Annual Willow Center Summit

Friday, October 9, 2026
8:30am – 4:30pm

The Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship
150 Sawgrass Dr.
Rochester, NY 14620

Registration:
Individual Tickets $149

Writing the Next Chapter: Leadership. Learning. Systems. centers on what it takes to keep moving this work forward — the leadership that sustains it, the ongoing learning that sharpens it, and the systems that connect it across every part of our community. Creating safer environments is a shared responsibility that requires unified action, understanding, and sustainable effort from all our systems and every corner of the community.

This year’s Summit will unite professionals for a day of leadership development, cross-sector learning, and systems-level collaboration. 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

Sarah Galgano Senior Project Specialist, The Geiger Institute Sarah is a Senior Project Specialist for the Geiger Institute, where she works with communities throughout the country to assess their existing response systems, implement homicide reduction strategies, and evaluate fidelity and outcomes. She has provided training and technical assistance to communities of all sizes, working directly with advocates, law enforcement, prosecutors, and other criminal justice stakeholders. Sarah has extensive experience identifying community strengths that can be leveraged and challenges to be addressed to maximize homicide reduction efforts, and has trained at numerous local, state, and national conferences on issues regarding intimate partner violence and intimate partner homicide. Before joining the Institute, Sarah provided customized technical assistance to jurisdictions throughout the country to help improve justice system outcomes for victims and defendants, reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system, and increase community engagement with justice initiatives. Sarah holds B.A.’s from the University of Iowa in Psychology and Sociology, and received her Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Opening Session Summary

Intimate partner violence is a complex problem that knows no borders — it impacts individuals regardless of demographics, geography, and social class. A survivor’s journey often touches multiple systems, from the legal system to community-based providers, campuses, healthcare providers, and more. Making a meaningful impact on survivor safety requires innovation and collaboration to meet victims where they are.

The opening session will celebrate the commitment that stakeholders throughout Monroe County have made to increasing victim safety through community-wide efforts — such as the implementation of evidence-based lethality assessment to identify victims at the highest risk of lethal and near-lethal assault, and the creation of the Willow Family Justice Center to increase access to life-saving services.

While work remains, Monroe County’s dedication serves as a powerful example of what is possible when a community stands together.