Jim Elsaesser has facilitated Healing Poetry workshops in his community in a variety of settings. He currently facilitates weekly Healing Poetry Groups at Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Interventions Services, (DASI),https://www.dasi.org/  Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services, and NORWESCAP, Sussex, NJ. He also facilitates the SUPPORT GROUP with the DECIDE Program of DASI. DECIDE is an Abuser Intervention Program for men who have caused harm in their relationships.  He has served as an instructor of GED English and has led online ESL classes and facilitated poetry workshops for School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), since 2013.  He has served as Community Outreach Specialist, at DASI, Newton, NJ. He currently serves as a Group Facilitator for the DECIDE Program at DASI. He is a certified Peer Recovery Specialist and holds a certification as a Practitioner of Poetic Medicine from the Institute for Poetic Medicine.

Dr. Ron Frey is a psychologist who has worked in child trauma and family violence for over 45 years. He lectured in the School of Psychology and Counselling at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland for 30 years, and currently holds a visiting appointment at QUT.  For the past eight years, Ron has been an adjunct senior researcher at the Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies at the University of Tasmania.  He worked with children living in violence and their families at the Talera Centre in Brisbane for 11 ½ years and served on the Board of Directors of the Queensland state-wide family violence crisis service DV Connect for 10 years.  He wrote, with Dr. Romy Winter of TILES, the Lifeline DV Alert workshop, working with men who use violence, which has been presented approximately 150 times across Australia, and works with Hobart City Mission in Hobart, Tasmania implementing trauma informed care across approximately 25 programs.

Daniel Goombi (Kiowa) is the Executive Director of the Midwest Native Coalition for Justice and Peace (MNCJP), a Tribal coalition funded by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) that supports Tribal communities across Kansas by developing and implementing culturally grounded victim advocacy services. He brings extensive experience in both community‑based and systems‑based advocacy, having served as a Tribal Victim Services Manager, Community Outreach and Education Coordinator, and Lead Victim Advocate, and has led the creation of specialized victim response services within Tribal law enforcement, including initiatives with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. Mr. Goombi has been instrumental in strengthening collaboration among Tribal, state, and federal partners on domestic violence and sexual assault responses, develops and delivers Title IX victim services training for Tribal colleges, and serves as faculty for the National Tribal Trial College, educating Tribal advocates on law‑based practices to represent and litigate on behalf of trauma survivors. A frequent national presenter, he shares expertise on Healing Through Art for Native survivors, victim impact statement development, collaborative advocacy with law enforcement, and culturally responsive approaches tailored to the needs of Tribal communities and Native survivors.

Dorthy Stucky Halley, LMSW, is an international trainer, co‑founder of Halley Counseling Services, P.A., and co‑director of the trauma‑focused Family Peace Initiative. She directed the Victim Services Division of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office from 2007–2020, leading the statewide development and certification of battering intervention programs. A pioneer in developing an evidence-informed motivation typology for those who use family violence, she has strengthened understanding and practice across courts, law enforcement, advocacy, and BIP programs. With nearly four decades as an expert witness, she has served as ED of Safehouse, Inc., Assistant Professor and Practicum Director at Pittsburg State University, and president of KNASW, KCSDV, and KOVA, and she served for years on the International Public Policy Institute board. Her honors include the Kansas Outstanding Victim Advocate of the Year Award (1996), the inaugural Dorthy Halley Lifetime Service Award (2020), the Exemplary Service to Children and Families Award (2020), the Distinguished Service to Children Award (2022), and IPPI’s Matron Award (2025). With her husband, Steve, she has authored multiple curricula and the books The River of Cruelty and Halley’s Alley. She enjoys water skiing, traveling, and time with family and friends.

