Jeffrie K. Cape LMSW ACSW CAADC is the director of Charron Services LLC and started HEAL (Helping Explore Accountable Lifestyles) a 52 session Battering intervention program and WEAVE (Women Exploring Accountably Violent Encounters) in Oakland County, Michigan.

Jeffrie has extensive clinical experience and also has a private practice with varied clientele. She was appointed to the Michigan Domestic Violence and Prevention and Treatment Board by Governor Snyder in 2011 She helped develop local standards for battering intervention programs and was a member of the governor’s task force to develop state standards. She was active in the development and formation of BISC-MI in 1995. She serves on the board and was chair in 2001-2002. She chaired the Batterer Intervention Provider Standards Compliance Council (BIPSCC)for several years.  She is one of the originators of AQUILA.

Jeffrie also is employed part time at ADA (Alternatives to Domestic Aggression) in Washtenaw County, where she facilitates groups, trains, supervises staff, develops and refines curriculum for community and prison based programs. She participates in a variety of state and local task forces as well as providing local and national training and supervision for agencies and individuals who work with individuals involved in domestic violence.

Lee Giordano is a violence prevention advocate interested in building and sustaining communities of men dedicated to ending male violence against women.As the Director of Training and Education at Men Stopping Violence, Lee designs, organizes, and conducts trainings, workshops and webinars on oppression and violence against women. Lee has presented hundreds of workshops and trainings to various community and government organizations. Notable past trainings include 3-day trainings on patriarchy, violence against women, ableism, intersectionality, and antiracism.  He has conducted webinars on community accountability, Community-Based Solutions to Preventing Male Violence Against Women, and a mobilizing men series including webinars titled Women’s Voices and Experiences Must be Central to the Work and We are the Work.

Lee has presented at conferences across the country as an expert in organizing men to end male violence against women. He has also made appearances on numerous radio and television programs including on Al Jazeera America’s flagship program, America Tonight, HLN’s Weekend Express, and CNN’s New Day. Lee also participated in the United States State Department’s Speakers Program in Mauritius and Seychelles.

Lee co-developed many of the programs, curriculum and trainings currently being provided by Men Stopping Violence. He co-authored MSV’s Men At Work: Building Safe Communities curriculum and the training that coincides with that curriculum. Most recently, Lee facilitated the development of MSV’s Mobilizing Men to Prevent Violence Against Women training.

For 20 years, Lee has facilitated batterer intervention classes with Men Stopping Violence. With this experience, he provides training and consulting on intervention programs with men.

A graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science in sociology and a minor in women’s studies, Lee received his master’s degree in social justice education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Spencer Murray

Spencer A.  Murray is a Conflict Transformation specialist who works with men and boys as it relates to unhealthy ideas of masculinity and how these ideas contribute to violence towards self, women, and the community.

As Prevention Coordinator at Men Stopping Violence, Spencer educates the community about domestic violence; helps the community recognize abusive behaviors; and provides the community with information about safe ways to intervene in abusive behavior. He also works in schools to educate men and boys about domestic and sexual violence.  In addition to his work at MSV, he teaches transformational classes at DeKalb County Jail that encourage men to live healthy and more meaningful lives.

He is a former educator with the Detroit Public Schools where he taught at Paul Robeson Academy, an African-Centered School; and the Academy of the Americas, a Dual Language Immersion School.  He attended Western Michigan University where he received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership.  He also attained an advanced degree in Teaching from Wayne State University.  Spencer later received his Doctor of Ministry Degree from New York Theological Seminary, where his focus of study was Conflict Transformation.  His doctoral work focused on the systematic influence of patriarchy in society, and its tendency to oppress and perpetrate violence towards women.  Based on his dissertation, Spencer published his first book, Conspiracy of Silence: The Religious and Patriarchal Roots of Violence.

His commitment to service has also led him to do work with the Ben Marion Institute for Social Justice in Atlanta, GA., the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, GA., the Junior League of Atlanta, and the Urban League of Greater Atlanta.

