Meet Our Guests!

Clare is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse that was groomed by her neighbor. Now she is married of 11 years and has 3 boys. She works as an ER RN in a local level 1 trauma center, as well as a SANE RN. She is pursuing her calling of speaking up and out against grooming/childhood sexual abuse. She loves to spend time with her family, play games, traveling and read.

Emily is an award-winning author of the Broken Lenses series and an advocate. A survivor herself, she was overwhelmed with feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and disgust for her body. In opening up about her experience, she found many survivors have similar feelings and that she wasn't alone. She aims to unveil the spiritual impact of SA and how we can address & overcome it. 

Brad has a mission to prevent male-on-male violence and end physical bullying. He authored the book, The Peaceful Man: Heal Within Yourself the Personal Effects and Historic Patterns of Male-on-Male Violence. He has done extensive training and holds certifications in developmental coaching, somatic practices, group facilitation, and transformative change. 

Advocacy and education have been a consistent part of Otis’ career. He focuses on creating and maintaining educationally purposeful environments where students feel safe, empowered, and encouraged to participate fully and authentically. Connecting prevention principles to everyday life, he works to empower his entire community to make tangible steps toward reducing violence.

A super dad, dating his wife, with a lead by example way of living and a contagious personality, he's on a mission to positively impact role models around the globe to lead a FUN-ctionally fit life through education, encouragement, and community. He's an author, Distinguished Toastmaster, TEDx Speaker, and a lifestyle mentor and executive performance coach.

She’s the owner of Witness My Life, a messaging firm specializing in women's leadership programs and healing workshops. She's the author of "Become the Greatest Story Ever Told: Making a Memoir", a journal that guides readers through the process of sharing their story and to use it to help make a difference. Her mission is to help women raise their voices and tell their stories.

Katie was on the cover of TIME Magazine at age 18 as the first to speak out nationally and publicly as the victim of date rape. She's has lectured at over 5000 schools and universities around the world. She is the founder of Take Back The Night Foundation, an international organization working to end sexual violence, support survivors and raise awareness.

Madi's podcast, "Reclaim Me", is a podcast where survivors of abuse and trauma can tell their stories freely, reclaiming their voice, the narrative, and control. With the vision, that all victim survivors have the freedom to tell their story; and through doing so, provide valuable insight and education, destigmatising assault and breaking down barriers experienced by survivors.

Jakia always dreamed of being a judge, an attorney, or being a part of something bigger than herself. She is a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. She studied criminal justice and psychology at the American Military University before moving to business management. She's also Certified Master Resiliency Trainer and a Certified Department of Defense Sexual Assault Victim Advocate.

Kimberly is a Certified Dating & Relationship Coach who works with men on confidence, dating, and relationships and brings to them a mastery of coaching, emotional maturity practices, and leadership. She's the host of the podcast, "The Self-Confidence Project", where she talks about the stuff we all face in life and love.

Melva is a public speaker, event producer/director, community leader, and writer. She's the founder/CEO of LaJoy plans, an event planning firm. She has lent her expertise to topics surrounding Sexual Assault, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and Entrepreneurship. Her work as a multi-abuse survivor centers around sexual assault awareness and helping others reclaim their joy.

Cara is a speaker, author, consultant, and an activist-educator with over 15-years experience working in higher ed. She’s the author of Drowning in Timidity: Women, Politeness, and the Power of Assertive Living and has contributed chapters to various books and publications. She frequently facilitates assertiveness training and persuasive speaking workshops.

Brooke's role is the development and management of a SART team. She understands firsthand how significant it is for a survivor of sexual assault to feel heard, supported, and most importantly, believed. Caring deeply about what she does, Brooke is devoted to raising awareness of the services available for sexual assault survivors and helping to educate those providing those services.

Lindsey is a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. She is also a Family Nurse Practitioner, and has been a RN for 16 years. She has been a SANE nurse for only 8 months, but in that short timespan have been able help 20 victims in their time of crisis. She received her Bachelors in Nursing from Wayne State University, and her Master's degree from SVSU. She loves reading, traveling, coffee, and cats.

Rob is an astute observer of life and a master storyteller who brings empathy and compassion to the human experience. As CEO of Ignite 360, he leads a team of insights, strategy, and creative professionals serving the world’s leading brands across a range of industries. He is the author of Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. 
 

