Activating Change

Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering the Movement Around Self-Advocates

Nothing about us without us is a common phrase used in the disability rights movement to mean nothing should be created for a community without the meaningful participation of that …
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Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering the Movement Around Self-Advocates

Nothing about us without us is a common phrase used in the disability rights movement to mean nothing should be created for a community without the meaningful participation of that community. Self-advocates have been leaders in the disability rights movement for years and are increasingly expanding their work in the survivor advocacy field. They have the wisdom and life experience to know how to dismantle ableism and best support victims of crime with disabilities, if only we listen.

This webinar, aimed at survivor advocacy organization and disability service providers, will provide an overview of the participation of self-advocates at the intersection of violence and disability. The self-advocates on the panel will discuss the essential role self-advocate leaders must play if we want to end gender-based violence. Join us for this engaging conversation with Cindy Bentley, facilitated by Leah Green.

Activating Change
Webinar: Disability, Aging, and the Unique Impact on Service Delivery

In honor of Elder Abuse Awareness month, Sandra Harrell, from Activating Change, discusses the unique dynamics of abuse experienced by two communities of older adults with disabilities: those who are …
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Webinar: Disability, Aging, and the Unique Impact on Service Delivery

In honor of Elder Abuse Awareness month, Sandra Harrell, from Activating Change, discusses the unique dynamics of abuse experienced by two communities of older adults with disabilities: those who are formerly able-bodied and are aging into disability and those with early-acquired disabilities who are aging with disabilities. Sandra also discuss the barriers to services these survivor communities experience, as well as the implications for service providers.

Watch this webinar at your convenience.

Activating Change
Jannette Brickman

Jannette has been involved in domestic violence policy, reform, or direct service since 1992. She joined Vera in October 2010 as a Senior Program Associate. Jannette provides training and technical …
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Jannette Brickman

Jannette has been involved in domestic violence policy, reform, or direct service since 1992. She joined Vera in October 2010 as a Senior Program Associate. Jannette provides training and technical assistance for grantees of the Disabilities Grant Program. Since joining Vera, she has also provided training and technical assistance for the Supervised Visitation Initiative, which provided training and technical assistance for what is now the Justice for Families Grant Program.

Jannette has also worked on the Translating Justice Initiative, where she worked in collaboration with outside partners to create a robust language access training curriculum to address the needs of crime victims who are Deaf and hard of hearing and who possess limited English proficiency.

Prior to joining Vera, Jannette served as a systems advocate for the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence and as the Executive Director of the St. Louis Family Violence Council, which ran the St. Louis Family Justice Center. Jannette was also a staff and senior attorney at the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Family Violence Department.

Jannette received her JD from DePaul University College of Law, her MA in Counseling from John Carroll University, and her BS in Journalism from Boston University. She is currently licensed to practice law in Colorado, and volunteers her time at Colorado Legal Services representing victims of domestic violence in order of protection hearings and dissolution of marriage proceedings.

Activating Change
Anneliese Brown

Anneliese Brown is the lead on the National Resource Center for Reaching Victim’s work to enhance victim services to better reach and meet the needs of crime victims with disabilities …
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Anneliese Brown

Anneliese Brown is the lead on the National Resource Center for Reaching Victim’s work to enhance victim services to better reach and meet the needs of crime victims with disabilities and Deaf crime victims. Anneliese has been working to address domestic and sexual violence for over 15 years, and in 2014 began working closely with community collaborations striving to improve services to victims of domestic and/or sexual violence who have disabilities or are Deaf. In recent years, she has expanded this work to include supporting college campuses in enhancing their response to student survivors with disabilities and Deaf student survivors. She has also provided technical assistance and training to communities working to create or enhance supervised visitation services for victims of domestic violence. Additionally, Anneliese has coordinated statewide efforts in Vermont to improve the response of the criminal and civil justice systems to domestic and sexual violence, including the provision of advocacy services to incarcerated women who have experienced domestic and/or sexual violence.
Anneliese has presented to national audiences on a variety of issues related to domestic and sexual violence and victimization, including providing accessible services to victims with disabilities and Deaf victims, working with students with disabilities and Deaf students who experience domestic and sexual violence on college campuses, supervised visitation and exchange in cases of domestic violence, developing policies that account for access and victim safety, and creating and sustaining successful collaborations. Her work is grounded in her experience serving victims and children in Maine, Vermont, Alaska, and California. Anneliese has a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies and psychology from Bates College in Maine.

Activating Change
Liam Esposito

Liam Esposito is a white deaf transman who has been involved with the deaf Anti-violence movement for over 20 years as a board member, volunteer, advocate, executive director, trainer and consultant. …
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Liam Esposito

Liam Esposito is a white deaf transman who has been involved with the deaf Anti-violence movement for over 20 years as a board member, volunteer, advocate, executive director, trainer and consultant. Liam provides support to deaf anti-violence programs across the country, in collaboration with DeafHope, through the Center on Victimization and Safety’s Deaf Action project.

