, the Courage First Athlete Helpline, and Speak Up Be Safe, the only youth-focused prevention education program recognized as evidence-based by the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for children in all grades, Pre-K through 12. Used globally, Speak Up Be Safe provides trained facilitators lessons in English and Spanish to provide children and youth with the knowledge and skills to identify abuse and seek help and support from a safe adult. The program covers sexual abuse as well as other types of abuse, bullying, cyberbullying, and online dangers. Additional modules are also available, including trafficking and sextortion. Speak Up Be Safe has a built-in partnership with the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline that is a resource and support for the program.
Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas
Since 1995, CACTX has established our leadership to effectuate change, empower communities, and make the safety of children a top priority in every community. CACTX and our network of CACs have helped over one million children and their families impacted by crime achieve safety, justice, and healing in their most significant time of need. As we continue to scale our footprint to support high quality services to all children requiring our care, we also recognize the opportunity to cast our vision upstream and are leading effective strategies that specifically target the prevention of sexual abuse.
Children’s Trust Fund Alliance
The Children’s Trust Fund Alliance, founded in 1989, is the national membership organization for state children’s trust funds. Our members are state leaders in prevention strategies and also are funders, investing more than $300 million each year in community-based and state-wide strategies to strengthen families. The Alliance leads multiple national networks to promote and support the voices of parents in policy and practice discussions. We also serve as a training and technical assistance center to build the expertise of anyone working with families to help them build protective factors for long-term benefit.
Committee for Children
For over four decades, Committee for Children has been championing the safety and well-being of kids. We are leaders in the field of social-emotional learning and are dedicated to helping children develop the life skills they need to thrive in the classroom and beyond. We have also developed an in-school, evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention curriculum, the Child Protection Unit, which is an offering within our Second Step family of programs.
Darkness to Light
Guided by the vision of a world free from child sexual abuse, for nearly 25 years Darkness to Light has worked to increase knowledge, change behavior, and empower adults and organizations to bring in child safety to their own communities. Founded in Charleston, South Carolina, Darkness to Light is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to equip and empower adults to be proactive in preventing child sexual abuse through adult-focused prevention education. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is a trauma and evidence-informed training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 2.2 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light’s curriculum.
Enough Abuse
Enough Abuse is the nation’s oldest citizen-based child advocacy organization with a 6-decade history of improving the lives of vulnerable children. A leader in the movement to end child sexual abuse since 2002, we achieve our mission through 3 Action Campaigns. Enough Abuse Campaign educates parents and the public; trains professionals in schools, youth organizations and communities; and advocates for laws and policies in the states aimed at preventing child sexual abuse in the first place. Children’s Justice Campaign works with survivors and policymakers across the country to press for laws to secure justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and to hold individuals and enabling institutions accountable for sexual crimes against children. Our unique online Pledge to Prevent Campaign encourages people everywhere to take specific and achievable actions to prevent child sexual abuse in their homes and communities and provides them with education and vetted resources to support their prevention actions.
Georgia Center for Child Advocacy
The Georgia Center for Child Advocacy (GCCA) is a nationally accredited child advocacy center with a mission to champion the needs of sexually and severely physically abused children through prevention, intervention, therapy, and collaboration. Through a collaborative effort to promote healthy outcomes in Georgia, GCCA equips adults and youth with awareness, prevention education, and resources to take action. Over the last three decades, GCCA has become a leader in the nation – helping lead both the response to and conversation surrounding childhood trauma, abuse, and exploitation. We have become a national mentor for other states wanting to start or expand prevention initiatives. GCCA publishes the Georgia Technical Assistance Resource Guide (TARG) which has become one of the most well-respected guides to choosing quality, effective prevention programs for youth in the country.
kNot Today
kNot Today was founded in 2019 by former NFL Head Coach Frank Reich and his wife Linda. Our mission is to generate awareness and initiate and support prevention strategies to end the sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking of children. We also support vetted restorative service providers to increase their capacity to care for children who have experienced sexual trauma. kNot Today is working directly with grassroots organizations at a community level while also addressing statewide and nationwide trends to push protective legislation and macro-level change. We currently serve Indiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and also have programs with a national reach.
