Antonia Abbey, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology at Wayne State University with a longstanding interest in women’s health and reducing violence against women. Her research focuses on understanding the causes of men’s sexual aggression, alcohol’s role in sexual assault, and measuring sexual assault. She has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters and has served on a variety of national advisory committees.

Christine (cici) Ambrosio is the director of women’s resources in the Gender Equity Resource Center at UC Berkeley. During her time on campus, she has worked collaboratively to plan successful awareness weeks for sexual assault and relationship violence, as well as women-focused events such as the longstanding Empowering Women of Color Conference and Vagina Monologues. cici uses she/her, they/them, and we/us pronouns.

Savannah Badalich is studying gender and global studies at UCLA and is the student body’s wellness commissioner. After she was sexually assaulted, she founded 7,000 in Solidarity: A Campaign Against Sexual Assault, which combines education, arts activism, and advocacy with the help of student governments, campus resources, survivors, and their advocates. The campaign has been featured in news outlets around the world, especially for its photography campaigns such as #AlcoholIsNotConsent.

Victoria Banyard, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology with an affiliation in the justice studies program at the University of New Hampshire. She is also a research and evaluation consultant with the university’s Prevention Innovations research center. Her work, focused mainly on college communities, addresses responses to and prevention of interpersonal violence, as well as understanding survivor resilience and bystander actions.

Alan Berkowitz is a nationally recognized scholar and expert in sexual assault prevention, drug prevention, and fostering social justice.  He has received five national awards for his work and co-founded the Social Norms Approach, pioneering its implementation as a violence prevention strategy.  Berkowitz works with higher education, communities, high schools, the military, and public health organizations.

Rose Carlyle is an advocate and certified rape crisis counselor for the sexually exploited minors program of Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR). Her history includes mentoring high school students, volunteering as a court-appointed special advocate for foster youth, and providing coaching and technical support to non-profits serving street youth in Kenya. Her advocacy is driven by supporting the voices of the people she is serving, in terms of individual needs and systemic change.

Soraya Chemaly is a feminist writer, media critic, and activist whose work focuses on the role gender and violence play in politics, religion, and popular culture. Her writing appears in such outlets as The Atlantic, The Nation, Ms. Magazine, CNN, Salon, and The Huffington Post. Chemaly was a primary organizer of a successful social media campaign demanding that Facebook recognize misogynistic content. She sits on the boards of the Women’s Media Center, Force: Upsetting Rape Culture, and In This Together Media.

Elizabeth Coté received a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from UC Berkeley and directed the LGBTQIA Resource Center at UC Davis. Her experiences and passions have also included working in mental healthcare services, co-facilitating a peer support group for LGBTQIA survivors of sexual trauma, and engaging in LGBTQIA activism in Iowa. As a first-generation college student, mixed-Chicana, queer-identified woman, Coté is committed to social justice and increasing inclusive practices in the field of higher education.

Billy Curtis is the executive director of the Multicultural, Sexuality and Gender Centers at UC Berkeley. A skilled facilitator and trainer in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, he has facilitated diversity workshops and delivered lectures at college campuses and corporations around the country. Curtis is active in the Bay Area LGBTQ community and has been recognized for his contributions by the GLBT Historical Society and the East Bay Stonewall Democrats.

Nicholas B. Dirks is the 10th chancellor of UC Berkeley and an internationally renowned historian and anthropologist. An innovative leader in higher education, he is well-known for his commitment to accessible, high-quality undergraduate education in the arts and sciences, globalization of the university, and innovation across the disciplines as well as in applied and basic fields. Before coming to Berkeley, he was the executive vice president for the arts and sciences and dean of the faculty at Columbia University.

Dr. Dorothy J. Edwards is the executive director of Green Dot etc., a center dedicated to reducing power-based personal violence. Author of the Green Dot etc. Violence Prevention Strategy, she provides training and consultation in power-based personal violence, organizational capacity building, program implementation, strategic planning, and community mobilization. She has a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Texas Woman’s University.

Jaclyn Friedman is a writer, educator, and activist. She is the editor of the hit book Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape, as well as the author of What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety. Friedman is the founder and former executive director of WAM! (Women, Action and the Media), where she led the #FBrape campaign to apply Facebook’s hate-speech ban to content that promotes gender-based violence. She is also a charter member of CounterQuo, a coalition dedicated to challenging the ways we respond to sexual violence.

