Friday, December 6, 2019

11:30am — 2:30pm

Virginia Crossings
Hotel & Conference Center

 

Please join the Action Alliance as we honor these leaders and community members who have taken extraordinary action to bring about the necessary change to end sexual and domestic violence. Their leadership offers hope for a better tomorrow.

 

RISE for Youth

RISE for Youth is a nonpartisan campaign committed to dismantling the youth prison model by promoting the creation of community-based alternatives to youth incarceration. Their inspiring work centers the voices of impacted youth and communities and challenges racial injustice in Virginia.

They accomplish their mission by: increasing the likelihood that youth will become law-abiding adults by investing in community- based alternatives to juvenile justice system involvement; reducing the number of youth arrested, referred, under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice or committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice; closing Virginia’s juvenile prisons and re-invest savings from their closure into evidence-informed, community-based alternatives that will keep youth at home with their families and communities and keep communities safer and; building a true continuum of evidence-informed placements for youth that cannot safely remain in their homes.

 

Sgt. Carol Adams

Carol Adams is a force for good. Carol is a Richmond City Police Sergeant, systems advocate, victim-advocate, foundation president, and former candidate for Richmond Sherrif. In 2014, she started a foundation that bears her own name to connect domestic violence victims with such services as counseling and housing. And in 2019, she expanded her foundation to become a resource center that she hopes will help even more people, particularly those in the Richmond, VA region from historically underserved and unserved communities. She has also partnered with city departments like Parks and Recreation to host after-school and summer camp activities; groups like CodeVA, which offers computer science classes; and service providers like the YWCA. Adams "is truly the mother of the many underserved living in poverty ... and in abusive relationships," Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said in a 2017 interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "She has changed the lives of hundreds of residents in this city."

 

Pat Brown

When Pat Brown was named director of the Women’s Resource Center of New River Valley in 1986, the agency had a budget of about $80,000 and seven employees who helped about 800 people a year through an emergency shelter and hotline. Under her leadership over the past 33 years, it has grown into a $2.5 million operation with 37 employees helping about 3,500 annually. WRC runs a 26-bed emergency shelter, a seven-unit transitional housing facility, a 24-hour emergency response program for sexual and domestic violence victims, around-the-clock crisis hotline, a robust counseling program for adults and children recovering from abuse and a number of violence prevention programs.

Pat describes her calling to this field and her dedication to equality in Virginia: “The Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was finally passed by the US Senate in 1972, the year I graduated from college. The amendment then was sent to the states for ratification. Surely, 38 states, ¾ of the 50, would “agree to provide for the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.” It didn’t happen. It is still hard for me to believe. My belief that women are of equal value to men caused me to be an outspoken advocate for women’s rights. As long as there is inequality, sexual and domestic violence will exist. The Battered Women’s Movement was growing in the seventies and before I knew it, it was 1977 and one of the earliest shelters for abused women started here in the New River Valley. I was asked to be a member of the Board of Directors in 1981 and to be the Executive Director in 1986. The Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley, serving adult and child victims of sexual and domestic violence, has provided services, advocacy and education to tens of thousands since. We have a community of support that is unlike any I know. With you, we are compelled to continue the work toward equality and justice. Working with brilliant and passionate people to do this work has been invigorating, educational, and life-enriching.”

 

Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy

Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy has made it her mission to give back to the community that has given so much to her. As her grandmother said, if you have it, you have to give it. This spirit of public service has inspired her to lead. Delegate Carroll Foy has devoted her life to public service and now she’s taking her grandmother's motto to Virginia’s upcoming elections, having started a new political action committee called Virginia for Everyone aimed at supporting women of color entering political leadership. A freshman Delegate for the 2nd district (Stafford, Prince William), Delegate Carrol Foy stepped into leadership becoming a passionate advocate and spokesperson for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in VA. She was one of three House sponsors of a resolution during the 2019 General Assembly Session aimed at changing the House Rules and bringing the ERA to a full vote on the House Floor.