His years of experience working with boys and men, as well as his own journey to free himself from the prison of toxic masculinity, drives his passion to lead men to a deeper understanding of themselves; an understanding that is characterized by their commitment to gender justice and a reverence for the feminine aspect of creation.

Christopher Hall is a social worker currently working on his Ph.D. in Educational Research Methodologies (Program Evaluation Focus) at the University of North Carolina: Greensboro. He has worked in the field of domestic and sexual violence intervention since 1997, including work at Emerge: Counseling and Education to Stop Domestic Violence (Cambridge, MA), West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (Charleston, WV), and The Retreat (Long Island, NY).

His research interests are in quantifying oppression theory through qualitative interviewing techniques with intimate partner violence perpetrators, and use of the transtheoretical model and motivational interviewing in domestic violence intervention. He currently works as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Services within the UNCG School of Education.

Chris Huffine, Psy.D., licensed psychologist, has worked with abusive men for the past 28 years. He is the Executive Director of Allies in Change in Portland, Oregon. During his career he has worked with thousands of abusive men and dozens of female and male victims of abuse. He is considered to be a national expert on working with abusive partners and has provided trainings around the country, including a semi-annual 40-hour training in Portland on the Allies in Change curriculum.

He is a member of the advisory group to the Oregon state attorney general to monitor standards for batterer intervention programs and of the Oregon Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. Allies in Change is a 501c3 non-profit based in Portland, OR. It offers over twenty weekly groups for abusive partners. It offers a number of specialized groups including three for women who are abusive and one multigender group for LGBTQ abusive partners.

Of particular note, Allies in Change works with more voluntary abusive partners than any other agency in the country, at one time having nearly a hundred enrolled in services.

Lisa Young Larance, MSW, LCSW, LMSW, is a practitioner-scholar whose practical work, curricula, trainings, and peer-reviewed publications, focus on meeting the needs of marginalized women and their families. She is the founder of two innovative community-based programs providing intervention, advocacy, and support for women who have used force in their relationships: Jersey Battered Women’s Service, Inc.’s Vista Program (http://www.jbws.org/publications.html) and Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County’s RENEW Program (https://csswashtenaw.org/bhs/ada/renew/). She also co-developed and implemented the prison-based Meridians for Incarcerated Women program for the Michigan Department of Corrections (csswashtenaw.org/renew/meridians).

Lisa consults domestically and internationally for a range of organizations and agencies including the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence; the United States Air Force’s (USAF) Family Advocacy Program serving women on 70 USAF bases world-wide; and Baptcare and Berry Street’s +SHIFT Program in Melbourne, Australia. Lisa’s scholarship is widely published in peer reviewed journals. As a joint University of Michigan doctoral candidate in Social Work and Sociology, Lisa’s dissertation research focuses on the complex experiences of women who have had antiviolence programming contact.

David Mandel, MA, LPC, Executive Director, Safe & Together Institute
With over almost 30 years’ experience in the domestic violence and child welfare fields, David and his Safe & Together Institute focus on improving systems’ responses to domestic violence when children are involved.  David has developed the Safe & Together™ Model to improve case practice and cross system collaboration in domestic violence cases involving children. He has identified how a perpetrator pattern-based approach can improve our ability to help families and promote the development of domestic violence-informed child welfare systems.David and the Safe & Together Institute have worked with governments and NGOs in Canada, the US, Australia, Asia and United Kingdom.

Through their live training, organizational consulting, elearning, and Trainer Certification and Partner Agency Program, the Safe & Together Institute provides organisations and systems with a wide range of tools to partner with adult and child survivors, and intervene with perpetrators.  David hopes that his work ends the use of “failure to protect” mentality in domestic violence cases, and helps systems better work with complex cases involving mental health issues, substance misuse and domestic violence.