Love146
Founded in 2002, Love146’s vision is the end of child trafficking and exploitation. Nothing less. Our mission is to journey alongside children impacted by trafficking today and prevent the trafficking of children tomorrow. The work of Love146 is achieved through the power of relationships and collaboration, listening to those with lived experience and diverse backgrounds, scaling proven practices, and challenging the systems that leave children vulnerable. To realize our mission, we focus on prevention education and survivor services. Through our prevention curriculum, Not a Number, we offer an interactive way for middle and high-school-aged youth to learn valuable skills that can mitigate the occurrence of exploitation and trafficking. Not a Number inspires them to make safe choices, utilize healthy support systems, and decrease their vulnerabilities. Love146 also offers specialized intensive services to help youth who have experienced or are at high risk for trafficking victimization address their trauma, develop positive coping skills, foster healthy relationships, re-engage in their school and community, and achieve additional personal goals.
The Mama Bear Effect
The Mama Bear Effect works to raise awareness and educate families and communities to understand best practices to protect and empower children from the threat of sexual abuse. The Mama Bear Effect supports that the education of parents and caregivers is an essential component of a comprehensive strategy. Through free and affordable resources, The Mama Bear Effect works to collaborate with key community stakeholders to maximize access to prevention education and healing resources for families and children affected by child sexual abuse.
Mayo Clinic Center for Safe and Healthy Children and Adolescents
The Mayo Clinic Center for Safe and Healthy Children and Adolescents is a nationally accredited child advocacy center that serves children and families in southeastern Minnesota and in locations served by the Mayo Clinic Health System. Our multidisciplinary team places the needs of the child first through a collaborative, trauma-informed response to child maltreatment and strive to create a community where all children experience safety, resilience, and healing.
mayoclinic.org
Missouri Network Against Child Abuse
The Missouri Network Against Child Abuse (MO-NACA) seeks to collaborate to create a Missouri free of child abuse by empowering adults with solutions to support the safety of children. As the Missouri Chapter of the National Children’s Alliance and Prevent Child Abuse America and the statewide organizer of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination-Child Abuse Resource and Educations (SAFE-CARE) Network, MO-NACA is Missouri’s leading expert in training, community education, and child advocacy for professionals, community members, and partners, who provide children with access to safety, justice, and healing.
Monique Burr Foundation for Children
The Monique Burr Foundation for Children (MBF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the best prevention education programs to protect children and teens from victimization. MBF Prevention Education Programs are comprehensive, evidence-based, trauma-informed primary prevention programs that educate and empower children, teens, and all relevant adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to the four types of child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect), exploitation/trafficking, bullying, cyberbullying, and digital dangers.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. NCMEC works with families, victims, private industry, law enforcement, and the public to assist with preventing child abductions, recovering missing children, and providing services to deter and combat child sexual exploitation. Every child deserves a safe childhood.
National Children’s Advocacy Center
The National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) revolutionized the United States’ response to child sexual abuse in 1985 and continues to serve as a model for the now 1100+ Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) operating in the United States and in more than 41 countries. Prevention services include home visitation, parent education, school-based programs, child sexual abuse prevention training for adults, and child abuse prevention social media toolkits for organizations. NCAC offers world-renowned trainings to child welfare professionals across the globe. The International Symposium on Child Abuse is a premier conference providing expert training and networking opportunities to professionals in the child maltreatment field. The Child Abuse Library Online, CALiO™, is the leading source for authoritative research, resources and other materials that promote evidence-based practice and the multidisciplinary coordinated response to child maltreatment. Southern Regional CAC delivers training and technical assistance to individuals in the U.S. Southeast Region who provide collaborative and coordinated responses to victims of child abuse.
PACT
Mission: We protect every child’s right to grow up free from child sexual exploitation and trafficking through education, legislative advocacy, and partnerships. We empower youth and communities, advocate for policy change, and develop strong and sustainable partnerships to educate and raise awareness on child human trafficking.