Steve Halley, LSCSW, is an international trainer, co‑founder of Halley Counseling Services, P.A., and co‑director of the Family Peace Initiative, where he has been a visionary leader in developing and teaching a trauma‑focused approach for those who use family violence. Internationally recognized for this expertise, he is also known for creating the groundbreaking “River of Cruelty” model and for his long service on the Kansas Governor’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board. With degrees in history, outdoor administration, and social work, Halley has spent three decades as a wilderness counselor, probation officer, therapist, and BIP provider. He and his wife, Dorthy, have authored multiple curricula as well as The River of Cruelty and Halley’s Alley: Commentaries on Marriage, Family, Healthy Relationships, Parenting, Loss, Grief, Trauma, and Domestic Violence. Steve writes a monthly blog to assist professionals working with those who use family violence. It can be accessed through www.familypeaceinitiative.com. Steve is an avid golfer and songwriter.

James E. Henderson Jr.   In April 2025 James Henderson was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26^th Annual International Family Justice Center Conference in honor of his lifetime commitment to increasing safety for victims and accountability for those who have harmed others. Then on November 5^th 2025 James received the Michigan Intervention ICON Award in recognition of his work which has been significant and has influenced advocacy for intervention with those who have perpetrated intimate partner abuse. He is an internationally recognized expert, author, and trainer with more than 30 years shaping criminal justice and systems responses to intimate partner violence. He directs Accountable Choices in the Detroit area and leads Prevention & Training Services LLC (PATS), providing gender‑responsive, trauma‑informed intervention and education services. James served as the Director of Offender Accountability for the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention and trains internationally with the European Alliance for Hope and Empowerment, the Red Rose Foundation in Australia, and the National Criminal Justice Training Center to name a few. His work includes collaborations with the Center for Justice Innovation and the OECD on trauma‑informed, hope‑centered approaches to engaging men who have used violence, including presenting at the OECD Paris in 2020. A former probation officer of 19 years and long‑time national technical assistance provider for OVW grantees, he has evaluated programs across the U.S. and internationally and advises multiple national and global organizations. A Certified Addiction Counselor II with additional clinical certifications, James earned his MSW from the University of Michigan and is widely respected for his leadership, innovation, and commitment to accountability, healing, and hope.

Jess Hill is an Industry Professor researching gender-based violence at the University of Technology, Sydney. Named Marie Claire’s 2023 Changemaker of the Year, she is a journalist, author, and educator who has achieved global renown for her ground-breaking work on gendered violence. Her journalism has won many awards, including three Walkley awards. Her first book, See What You Made Me Do, became a bestseller and was awarded the 2020 Stella Prize and the ABA Booksellers Choice non-fiction book of the year. See What You Made Me Do has become a seminal text on family violence and coercive control in Australia and overseas, has been translated into five languages and has also been adapted into a three-part television series for SBS. Since then, she has written a Quarterly Essay on how #MeToo is changing Australia, made a podcast series on coercive control titled The Trap, and another three-part series on Consent, titled Asking For It. Her most recent Quarterly Essay, ‘Losing It’ critically analyses Australia’s efforts to reduce gender-based violence, and last year, she was appointed to the Australian government’s Rapid Review into Prevention. In her work as an advocate and educator, Jess has made hundreds of media appearances and has fronted almost 400 events across the country, educating communities, magistrates, police, social workers, health and family law professionals on coercive control.

Karin Ho has been a victim advocate for over 40 years, providing direct services to crime survivors. 11 of those years, she worked in the sexual assault field in various community-based, rape crisis & domestic violence programs in both Ohio and upstate New York, followed by over 20 years as a victim advocate within adult and juvenile corrections, providing services to crime survivors of all crimes regarding post-conviction issues in Ohio. Karin joined the South Carolina Department of Corrections in 2016 as the Division Director of Victim Services. In this role, she oversees all post-conviction, victim-related services, including but not limited to, victim notification, Restorative Justice practices such as the Impact of Crime Program, Violence Prevention Programming, Domestic Violence Program for Batterers and Victim Offender Dialogue. In addition, Karin implemented and coordinates the agency’s Critical Incident Stress Management Peer Support Program for staff who experience trauma. Karin was instrumental in developing the Post Critical Incident Seminar (PCIS) process within corrections in South Carolina, which assists employees experiencing long-term effects of critical events. As a part of this Peer Support Team, Karin is the handler for the agency’s Trauma Dog, Flossy, who is trained to cue in on elevated cortisol levels and uses her body to lean on pressure points on their bodies to lower their blood pressure and provide a sense of grounding and support, when someone may be having an acute reaction to a traumatic event. Karin is also trained as an expert witness in the area of non-fatal strangulation and conducts training for medical staff, law enforcement, victim advocates and prosecutors to help strengthen their response, investigation and prosecution of these cases. She is a member of the Restorative Justice and Victims’ Committee for the American Correctional Association as well as the South Carolina Victim Services Statewide Coordinating Council.