Using an intersectional analysis, the Model is designed to be flexible and relevant across diverse situations. David has written or co-written numerous journal articles, book chapters and white papers including his most recent ones on how perpetrator intervention program completion certificates can be dangerous for survivors, and on worker safety in the context of domestic violence. He is regularly part of research studies including Professor Cathy Humphreys’ recent series of Australian national research projects on intervening with perpetrators, and complex case practice.

Eric Mankowski, Ph.D.is a community psychologist and professor in the Department of Psychology at Portland State University. His program of action research is aimed at understanding how masculinities are socially constructed and addressing their connection to violence and other social problems. Eric established the first course ever taught on men and masculinities at Portland State, where he also teaches a course on intimate partner violence intervention. Eric serves on the American Psychological Association’s Working Group on Health Disparities in Boys and Men and on the APA’s Expert Panel on Gun Violence Prediction and Prevention.

Locally, Eric co-chair’s the Oregon Batterer Intervention Program Advisory Committee and is a member of the Oregon Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. Eric has received grant funding for his research program from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the National Park Service.  Publications of this research include an edited volume, “Men, masculinity, wellness, health and social justice: Community based approaches”, as well as numerous articles and book chapters about batterer intervention, intimate partner violence in the workplace, and community-based self-help programs for boys and men.

Lisa Nitsch, MSW, Director of Training & Education, House of Ruth Maryland. Lisa is responsible for House of Ruth Maryland’s intervention services for abusive partners and the Training Institute, which coordinates professional development for staff, external community education, and professional technical assistance. She has been with House of Ruth Maryland since 1998 and has advanced through a variety of positions, including overseeing the agency’s Clinical Services for survivors and their children, the Teen Initiative, and the Developmental Childcare Center. Her depth of knowledge and her humor make her a dynamic and highly sought-out trainer and facilitator with a strong grasp of the history of the violence against women movement and nonprofit leadership.

Lisa is an appointed member of the Maryland Governor’s Family Violence Council and is on the Board of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. She served as Vice President of the national organization, Women in Fatherhood, and as Co-Chair of Maryland’s Abuse Intervention Collaborative. She has been training faculty for notable organizations such as Futures Without Violence, Battered Women’s Justice Project, Women of Color Network, Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, and the National District Attorneys Association. She has served as an advisor to the United States White House, the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, and the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children & Families.

Her current, but ever-changing, interests include developing programs for abusive partners within disinvested communities that address the dual experience of experiencing both privilege and oppression, engaging intended service audiences in program design & development, and exploring community-based accountability models for abusive partners beyond the criminal legal system. Lisa’s roots run deep in her hometown of Baltimore City, Maryland, where she proudly works and lives with her remarkably patient husband, incredible nieces, and gentle pit bull.

Nicole Westmarland is the Director of the Durham University Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA). Her research consists of around forty research and consultancy projects in the field of men’s violence against women.

Nicole’s recent books include ‘Violence Against Women – Criminological Perspectives on Men’s Violences’ (Routledge, 2015) and (with Dr Hannah Bows) ‘Researching Gender, Violence and Abuse’ (Routledge, 2018). She is currently finishing a book with colleagues from the UK, Sweden and Spain about men speaking out against violence against women.

Nicole strongly believes that academic research should be used to create positive ‘real world’ social change and it is this that drives her personal research agenda. Nicole’s recent roles have included Special Advisor to the Joint Committee on Human Rights for their Inquiry into Violence against Women and Girls (2014-15). She held the voluntary position of Chair of Rape Crisis (England and Wales) for five years and has volunteered for over 20 years in local Rape Crisis Centres.

Project Mirabal
Project Mirabal is a seminal work that has contributed insight and clarity to researchers and practitioners all over the globe. Project Mirabal’s website describes the work as: “a major CRiVA research project which lasted from 2009 to 2015. Professors Liz Kelly (London Metropolitan University), Nicole Westmarland (Durham University), and Charlotte Watts (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) were funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Northern Rock Foundation to investigate the extent to which perpetrator programmes reduce violence and increase safety for women and children, and the routes by which they contribute to coordinated community responses to domestic violence…” To see a full report that covers the research addressed by Project Mirabal, click the link below.