Positive Childhood Alliance NC
Positive Childhood Alliance NC (the state chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America) advances policies, programs and practices that support well-being for all NC children and families. PCANC ensures that prevention is a priority in North Carolina and that all communities have the knowledge, skills and resources needed to prevent child abuse and neglect at the local level. We invest in prevention by supporting and scaling evidence-based programs grounded in implementation science and best practices; building community will through partnership engagement and communications; and, through a commitment to policies supporting children and families across the state.
positivechildhoodalliancenc.org
Prevent Child Abuse America
Prevent Child Abuse America is the oldest and largest organization in the United States devoted to preventing child abuse by helping children and families before they reach crisis. Through our vast network of affiliated state chapters and program sites, we impact 1M+ children and families every year. PCA America’s home visiting program has been shown to reduce child abuse and intimate partner violence, while improving health and education outcomes for both children and young mothers. Across our programs, advocacy efforts, and research, we are changing understanding about the root causes of child abuse and neglect and driving investments upstream to help all children thrive.
Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota
Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota (PCAND) is dedicated to strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect in North Dakota. Our organization was founded in 1978. We are a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and a chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America. Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota also employs the Director of the North Dakota Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Task Force. This task force is committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive statewide approach to preventing child sexual abuse.
Prevent Child Abuse Vermont
Prevent Child Abuse Vermont promotes and supports healthy relationships within families, schools and communities to eliminate child abuse. For more than three decades, PCAVT has been engaged in the development and evaluation of empirically-based and effective child sexual abuse prevention in two categories: school-based programs and adult-focused programs. These programs are utilized in 40 U.S. states and a handful of countries abroad. The programs are developmentally appropriate, trauma informed, victim and victimization prevention focused on empowering adults to be able to responsibly prevent harm by cultivating open communication with children and creating safe environments.
PreventConnect
PreventConnect, a national project of ValorUS® (VALOR), advances the primary prevention of sexual assault and relationship violence by building a community of practice among people who are engaged in such efforts. PreventConnect also builds the capacity of local, state, territorial, national and tribal agencies and organizations to develop, implement and evaluate effective prevention initiatives. VALOR is a California-based national organization with the mission of preventing and ending sexual violence by advancing equity and eradicating oppression.
Protect Our Children
Protect our Children was established in 2015 with a mission to mobilize communities to prevent child sexual abuse. Born from The Ford Family Foundation’s unwavering commitment to end child sexual abuse, Protect Our Children is now a state-wide ecosystem of partners aimed at increasing knowledge about child sexual abuse and promoting pro-prevention attitudes and prevention behaviors. Since 2014, Protect Our Children has partnered with the Center for the Prevention of Abuse and Neglect (CPAN) at the University of Oregon. This partnership and the ongoing developmental evaluation by CPAN have been critical to the project’s evolution, impact, and sustainability.
Respect Together
Respect Together is an organization united to end sexual abuse, assault, and harassment. Respect Together includes two major divisions: The Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect (PCAR), which supports survivors of sexual abuse throughout all 67 counties of Pennsylvania through a network of community-based centers; and The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), which provides resources and prevention strategies at the national level. Together, we are working to disrupt the driving forces behind sexual violence to create and uphold safe, equitable communities with a culture of respect for all people.
Sacred Spaces
Sacred Spaces partners with Jewish institutions to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and other abuses of power. Bringing a uniquely Jewish lens, Sacred Spaces is a national organization dedicated to ending institutional abuse through a systemic approach across the lifespan and denominations. It is driven by the belief that healthy and accountable institutions contribute to the overall health and well-being of the Jewish community. Sacred Spaces empowers institutions with the tools they need to prevent and respond to abuse by providing services such as assessments, coaching, case consultations, policy development, and training.
Saprea
Saprea exists to liberate individuals and society from child sexual abuse and its lasting impacts. We do this by empowering healing for individuals who were sexually abused as children or adolescents through retreats, support groups, and online resources; educating and engaging parents and caregivers to protect children from sexual abuse through community and online resources; and driving awareness to motivate individuals to take action against child sexual abuse.
Scouting America
The mission of Scouting America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.
Stop It Now!
Stop It Now! (Now!), has been an innovative leader for more than 30 years in the prevention of child sex abuse (CSA). Now!’s early research and advocacy led to the CDC’s recognition of CSA as a public health issue. Now! focuses on primary prevention programming, specializing in preventing the perpetration of CSA, to understand and ultimately deter the first occurrence of sexual harm. To accomplish this, Now! operates two free nationwide helplines, maintains a public education website, offers resources to specific audiences such as WhatsOK.org, and provides CSA prevention training and consulting to both parents and youth serving organizations.
Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center
The Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center (TBCAC) is the regional response center for cases of child abuse and violence for a six-county region in Northwest Michigan and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Founded in 2010, TBCAC is one of the largest child advocacy centers in Michigan. Using data from our Child Safety Survey, conducted with the Office of Survey Research at Michigan State University, we are developing several primary prevention initiatives aimed at changing our community’s social norms. We are looking to leverage our community’s good intentions into prosocial actions so that our vision of “A World Without Abuse” may be realized in our lifetime.
World Childhood Foundation, USA
The World Childhood Foundation, USA, is committed to advocating for the rights of children worldwide, particularly in the face of sexual abuse and exploitation. They work tirelessly to create awareness, provide resources, and support programs that safeguard children’s well-being and promote their rights to safety, dignity, and education. By collaborating with different organizations, they strive to create a protective environment where children can thrive free from the threat of exploitation and violence. Their vision is to build a world where every child is protected, empowered, and given the opportunity to reach their full potential, regardless of their circumstances or background. Through their efforts, they seek to inspire lasting change and create a future where childhood is synonymous with safety, joy, and hope.
Zero Abuse Project
Zero Abuse Project is a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating a world where all children are free from abuse and sexual assault. We use an approach of education, training, prevention, and response to affect societal, organizational, and individual change by working with a diverse group of prosecutors, law enforcement, social workers, forensic investigators, k-12 schools, colleges, faith communities, parents and, of course, children.
Individual Members (National Experts)
Jon R. Conte, PhD
Dr. Jon R. Conte is Professor Emeritus, University of Washington, Seattle. Jon taught at three American Universities as a Professor of Social Work. He had a special commitment to clinical social work and to victims of childhood sexual abuse. As a teacher, researcher, and therapist he devoted almost forty years of his career to understanding, treating, and preventing childhood sexual abuse. He was the first Director of the Joshua Center on the Prevention of Childhood Sexual Abuse and along with his colleagues from the Youth Participation Program created the prevention film Elizabeth and Ziggy in which a youth shares her internal world with the viewer by talking to the dog about the experience of being groomed and trapped in sexual abuse by a coach. (https://fightchildabuse.org/elizabeth-ziggy-short-film/)
Sharea Farmer, MSW, LCSW
Sharea Farmer is the Founder and CEO of RS Counseling & Wellness. She has over 20 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker and has trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Theory, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Racial Trauma, and EMDR. Her expertise in both clinical and administration has allowed her to work in the private and public sectors as an advocate for employee wellness, Diversity & Inclusion, Race Equity, and Trauma-Informed Practices. Her unique practice of empowerment and education creates transformative wellness for her clients, who range from executive leadership teams to supervisors to staff. RS Wellness has developed employee resilience plans and trauma-informed care programs for state and public health agencies and educational groups locally and nationally. In recent projects, Sharea led the development of Racial Equity training, committees, DEI, and trauma-informed supervision in Philadelphia—and New Jersey-based government, public health, and nonprofit agencies. This led to assisting those agencies with developing their trauma-informed and diversity and inclusion strategies.
David Finkelhor, PhD
Dr. David Finkelhor is the Director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, Co-Director of the Family Research Laboratory, Professor of Sociology, and University Professor, at the University of New Hampshire. He has studied the problems of child victimization, child maltreatment and family violence since 1977. He is known internationally for his work on child sexual abuse and developmental victimology, which unifies and integrates knowledge about all the diverse forms of child victimization. Dr. Finkelhor is the editor and author of 12 books and over 250 journal articles and book chapters and the co-founder of several large national data collection efforts including the National Survey of Children Exposed to Violence (NatSCEV) and the National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children (NISMART). He has received grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the US Department of Justice, among other sources.