Activating Change
Sandra Harrell

Sandra began her tenure with the Vera Institute of Justice in 2006 and is a Project Director in Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Victimization and Safety. She oversees a …
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Sandra Harrell

Sandra began her tenure with the Vera Institute of Justice in 2006 and is a Project Director in Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Victimization and Safety. She oversees a variety of projects, including a federally-funded program that helps communities across the United States improve their response to people with disabilities and Deaf people who have experienced domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Additionally, Sandra leads our efforts to address sexual abuse of children with disabilities and Deaf children, and serves as an internal advisor to all projects focused on the intersection of disability and violence.

Sandra’s professional life has focused almost exclusively on addressing domestic and sexual violence. She began working in the anti-violence against women movement in 1990 working on her local crisis line and volunteering at the local domestic violence shelter. She pursued her Master’s degree in Women’s Studies to more fully explore gender-based violence and attained her degree from Goddard College in 2000. She was the Project Director for Vanderbilt University’s Grant to Reduce Violence Crimes Against Women on Campuses and worked at California Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s Project Access, an initiative that introduced her to complex barriers faced by survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors.

Activating Change

+ (917) 478-4590
Charity Hope

Charity Hope, Deputy Director of the Center on Victimization and Safety, fosters collaboration among partner organizations; provides strategic direction and guidance to the complex change initiatives undertaken by the Center; …
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Charity Hope

Charity Hope, Deputy Director of the Center on Victimization and Safety, fosters collaboration among partner organizations; provides strategic direction and guidance to the complex change initiatives undertaken by the Center; makes connections between partners and key stakeholders in the crime victims and related fields; and serves as a liaison to project funders. Charity’s role within the Center builds on her more than 20 years of experience overseeing training and technical assistance projects and working in nonprofit sectors.

As the Deputy Director of the Center on Victimization and Safety at the Vera Institute, she also oversees the Institute’s work to support “for Deaf, by Deaf” anti-violence programs and enhance hearing anti-violence programs’ capacity to provide culturally and linguistically specific services to Deaf survivors. Charity has worked on a variety of social justice issues, including housing and homelessness, violence against women, and in her current position, on various aspects related to services for victims and survivors of crime. Charity has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in organizational behavior from the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Activating Change

+ (646) 457-8067
Raylene Lotz

As the Deaf Access Liaison, Raylene Lotz coordinates sign language interpreting services, provides interpreting services herself, and works to promote Deaf language access, equity, and inclusion within the broader victim …
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Raylene Lotz

As the Deaf Access Liaison, Raylene Lotz coordinates sign language interpreting services, provides interpreting services herself, and works to promote Deaf language access, equity, and inclusion within the broader victim services field. Raylene is a Certified Deaf Interpreter. Raylene has been hired as a Certified Deaf Interpreter all over the country interpreting for different people in different settings. She works in anti-violence, medical, mental health, conferences, pro-tactile, and community events. Raylene is usually found working with a cup of coffee by her side, spending time with her family & friends or planning her next backcountry adventure. She graduated from Gallaudet University with a Bachelor degree in Psychology.

Activating Change
Leslie Myers

Ms. Myers is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor as well as a Clinically Certified Domestic Violence Counselor who has worked in the fields of intellectual/developmental disabilities, independent living, domestic violence and …
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Leslie Myers

Ms. Myers is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor as well as a Clinically Certified Domestic Violence Counselor who has worked in the fields of intellectual/developmental disabilities, independent living, domestic violence and sexual assault for over 20 years. She has provided direct technical assistance to the Disability Grant Program since 2010 and has provided programmatic support to our trainings and webinars. Leslie has worked to create accessible online materials including the Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities Online Toolkit and Peer to Peer: Bridging the Gap Through Self-Advocacy Curriculum, a curriculum designed for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities and created using the principles of plain language. Ms. Myers provides training to grantees and others on creating accessible and safe programs and services as well as creating materials that are accessible to all.

Activating Change
Kaitlin Shetler

As a Licensed Master Social Worker, Kaitlin has over 10 years’ experience working with vulnerable populations. During her senior year in undergrad, she managed the domestic violence shelter in her …
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Kaitlin Shetler

As a Licensed Master Social Worker, Kaitlin has over 10 years’ experience working with vulnerable populations. During her senior year in undergrad, she managed the domestic violence shelter in her college’s small town. After college, she spent a year working as a case manager and mental health intern at the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. After graduating from the University of Tennessee Knoxville with her master’s in social work, Kaitlin worked as a behavioral rehabilitation instructor for the state of Tennessee. There she developed a passion for the disability community and best practices for advocating for young adults with disabilities. Later, she spent some time as the assistant social services director for a nursing home in Nashville.

Most recently, Kaitlin served as the Director of Disability Services at Lipscomb University. For the last five years, she provided disability awareness training to faculty and staff, developed policies and ensured compliance with federal and state disability law, and served over 600 students by providing them with access to social and educational accommodations. She also served as a Title IX investigator, working with students experiencing sexual assault, stalking, harassment, and discrimination. In her free time, Kaitlin provides consultation and training to local faith communities on how to prevent and address violence against women, and has spoken at conferences across the country on topics pertaining to sexual assault, discrimination, and disability.

Activating Change