Saara is committed to transforming culture to eliminate inequality and violence. She holds an MA in International Affairs, earned in 2013, where her thesis examined global advocacy campaigns addressing gender-based violence. With over a decade of experience, Saara has been a passionate advocate for survivors, leveraging community-based approaches and prevention strategies across East Africa, the U.S., and her local communities in Seattle and the Bay Area.

Melissa has been part of the movement to end gender-based violence for 20 years.  Her core values are equity, liberation, and loving kindness, and she believes that transformation must be intersectional, intergenerational, and rooted in our diverse communities.  Melissa’s journey has been focused on building programs, and advocating for systems and policies, that promote equity for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, immigrants, limited English speaking families, and communities of color.  She currently sits on the leadership teams of the Domestic Violence Advocacy Consort

Chelcee has dedicated her career to supporting social and community issues, bringing her passion and leadership across 15 years of experience in both the nonprofit and public sectors. Her journey has taken her through many roles, from direct services to executive leadership. Both professionally and personally, she is committed to empowering individuals and communities, ensuring they have the opportunities and tools to thrive. Chelcee is honored to be in leadership with the staff, board and partners of Live Violence Free in her current role as the Executive Director.

Giovanna (She/Ella) has dedicated her career to assisting victims of violence and abuse, focusing on helping survivors heal from trauma since 2001. She is the Executive Director of the Women and Children’s Crisis Center in Whittier. She previously worked as the Associate Director of Domestic Violence Programs at the YWCA of San Gabriel Valley and as a Victim Services Supervisor and Youth Services Coordinator. Gio was the founding manager for The LGBTQ+ Center of Long Beach’s Domestic Violence Services program and is passionate about empowering victims to become survivors.

Jodi Lewis is currently a Senior Managing Attorney at Family Violence Appellate Project. She has over 14 years’ experience advocating for survivors of DV, SA, dating violence, and stalking as a litigator, trainer, supervisor, advocate, and author. She has spent years engaging in holistic-client centered representation of survivors, mentoring and supervising attorneys in the field, and collaborating with community partners, state-wide organizations, and legal aid providers.

Leigh Ferrin is a Program Director at OneJustice, where she focuses on supporting legal services organizations by increasing pro bono involvement in the California legal services community, assisting organizations with strategic thinking and planning, and with their consumer law projects.