Vanessa George is associate director of career management in the University of San Francisco’s School of Management. She has coached hundreds of people on career development and trained more than 1,000 people on topics such as networking, mentoring, and managing up. George holds a B.A. from Stanford, an M.B.A. from Georgetown, and is pursuing a doctorate in organizational psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology

Steven J. Healy co-founded Margolis Healy and is a nationally recognized expert on campus public safety and the Clery Act. Previously, he was the public safety director at Princeton University, the chief of police at Wellesley College, and the public safety operations director at Syracuse University. Healy serves as a subject-matter expert for the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice and chairs the advisory board for the National Center for Campus Public Safety.

Rachel Henry is a fourth-year undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz and has been working with the university’s Sexual Assault Facts and Education program (SAFE) since her first year. Some of her work has focused on increasing the inclusion of queer students in this issue, co-writing the SAFE presentation for all incoming first-year students, and developing and facilitating a workshop on media literacy and sexual violence in the queer community.

Anita Hill is senior advisor to the provost and professor of law, public policy, and women’s studies in the Heller Graduate School of Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She also serves of counsel at Cohen, Milstein, Seller and Toll. In 1991, Hill was thrust into the public spotlight when she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation hearing for then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Judge Clarence Thomas. After the hearings, Hill began speaking to audiences worldwide about how to build on the great strides of the women’s and civil rights struggles. Anita: Speaking Truth to Power, a documentary film by Academy Award-winner Freida Mock, was released last year.

Elaine M. Howle is California’s independent state auditor and has more than 20 years of auditing, management, and leadership experience with the state.  She is the former president of the National State Auditors Association (NSAA). She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s of business administration from California State University, Sacramento. 

Hallie Hunt is the assistant dean of students and director of the Center for Student Conduct at UC Berkeley. She serves on UC President Janet Napolitano’s Task Force on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence and Sexual Assault. She has also worked at UC Riverside and the San Francisco Art Institute and includes Title IX compliance, behavioral intervention teams, student activities, and residential life among her experience. Hunt earned her M.Ed. in counseling in student affairs from UCLA.

Adam Jussel is an assistant dean of students and director of student standards and accountability for Washington State University (WSU). He previously represented WSU as an assistant attorney general, and his clients included disability services, athletics, student affairs, and student conduct.  Jussel received his juris doctorate from Seattle University and a certification in higher education law and policy from NASPA.

Mari Knuth-Bouracee has a strong commitment to social justice and providing culturally relevant and competent services to all survivors and students. She has assisted survivors of violence as an advocate, facilitator of queer survivors’ group, and via university response networks. She earned an M.Ed. from Bowling Green State University and a B.A. from Boston College. She is also an alum of the Social Justice Training Institute.

Dr. Jason Laker is a professor of counselor education and the former vice president for student affairs at San José State University.  He previously served as associate vice principal and dean of student affairs at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.  His research and scholarship on gender and masculine role socialization span 20 years and include two texts — Masculinities in Higher Education and Canadian Perspectives on Men and Masculinities.

Abigail Leeder is the director of experiential education and prevention initiatives at the University of Oregon. She also directs the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team (SWAT), a peer education group that uses interactive theater to engage students about healthy sexual relationships, and Rehearsals for Life, a graduate student ensemble that addresses issues of equity and inclusion on campus and beyond. She presents and consults nationally on theatre as a prevention tool.

Joni Leventis joined the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in 1994 after being in private practice for three years. She has tried multiple homicide and sexual assault cases during her career. In 2011, she was named the Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year by the California District Attorney’s Association. She currently heads the Sexual Assault Prosecution Team, which handles cases involving child and adult victims of sexual assault.

Will Mallari is a complaint resolution officer in UC Berkeley’s Title IX office, where he leads a team of investigators and coordinates the university’s administrative response to incidents of sexual harassment and violence. Mallari is a graduate of Berkeley Law and an experienced employment attorney, workplace investigator, and higher education administrator. Prior to law school, he was a police officer and crime scene investigator in Santa Barbara.

Zerlina Maxwell is a political analyst, speaker, and contributing writer for EBONY.com, Mic.com and RHRealitycheck.org. She writes about national politics, candidates, and specific policy and culture issues, including domestic violence, sexual assault, victim blaming, and gender inequality.  She has consulted with the U.S. Department of State to promote the use of social media by students in the West Bank and is a frequent speaker at colleges, universities, and organizations about rape culture and feminism.

