Examples of Involvement:

General Awareness Trainings

• Mother's of Preschoolers, Int'l- Jupiter, Tequesta, Wellington & Loxahatchee

• Voices of Women event at Barry University- Miami, FL

• Christ Fellowship Women's Group —Palm Beach Gardens, FL

• Jupiter Moms Club (South) open forum Jupiter Community Center- Jupiter, FL

• Prestoncrest Women’s Conference- Dallas, TX

• “Empowered Together” Self Defense programs-Jupiter & West Palm Beach, FL

• Guest lecturer Lynn University, NOVA Southeastern University and Florida Atlantic University

• Co-Chair of the Palm Beach County Survivor Action Team

Healthcare

• Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Certification Trainings-

  • Sarasota, FL

  • Melbourne, FL

  • Clearwater, FL

  • West Palm Beach, FL

  • Miami, FL

  • Ft. Lauderdale, FL

  • Homestead, FL

  • Ft. Pierce, FL

  • Daytona Beach, FL

  • Orlando, FL

• Survivor Experience Presentation to Board of Directors Homestead Hospital- Homestead, FL 10/2014

• American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) at Florida International University College of Medicine 4/2017

• 2018 International Association of Forensic Nurses Conference- Reno, NV 9/2018

• 2019 International Association of Forensic Nurses Conference- New Orleans, LA 2019

DNA Related Presentations

Presenter for Thermo-Fisher Human Identification University: 

• Illinois State Crime Lab (including IN and WI) Chicago, IL

• Colorado State Lab (including UT and AZ), Denver, CO

• Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York City, NY

• Washington DC Forensic Lab (MD and VA), Washington, DC

• Ohio State Lab (including PA), Columbus, Ohio

• California Department of Justice, San Fransisco, CA

• Florida International University, Miami, FL

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa and Toronto, Canada

Conference Speaker:   

2017  International Symposium on Human Identification - Minneapolis, Minnesota

2018 Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists- Bolton’s Landing, NY

2019 Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists- Lancaster, Pennsylvania

2019 Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Assembly of Cities- Jacksonville, FL

2021 Bode Global Conference 2021: Talk Title “Preventing Tomorrow’s Victim”

2021 ThermoFisher HIDS Conference 2021. ”Unite”

 Capitol Hill and NIJ Congressional Visit:

for Debbie Smith Grant May 2016

Guest Lecturer:

George Washington University Graduate School of Forensic Science  April 2017-2020

CedarCrest College Department of Forensic Science 2019 and 2021

Prosecutor-based Trainings

• State Attorney Judicial Circuit 11 (Miami-Dade)— Miami, FL

• State Attorney Judicial Circuit 15 (Palm Beach County)- West Palm Beach, FL

• State Attorney Judicial Circuit 19 (Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Martin Counties)- Stuart, FL

• Illinois Prosecutor-based Victim Assistants Association- Carbondale, IL

Law Enforcement & First Responders

• Everest Institute Criminal Justice Graduates- Miami, FL

• Miami-Dade Police Headquarters—Miami, FL

• Miami-Dade Sexual Crimes Bureau- Miami, FL

• Florida Department of Law Enforcement Conference 2015

• PBSO Roll Calls— West Palm Beach, FL

• Law Enforcement Planning Council Butterfly House Protocol Training- West Palm Beach, FL

• Law Enforcement Training Panel Palm Beach State —West Palm Beach

• Miami-Dade Police Department Forensic Services Bureau- Miami, FL

• Palm Beach School District Police- West Palm Beach

• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 10/2016

Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART)

• National Crime Victims Rights SART Breakfast-Coral Gables, FL

• Speaker Palm Beach County Annual Victims Rights Luncheon- West Palm, FL

• National Crime Victims Rights SART Breakfast- Orlando

• Regional SART Training Panel- West Palm Beach, FL

• South Dade County SART Rape Treatment Center Kick-off— Homestead, FL

• Survivor Perspective Presentation Judicial Circuit 19 SART—Stuart, FL

• Florida Council Against Sexual Violence Conference Presenter- Clearwater, FL

• Presenter Crime Victims Rights Week Luncheon- West Palm Beach, 4/2015

TV Appearances and Fundraisers

• CNN “Inside Evil-Anatomy of a Rape” - One hour long documentary w/Chris Cuomo

• Ricki Lake Show “Strong Women” — Hollywood, CA

• Glen Beck Roundtable— Dallas, TX

• WPTV NBC “Julie’s Fight for Justice”- West Palm Beach, FL . The documentary won two Emmy Awards

