Building Safer Futures: Together We Will
The Annual Summit features local and regional presenters and workshops with a wide scope of expertise and knowledge coming together to bring greater awareness and education around issues of domestic violence to our community.
Friday, October 10, 2025
8:30am – 4:30pm
The Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship
150 Sawgrass Dr.
Rochester, NY 14620
Ticket Sales
Register today to access early bird pricing at $99! *Sale ends Sunday, September 14th*
Building Safer Futures: Together We Will centers on the collective power of individuals, organizations and the community coming together to prevent and address domestic violence. Creating safer environments in our community is a shared responsibility that requires unified action, understanding and sustainable efforts from all our systems and every corner of the community. By working together in solidarity, we can continue to shift the power back into the hands of survivors.
This year’s Summit will unite individuals for a day of community, discussion, advocacy, learning, and hope. Experts and professionals from around the region will address issues of domestic violence with a multidisciplinary focus that encourages a coordinated community response.
Who Should Attend
|
|
-
Keynote Address from Debra E. Ross and community leaders.
-
Breakout Sessions led by regional experts.
-
Networking & Collaboration across disciplines.
-
Tools & Strategies to advance survivor-centered practices.
-
Continuing Education Contact Hours by Coordinated Care Services, Inc
-
Golisano’s Professional Appearance Policy and Political Rhetoric and Professionalism Policy
Debra E. Ross is the founder, publisher, and CEO of Kids Out And About, LLC, a media and marketing company that celebrates community life through its platforms KidsOutAndAbout.com and BeyondTheNest.com. Together, these sites serve 52 regions across the U.S. and Canada, reaching 12 million annual visitors and over 800,000 newsletter subscribers.
As an author and community leader, Debra co-wrote The Eclipse Effect (Post Hill Press, 2025), exploring how extraordinary events can strengthen communities, and previously published Seasons and Reasons: A Parent’s Guide to Cultivating Great Kids (2015). She is deeply engaged in national and local initiatives, including leadership roles with the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Eclipse Task Force, the Rochester Eclipse Task Force, Visit Rochester, and numerous educational and cultural organizations.
Debra is a frequent media guest and public speaker sharing insights on parenting, regional tourism, and community leadership, inspiring audiences to harness unique opportunities to create lasting impact.
Working with Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students & Title IX
Amy Stornello
Title IX Deputy Coordinator
Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Stacy DeRooy
Executive Director of Title IX and Clery Compliance
Rochester Institute of Technology
Understanding the Impact of Domestic Violence on Students & How Trauma-Informed Care is Critical to Success in School
Angelina Pound, LMSW
Director of Student and Family Support Services
Gates Chili Central School District
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Unpacking the Role of Domestic Violence in Human Trafficking
Celia McIntosh DNP, RN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC, CCRN, CEN, SCRN, CNRN
Nurse Practitioner
McIntosh Advocacy and Consulting and Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking
Rebuilding Mental Well-Being After Domestic Violence
Dr. Chastity Murray Ed.D, LMHC-D, NCSP
Owner and Clinical Director
Murray’s Consultation Services, LLC
Caring for the Sexual Assault Patient: An Overview of a Sexual Assault Survivor’s Visit to the Emergency Department
Chelsie Kleeh PA-C, SANE A/P
Director of URMC Sexual Assault Forensics Team, Senior Physician Assistant, SAFE A/P
University of Rochester Medical Center, Strong Memorial Hospital
The Weight We Carry: Building Staff Resilience Through Trauma-Informed Practice
Debra Cady, LCSW
CEO
Silver Linings International, LLC
Intimate Partner Violence: Perspectives from Both Sides of the Provider-Patient Relationship
Diane Morse, MD
Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences, Medicine, and Psychiatry
University of Rochester School of Medicine
Phyllis Jackson, R.N
Community Health & Wellbeing Project Manager
Common Ground Health
Chloe Lee, MD
Psychiatry Resident
University of Rochester School of Medicine Dept. of Psychiatry
Collaborating to Create Sustainable Change in the Child Support System
Erin Scoon, LMHC
Gender Violence Prevention Specialist
New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV)
Allison Bernard
Child Support Specialist 2
New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Division of Child Support Services (OTDA, DCSS)
Firearm Injury Prevention – Why it Matters
Jennifer West, PhD
Program Co-Director
URMC Firearm Injury Prevention Program
Corey Nicols-Hadeed, JD
Program Co-Director
URMC Firearm Injury Prevention Program
Jayla Reed
High Risk Team Coordinator
Willow Domestic Violence Center
Re Establishing after Financial Abuse
Julie Haers
Co-Founder and Owner
Breathe Capital Planning LLC
Expanding Our Reach: How Health and Social Service Providers Can Utilize ACES Assessments to Interrupt the Domestic Violence Cycle
Megan Clifford, LCSWR
Founder CEO
Wellness Associates of Greater Rochester
Understanding Abuser Characteristics and Offender Accountability in Domestic Violence
Peter K Navratil, LCSW-R, ACSW
Clinical Social Worker
Tree of Hope Counseling
Innocence Interrupted: How Coercive Teen Relationships Can Lead to Trafficking
Phalyn Hayward
Community Educator
The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester
Stefanie Szwejbka
Vice President, Prevention Services
The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester
Where the Body Keeps Score: A Highlight of Neuromusculoskeletal Manifestations of Trauma
Sarah Bowen, DC
Chiropractor
Flower City Chiropractic, PLLC
I Choose Safety: Para Mí, Para Nosotros (For Me. For Us.)
Stephanie Parades
DEIB Operations Manager
CCSI
Towards a Just Society: Increasing Collaboration in the Elder Justice Field
Tracey Siebert-Konopko, LMSW
Director of Education, Training, & Research Initiatives
Lifespan of Greater Rochester
Willow Domestic Violence Summit | Building Safer Futures: Together We Will has been approved for 4.75 continuing education contact hours by Coordinated Care Services, Inc (CCSI). CCSI is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0323 & Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0313 & Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0272.
