LETTER FROM COMMISSION LEADERSHIP
Dear Friends of the Commission,
On behalf of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence (GCFV), we welcome you to the 25th Annual
Family Violence Conference. For the past 25 years, GCFV has strived to create a conference that brings
together local and national community stakeholders to share emerging and best practices to address
domestic violence and sexual assault in Georgia. During that time, the conference has grown from a
two-day retreat to three days of workshops with other 600 domestic violence advocates, sexual assault
advocates, victim advocates, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, faith leaders, counselors, first
responders, Family Violence Intervention Program providers and community members in attendance.
Whether you’re a first-timer or you’ve been attending our conferences from the beginning, we are honored
that you’ve joined us in Athens this year.
In celebration of what we’ve achieved over the last 25 years and in the anticipation of challenges that lie
ahead of us, our conference theme this year is Supporting Survivors and Restoring Hope: 25 Years Ago to
25 Years Ahead. Three highly-acclaimed keynotes and over 30 unique workshops will provide a time for
attendees to reflect on the work we’ve achieved in the movement to end family violence over the last 25
years, and will frame current issues facing our movement and innovative ideas to address them.
Additionally, we will be celebrating those in attendance who have been working in the field to end
domestic and family violence for 25 years or more at our Silver Lining Celebration held on Tuesday
evening. Silver is the official anniversary gift for 25 years, and we look forward to the gifts these leaders
will share as they provide their own reflections on the movement and their hopes for the future.
We offer a very special thank you to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for their financial support of
this conference. Due to their contribution, scholarships were available for domestic violence advocates,
sexual assault advocates, Division of Family and Children Services personnel, Department of Community
Supervision officers, and 911 operators. Additional scholarships for judges were awarded by the Judicial
Council Administrative Office of the Courts.
Stephanie Woodard
Commission Chair
Jacqueline Bunn
Commission Member,
Conference Co-Chair
Michele Bedingfield
Commission Member,
Conference Co-Chair
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in workshops and keynotes are those of the presenters
and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or opinion of the Georgia Commision on Family
Violence or individual Commission members.
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