FULL REPORT

Dr. Westmarland’s Newest Article: “‘It’s a Work in Progress’: Men’s Accounts of Gender and Change in their Use of Coercive Control”

Key message: Investments in gender norms underpin men’s use of coercive control; Reductions in men’s coercive control is connected to men’s ability to unpick gender norms; This paper provides empirical evidence for keeping gender norms and expectations central in work with violent men.

Journal of Gender-Based Violence: “‘It’s a Work in Progress’: Men’s Accounts of Gender and Change in their Use of Coercive Control”

Project Mirabal Videos: https://www.dur.ac.uk/criva/projectmirabal/videos/

Rosanna Bellini

Doctoral Trainee at Newcastle University and  specialises in how digital technologies can be designed, deployed and evaluated to meet the needs of users and providers within domestic violence services. Her specific focus of her most recent work has been on how we can encourage responsibility for and with perpetrators of domestic violence in order to identify pathways to non-violence.

Oliver J. Williams, PH.D., Professor of School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, in St. Paul (1989-present). He was the Executive Director of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC) From June 1994 to September 2016 and served as the project Director of the African Immigrant and Domestic violence Initiative, 2010 to 2016 and Director of the Safe Return Initiative that addressed prisoner reentry and domestic violence from 2003-2016. He directed the African American Domestic Peace Project (AADPP) that works with community leaders in 12 cities across the United States from 2008 to 2018. He has worked in the field of domestic violence for more than thirty-five years.

Dr. Williams is a clinical practitioner; working in mental health, family therapy, substance abuse, child welfare, delinquency, domestic violence and sexual assault programs. He has worked in battered women’s shelters, developed curricula for batterers’ intervention programs and facilitated counseling groups. He has provided training across the United States and abroad on research and service-delivery surrounding partner abuse.

Currently, he is a consultant with the Education for Critical Thinking 2017 to present and an advisor with Domestic Violence Shelters.org from 2016 to 2019 and an Institute for Violence Abuse and Trauma Fellow from 2017 to present. Over the years, Dr. Williams has been appointed to several national advisory committees and task forces from the Center for Disease Control, U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Office on Women’s Health, and the U.S. Department of Education. He has been a board member of various domestic violence and human service organization including the early days of the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1999-2000 and the National Family Justice Center Alliance Advisory Board from 2006 to 2016.

In 2000, he was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Domestic Violence by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and U.S. Attorney General. In 2010 he hosted a roundtable on youth and violence for the U.S. Attorney General. He also participated in a roundtable with the U.S. Attorney General on issues related to fatherhood and participated in a Whitehouse Roundtable on Fatherhood and Domestic Violence. He has conducted training for the U.S. Military Family Advocacy programs in the U.S. and abroad. He has presented to numerous Family Violence, Research and Practice organizations in the United States, Kenya, South Africa, Canada, Virgin Islands, Brazil, United Kingdom and Germany. In 2015

Dr. Williams was invited to speak at the United Nations about domestic violence among Africans in the United States and in Africa. His research and publications in scholarly journals, books, reports and DVD’s have centered on creating service delivery strategies to reduce violent behavior and support victims of abuse. He has consulted with the NFL, MLB and NBA on issues related to domestic violence. Dr. Williams has received many awards among them include an award from the American Psychological Association, a International “Telly Award” for his documentary work; the National “Shelia Wellstone Institute Award” related to his National work on Domestic Violence; the National Family Justice Center, Alliance for Hope Award and a Distinguish Alumni Award from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work. Dr. Williams received a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Michigan State University; a Masters in Social Work from Western Michigan University; a Masters in Public Health and a Ph.D in Social Work both from the University of Pittsburgh.