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The 2008 Annual Conference took place September 28 to October 2, 2008 in Louisville, KY. Thank you to all who attended. We look forward to seeing you in 2009 in Scottsdale, AZ. The 2008 Conference information on the remainder of this page is provided for historical purposes.

Congressman Ted Poe (R) TX-2
Congressman Ted Poe first made a name for himself in Texas as an assistant district attorney and then as a tough-on-crime judge. In Washington, Judge Poe founded and co-chairs the Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus advocating on behalf of victims.

Donna VanLiere
Donna VanLiere is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and gifted conference speaker. She has published eight titles including The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing, both of which were adapted into successful TV movies on CBS.

Donna's latest book, Finding Grace, due out later this year, chronicles her own victimization and her process for coping with it into adulthood.

Mildred Muhammad

Prosecutors argued that John Muhammad was shooting innocent men and women near where Mildred lived and worked because he was ultimately planning to murder Mildred. His plan was to make it look like random violence.

Mildred Muhammad recently established After The Trauma, Inc., a charitable organization that helps survivors of domestic violence to rebuild their lives by connecting them to legal assistance, job training and placement resources, and other critical services.

Karen Vadino
With Karen Vadino you will laugh... a lot! She will give us the opportunity to discover our own sense of humor and define the steps necessary to put more humor and laughter in our lives. Come laugh with your colleagues because humor moves us into a thriving mode.

Trisha Meili
Trisha Meili shared her amazing story of survival and recovery in her best-selling memoir I am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility.

Her life was violently interrupted one night in 1989 when she was nearly killed from a brutal beating and rape.

Trisha's is not a story of an attack, but rather, one of healing. Her struggle to recover brought an outpouring of support and love from her family, friends, healthcare workers, co-workers and strangers. The support allowed her to move from victim to survivor, reclaim her life, and become whole.