What if you, at age 25, lost your entire immediate family? Well that's Jessi's story and her grief didn't stop there. She knew that there was a purpose for her and thus created Good Grief, Jessi! Her podcast was created to share her struggles, triumphs, and failures while dealing with the loss of her family. Through anxiety, depression, and PTSD, she shares all her experiences! You never know, you might even laugh a little!

Jay has been the staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBT Project since its founding in 2001. He has worked on cases including fighting Michigan’s constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying, defending the validity of second parent adoptions, and recently advocating for a transgender high school student to be able to run for prom court.
 

Scott is the first full-time Executive Director for Great Lakes Bay Pride. Their mission is to provide inclusive sexual orientation and gender identity and expression education, advocacy, networking, and resources to individuals and organizations. He is the proud dad of a miniature dachshund named Goose and a cat named Sylvester and an even prouder uncle.

Lauren is a licensed master’s social worker who works with children and teens providing domestic and sexual violence therapy. She has worked in her current role for 3.5 years as a therapist and advocate serving clients in Bay and Arenac counties

For the past 4 years, Jason has been the Lead Pastor for Saginaw First Free Methodist Church. He has assisted in community awareness and education programs with local domestic violence shelters. He is also a chaplain in the tricities area of Michigan, providing spiritual grief counseling to the dying and their loved ones. 

For over 9 years, Tim has spoken with over 450 organizations, including Congressional offices, top colleges, and Fortune 1000 companies. He covers creating safe cultures and sexual violence and harassment prevention. He helps organizations move beyond merely meeting compliance standards, to instead cultivating empathetic curiosity.

Renee is an advocate for the systemically disadvantaged. She is a motivational speaker who encourages people, especially women and girls, to rise about challenges to create the positive life they deserve. Renee acts to break the cycle of generational poverty by providing resources for further education to gain independence. 

Cindy is an entrepreneur and works in financial services. Since coming forward and sharing her story, she has been working to serve as an ally and advocate to other survivors in her community. Through her book, she hopes to create a larger network of support and hope for survivors of sexual assault across the globe.

Michael is an actor and writer from Berkshire in England, with a background in health and social care. He is the writer and director of "Tulips: A Radio Drama", which was featured by the BBC, and "Tulips A Touring Stage Play", which was shortlisted for Putney Theatre Company's 2019 'Revolution' Award. Both projects are about domestic violence and men. 

John is an entrepreneur, veteran, podcaster, published poet, speaker, and the survivor of both childhood sexual assault and a traumatic brain injury. He is "a soldier with heart" and is extremely passionate about helping others heal their invisible wounds. 

Susan is an "Intimacy Expert to Millions" and a champion and advocate for all those who desire intimacy and passion their whole life long. She is co-founder and CEO of Personal Life Media, Inc., a publisher of heart-connected lovemaking techniques and bedroom communication skills and The20, LLC., a manufacturer of organic and botanical supplements to enhance sexual vitality.

Reyna was an appellate attorney with a public defender's office for many years and now is a volunteer with the Pace Women’s Justice Center’s Family Court Legal Program, where she represents clients seeking restraining orders. Her debut novel "Unreasonable Doubts", was a finalist for the Women's Fiction Writers Association Star Award in 2019. Her latest novel is "Both Are True".

Megan has been in education for over 25 years working as a teacher, school administrator, and school district leader. She has done load of work on implicit bias and how we can address these biases to not only make our schools a better and safer place for all but as well as our communities.

Sonia is a divorce lawyer, advocate, empowerment trainer, and author. She is the survivor of a toxic marriage who has been happily remarried for 14 years. She has a wealth of knowledge on abusive relationships and what the leaving process can be like.

Lisa is a practicing hypnotherapist and advocate against sexual victimization. A trainer of diversity and cultural sensitivity, she encourage others to explore their implicit bias that may affect their perceptions and judgments in everyday life. As an author, she has written children's and academic books on sexual assault and rape culture.

Jamie is the author of The Pink Blanket, the first novel in the forthcoming series, and the Founder of The Pink Blanket Campaign — a campaign intended to help women fleeing domestic violence. She strives everyday to be able to offer some form of “positive hope or change in the world.”  

Katharine is the author of The Empathetic Workplace and the President of Blackbird DC. She has worked on issues of trauma and victimization for more than 25 years. For fifteen years, she guiding the Justice Department through its response to victims. She now uses her expertise to help organizations prepare and respond to the challenges they face involving staffs and clients who may be in trauma.

Lauren is a wife, mother and victim of sexual assault who has devoted her life to educating parents and children about consent and boundaries in the hopes of saving even just one potential victim from the pain of assault or abuse.