Hannah Fraley, PhD, RN, CNE, CPH
Dr. Hannah Fraley joined University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Nursing July 2023 as an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. Dr. Fraley received her Ph.D. in Population Health and Health Policy from UMass Boston and MSN from Cal State University Fullerton and is nationally board certified in public health. Her research centers on health disparities, vulnerable populations, social determinants of health, health equity, and health policy, with particular focus on the intersection of health and human rights. She is nationally known for her research in the area of youth violence prevention and risk reduction and is an expert in domestic youth trafficking prevention. Dr. Fraley has several publications in noteworthy multidisciplinary health sciences and nursing journals, is a mixed methods researcher and uses community based participatory approaches with school faculty, survivors, and community agencies nationally to illuminate violence and trafficking of youth in U.S. schools and in broader school communities. Her program of research has received internal and external funding and aims to build sustainable prevention interventions through development of the frontline role of school faculty, particularly school nurses, and community agencies serving youth at risk for or experiencing violence. In addition to membership in Prevent Together, she is also a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Alumni Association, Boston Division and serves on the American Public Health Association School Health Education and Services committee, and the APHA Public Health Nurses sub-committees. Dr. Fraley has also served as an expert Scientific Reviewer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention youth violence prevention grant applications and as an expert consultant on child trafficking cases.
Katie Hanna, M.Ed.
Katie Hanna is the Head of North America at the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, responsible for the management and implementation of Generation 2026: Safer, Youth-Inclusive Sports, focused on Promoting the Rights of Children in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. She started in the field working directly with children and families, and adult survivors of sexual abuse. She’s worked on the passage of four laws and has developed national child sexual abuse prevention and sport resources. Katie is currently the Past President of the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in the U.S.
Keith L. Kaufman, PhD
Dr. Keith Kaufman is a Clinical/Community Psychologist and a Professor of Psychology at Portland State University (Portland, Oregon). Over the past 40 years he has conducted prevention research, provided safety consultation to national and international organizations, participated in the development of national safety policies and practices, and served as an expert witness in child abuse cases. He’s received more than $4 million dollars in grants to fund his research on child sexual abuse, safety risk factors, and prevention strategies. His work has been published in three books, more than 50 peer-review research articles and book chapters, as well as hundreds of national and international conference presentations, keynote addresses, and trainings. Dr. Kaufman has provided consultation and training to a broad range of youth and adult serving organizations including: Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA); Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA); Boy Scouts; Interpol; U.S. Center for SafeSport; the International Olympic Committee; Children’s Hospitals; University Campuses; and the Australian Royal Commission. He’s also served in a number of national leadership positions (e.g., Past President of the Association for the Prevention & Treatment of Sexual Abuse (ATSA), BBBSA & BGCA National Advisory Boards) and has received a variety of awards for his work in the field (e.g., ATSA Significant Lifetime Achievement Award, OJJDP Gould-Wysinger Research Award). His current work focuses on utilizing his Situational Prevention Approach and other strategies to assist youth serving organizations in enhancing their child safety policies and practices.
Christy Keating, JD, CPI Certified Parent Coach
Christy Keating is a licensed attorney, certified parent coach, and educator who has spent her career working to protect children. She is the founder of The Heartful Parent Collective, which includes Savvy Parents Safe Kids, the prevention arm of the organization. Her work is rooted in the belief that every child deserves to grow up Brain and Body Safe and that child sexual abuse is a preventable problem. In furtherance of its mission, SPSK offers parent workshops both virtually and in-person, as well as professional trainings for educators, coaches, and other individuals working in youth-serving organizations all over the world. By staying abreast of the most recent research and partnering with other prevention-oriented organizations, SPSK is able to provide effective and engaging prevention education and mandatory reporter trainings based in current best practices. SPSK is also the host of the annual international virtual summit, The Safe Parenting Summit, designed to support and educate parents everywhere who may not have easy access to the parenting and safety tools needed to protect their children.
Wayne B. Moss
Wayne B. Moss is the Executive Director of the National Council of Youth Sports (NCYS). The mission of NCYS is to elevate the safety and quality of all youth sports organizations through curating and disseminating credible resources. A pivotal part of NCYS’s mission is its commitment to educating the community on critical issues within the youth sports industry. It prioritizes child safety, focusing on areas such as comprehensive background screening, athlete protection and safety, coaching education, social and emotional skill development, and parent education. Additionally, NCYS plays a crucial role in connecting its members with essential tools, products, and services. By facilitating access to these resources, NCYS empowers youth sports organizations to improve their operations, allowing them to focus on their core mission of organizing play for the 60 million youth athletes registered in organized sports.
