Friday, October 10, 2025
8:30am – 4:30pm

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

Tickets Sales
May 2025

Building Safer Futures: Together We Can 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

Willow welcomes submissions from all those interested in presenting at the Summit. The success of our Summit lies in the rich content presented by individuals and organizations. We are grateful to all who are willing and passionate about sharing their story, expertise, and knowledge with our community.

Submissions will be accepted until May 19th, 2025. At that time, all submissions will be reviewed by a multi-disciplinary group of professionals. Successful submissions will include alignment with the Summit theme and survivor-centered perspectives, and include consideration of diverse experiences, meaningful learning objectives, a multi-disciplinary approach and will not be duplicative of any other sessions.

Selected submissions and speakers will be notified, via email, between June 15th – July 3rd.

Submission Criteria

• Submissions must incorporate our theme of Building Safer Futures: Together We Can.;
• Submissions must respect the time limit of 75-minutes, including 10-15 minutes for Q&A;
• Submissions must be survivor-centered and sensitive to triggers, especially the use of images depicting violence, assault, or vulnerability;
• Submissions must demonstrate inclusivity by honoring the lived experiences of all survivors, with acknowledgment of the experiences of communities on the margins (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disability, etc.);
• It is strongly suggested submissions include an opportunity for participant engagement (ex. breakout groups, discussions, polls and surveys, brainstorming, etc.).

For Speaker FAQs download the below pdf or: Click Here

Additional Information:

• Submissions and presentations, must not represent a certain party, political view or attempt to lobby.
• Submissions and slide decks must be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.
• Submissions and presentations must not plagiarize in any way— presenter(s) must have rights to all (or permission to use) content referenced and presented during the session.
• Presenters must not attempt to sell goods or services during the session. If you would like a vendor table/booth, please contact: events@willowcenterny.org
• Proposal titles and abstracts cannot be changed after the review and selection process.