Janay Kent, Esq., is an attorney licensed in Kansas and Arizona and has been in private practice for eight years. Her office primarily handles family law cases. She joined the Shawnee County Child in Need of Care panel in August 2021. Throughout her academic and professional career, she has been fortunate enough to be mentored by some of the most trusted and experienced domestic violence experts in Kansas. Under their guidance, she became certified to administer batterer intervention assessments and began facilitating domestic violence intervention groups in the community, at the Topeka Correctional Facility, and the Topeka Juvenile Detention Center. While attending Law School, Janay became Director of Operations at the Family Peace Initiative and simultaneously worked as a victim advocate liaison for the YWCA Center for Safety & Empowerment. She also served on the board of directors at Florence Crittenton for six years, including a term as board president. Her husband, Jordon Davin, has been endlessly supportive of her professional endeavors.

Alyce LaViolette is considered a pioneer in the field of domestic violence.  She began working with victims of abuse at WomenShelter in Long Beach, Ca. in 1978.  In 1979, she founded Alternatives to Violence, one of the first programs to work with abusive partners as a program of WomenShelter.  She went into private practice in 1984 and continued with her programs.  She has appeared on local and national television and radio and is currently working on a Netflix documentary.  She speaks nationally and internationally.  Alyce has served in an expert capacity in criminal, family and civil courts since 1984 including very high-profile cases.  She serves as a Commissioner for Women and Girls for the city of Long Beach and serves as an advisory board member for Peace Over Violence and A Window Between Worlds.  Alyce has received numerous awards for her work and will be receiving "A Woman of the Year" award in 2026 from the Los Angeles County Commission on Women.

Dr. Emma Malone is a clinical psychologist who has worked for 20 years with people who have experienced child abuse, neglect, and domestic and family violence. Emma currently works as a senior practitioner at a specialist trauma service that provides long-term therapy to children and adults who have experienced complex trauma. Emma is also a lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology where she teaches psychotherapy and trauma. Emma has held both case management and therapeutic roles across a number of trauma organisations including sexual abuse counselling programs and child welfare services. Emma completed her PhD research looking at the embodied impacts of secondary trauma in therapists and is passionate about supporting practitioners who work with trauma exposed clients.

Dr. Spence Murray is the Co-founder and Executive Director of NO HARM, National Organization for Healing and Redefining Manhood.  He is a teacher, author, minister, and conflict transformation practitioner who specializes in working with men and boys as it relates to unhealthy ideas of masculinity, and how these ideas cause harm towards self, women, and the community.  He is also a Restorative Justice Facilitator for the Georgia Justice Project, where he creates spaces for healing, restoration, and reconciliation through victim-offender dialogue.  A native of Detroit, Spencer is a formed educator with the Detroit Public Schools. Based on his dissertation, Spencer published his first book, Conspiracy of Silence: Religious and Patriarchal Roots of Violence Towards Women. He is a Harm Reduction Specialist and previously worked for Men Stopping Violence as a Certified Family Violence Practitioner. In addition to his harm reduction work, he is also an Adjunct Professor at Emory University where he teaches introductory courses in Conflict Transformation.  Spencer lives in Atlanta with his wife, Erica Parks Murray.