Pamela Mejia leads the research program at the Berkeley Media Studies Group, which analyzes how the media portrays public health and social justice issues.  Her research on news coverage of sexual violence has appeared in the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, and she has presented findings to the American Public Health Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others. She holds master’s degrees in biochemistry and public health from UC Berkeley.

Mandy Mount, Ph.D. is a counseling psychologist and the director of Campus Assault Resources and Education (CARE) at UC Irvine.  She oversees victim services and educational programming, engages in research and policy development, conducts individual and group psychotherapy, and teaches.  She also trains and consults for law enforcement, student conduct hearing boards, mental health providers, and other community and campus groups.

Denise Oldham is the Title IX officer and director of the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination at UC Berkeley. She is responsible for overseeing campus implementation of federal, state, and university policy requirements focused on sexual harassment and sexual violence. She also oversees Title IX athletics compliance requirements on the Berkeley campus. 

Brian O’Connor is the director of public education campaigns and programs for Futures Without Violence, which focuses on reaching men, parents, coaches, teachers, military families, and teens. To date, his efforts have led to program adaptations in countless communities in the United States and around the world. O’Connor holds a master’s from Columbia University and is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. 

Maria Lucero Padilla has served as co-director, facilitator, and content expert of Berkeley Interactive Theater for eight years. As the lead facilitator, she uses live theater and audience participation to raise awareness, promote dialogue, and affect policy and organizational change around emotionally charged, multi-generational issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and status. She has worked for more than 30 years in higher education as a multi-cultural education and retention specialist.

Marsha Saxton, Ph.D. is a lecturer in disability studies at UC Berkeley and a researcher at the World Institute on Disability (WID). She specializes in disabled women’s health and abuse and violence prevention. Her curriculum, Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment (CAPE), and book, Sticks & Stones: Disabled People’s Stories of Abuse, Defiance and Resilience, are available through wid.org. 

Mauro Sifuentes has been working with youth of color from low-income and immigrant communities for over a decade, addressing issues of educational access, gendered violence, and U.S. racism. In addition to developing and managing peer educator training programs for youth leaders, he is pursuing a doctorate in human rights education at the University of San Francisco and is on the advisory committee of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.

Gloria Simoneaux founded Harambee Arts, an expressive arts and training program that serves children globally who have been traumatized by illness, poverty, violence, and other crises. She also taught expressive arts to counselors in Nairobi as a Fulbright scholar and founded DrawBridge, an arts program for homeless children.

Jackie Speier is the U.S. congresswoman representing California’s 14th district, which includes South San Francisco, Brisbane, and San Mateo. She serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and is the ranking member of oversight and investigations for the Armed Services Committee. Speier is a senior whip for the Democratic leadership team and is known nationally for her work on sexual assault in the military, women’s health, human trafficking, gun violence, and consumer financial protection.

Claude Steele is the executive vice chancellor and provost at UC Berkeley, where he plays a critical role in developing and implementing the university’s and chancellor’s vision and priorities. As the chief academic officer, he oversees all academic programs, policies, and infrastructures. A social psychologist, Steele released a book in 2010 called Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us, which summarizes years of research on stereotype threat and the under-performance of minority students in higher education.

Pamela Thomason is the California State University’s first-ever systemwide Title IX compliance officer. Previously she was the sexual harassment and Title IX officer at UCLA for 14 years, a regional attorney for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and an employment law attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Thomason earned a degree in finance from the University of Illinois and a juris doctorate from the University of Southern California.

Nancy Wahlig, MSW, LCSW has been working in the field of violence prevention since 1982. She co-directed a grassroots rape crisis center in Guam, then served as director of the Rape Crisis Center in Palo Alto, CA.  In 1988, she was the founding director of the Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention Resource Center (SARC) at UC San Diego, where she continues to work.

Christopher Watson began his work to counter violent masculinity as a founding member of the Men Against Violence chapter at Texas State University. Today he directs the Sexually Exploited Minors program at Bay Area Women Against Rape, the nation’s first rape crisis center. Watson has also worked for Transforming Communities in San Rafael, CA, RAVEN Non-Violence Education in St. Louis, MO, and Amnesty International USA in the Midwest Regional Office.

Linda Williams is the associate chancellor at UC Berkeley and the campus’s chief ethics, risk, and compliance officer. She also oversees audit and advisory services and the staff ombuds office, and is the locally designated official under the Whistleblower Policy. Previously, Williams served as associate president for the University of California Office of the President from 2003–08. She has received numerous honors for her visionary leadership.