• “I Survived” finale episode season two on the Biography Channel

• “Surviving Evil” on the Investigation Discovery Channel

• Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) various fundraising events, Washington, DC

• Inner Truth Project, Port St. Lucie, FL

Awards

• Justice for All “Stamp of Courage Award” from FL Attorney General

• Outstanding Programming Presentation 2010 from Mom’s Club International

• Survivor Activist of the Year 2012 from Florida Council Against Sexual Violence for statewide SANE nurse training from survivor perspective

• USA Network Characters Unite Award 2012 nominated by the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), Washington DC

• Special Honor Award for Fighting Violence Against Women, from the National Organization for Women (NOW)

• Florida Council Against Sexual Violence (FCASV) SART of the Year 2014

• Nomination for National Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Special Courage Award for a Survivor Activist

• Survivor Activist of the Year 2016 from the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence for work on helping pass SB 636 pertaining to the rape kit backlog

• Heart of a Woman Award” presented by AVDA and #Metoo Founder Tarana Burke for helping pass legislation to test all rape kits in Florida- Feb. 2019

Affiliations/Committees

• Member Board of Directors Florida Council Against Sexual Violence Spring 2017-present

• Survivor Representative for Florida Council Against Sexual Violence State Advisory Panel 2012-2014

• Survivor Representative Palm Beach County SART2011-present

  • Co-Chair Survivor Action Team Committee

  • Community Action Network Committee

  • involvement on Campus Round up, Regional SART and Training Committees

• Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) National Speaker’s Bureau since 2010

• Rape Kit Action Project Washington, DC—One of eight survivors nationwide chosen to advocate for laws pertaining to the DNA Backlog in America

• Men and Women United for Justice Education and Reform (M.U.J.E.R) Southern Miami-Dade County

• Cosmetics for Cause Board Member 2013-2015

• COMPASS- LBGTQ Community Partner

Legislative Trips and Accomplishments

• Testified before US Senate in a hearing entitled “Rape in the United States: The Chronic Failure to Report and Investigate Rape Cases” September 14, 2010

• Lobbied for the passage of the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act (SAFER Act) with continuous trips to Capitol Hill for two years.. Met personally with Congressmen and staff in Washington DC. SAFER ultimately passed as part of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization (VAWA) in February 2013.

• Rountinely travel to Washington, DC to meet with DNA experts and Congressional leaders regarding the importance of continuing Debbie Smith Act funds for rape kit reform.

• Met with Federal and State Congressmen to begin the formation of the Butterfly House, Palm Beach County’s first centralized rape exam center. Opened in 2011, Butterfly House and Victim Services have served over 2,000 women in the county.

• Appointed to the Rape Kit Action Project (RKAP) based in Washington, DC and worked with FL lawmakers to secure funding in the 2016 state budget for rape kit testing. Resulted in passage of SB 636 that took effect July 1, 2016

• Part of a joint collaboration project between the State Department of the United States, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Egyptian Government to promote the adoption of victim-centered policies in Egypt. Presented the survivor experience before 50 members of the Egyptian delegation in the US on their five trips to America. Travelled to Cairo Egypt to present to over 150 Egyptian government officials, attorneys, healthcare providers and women's rights activists. Saw concrete change happen evidenced by changes in protocols, trainings, programs and the development of a 24/7 rape crisis center established in Cairo.

• Part of a joint collaboration project between the State Department of the United States, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Mexican Government to bring Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) training to Jalisco, Mexico. Presented my survivor experience program in Guadalajara to over 150 law enforcement agents, advocates, legal professionals and social workers working in the areas of domestic and sexual violence.