Carol Neal Rossi
Carol Neal Rossi is President of Issues Consulting, LLC, and provides consulting services to agencies focused on child abuse and exploitation prevention, education, policy and advocacy. Carol formerly served as Director of Prevent Child Abuse Georgia and Regional Prevention Coordinator for the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy. She also worked as a consultant with the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention, the National Center on Child Trafficking in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University, Prevent Together (the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation), several state chapters of Prevent Child Abuse America, CAPS (Child and Parent Services) and Innovative Nonprofit Solutions. She served on the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s Human Trafficking Task Force, the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking and is a longstanding member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC). Carol worked with other advocates in Georgia to get Erin’s Law passed and to develop the state’s Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Technical Assistance Resource Guide (TARG).
R. Leslie Nichols, MSSA, CPP, CSC
Les Nichols has been active the field of child protection involving youth-serving organizations for over 30 years. He is the former National Vice President of Child Safety for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (National Headquarters). In this role he developed the core child protection resources and strategies still used today by one of the nation’s largest and most respected youth-serving organizations. In 2016 Les entered private practice as a child safety-security consultant to youth-serving organizations and schools. He also serves as an expert witness in child injury cases involving organizations. Les has authored or contributed to over 40 publications addressing child protection within organizations including: Extreme Violence: Understanding & Protecting People from Active Assailants, Hate Crimes & Terrorist Attacks; Recommended Guidelines and Practices: Background Screening in Youth Serving Organizations, 3rd Ed; Maryland Guidelines and Best Practices for the Design, Assessment and Modification of Physical Facilities and Spaces to Reduce Opportunities for Child Sexual Abuse; Staff Screening Toolkit, 3rd Ed; and Preventing Child Sexual Abuse within Youth-Serving Organizations: Getting Started with Policies and Procedures. Les holds a Master of Science in Security Administration and is board certified through ASIS International and The International Association of Professional Security Consultants. He holds Graduate Certificates in Enterprise Risk Management and Emergency Response Planning.
Anthony (Tony) Rizzuto, PhD
Dr. Anthony (Tony) Rizzuto is President and Founder of Abuse Prevention Solutions, LLC – a private practice offering national and international consultation in the prevention of child abuse and neglect including organizational and corporate awareness and prevention strategies, training and education, policy assessment and development, accountability, and effectiveness measurement. Dr. Rizzuto also worked with the Massachusetts Legislative Task Force on the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse to develop Safe Kids Thrive, a website providing free guidance and resources for youth-serving organizations on the Elements of Prevention. These guidelines and resources are publicly available and include information on building prevention frameworks for policies and procedures, screening and hiring, codes of conduct, monitoring behavior, safe environments, reporting, and training.
Janet Rosenzweig, PhD
Dr. Janet Rosenzweig’s credentials as a sex educator led to a position with one of the first sexual abuse projects in the U.S. more than four decades ago. Her experience as a caseworker, helpline counselor, professor, researcher, author, public official, child abuse prevention specialist, and mother inspired the creation of a resource so parents can do what public systems often fail to do — ensure the sexual health and safety of their children and family. An inspirational speaker and teacher, Dr. Rosenzweig is devoted to reaching professionals and parents everywhere with the advice and techniques they need to raise sexually safe and healthy kids. She is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Institute for Human Services and a Core Instructor at the Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania.
Joan Tabachnick, MPPM
Joan Tabachnick brings over 30 years of experience developing educational materials and innovative sexual violence prevention programs for national, state and local organizations. Her primary focus is on preventing the perpetration of sexually harmful behaviors, particularly in adolescents and young adults. Joan is a fellow of ATSA (Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse), of PIRC (Prevention Innovations Research Center) and just completed a fellowship with the US Department of Justice, SMART Office with a focus on preventing the perpetration of campus sexual misconduct. Joan serves on a number of national and statewide task forces including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Stop It Now!. Her written work includes a National Sexual Violence Resource Center publications titled “Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention,” and another titled “Family Reunification after Child Sexual Abuse,” and a publication through ATSA called “A Reasoned Approach: The Reshaping of Sex Offender Policy to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse” as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Joan continues her consulting practice, DSM Consulting, as well as her commitment to opening the door for healing and prevention for those at risk to cause harm.
