October 8, 2025 | NYU Kimmel Center, Manhattan
Every survivor’s experience is unique—as are their needs, both in shelter and beyond. Join us at our third annual domestic violence conference to explore holistic, survivor-centered approaches to healing.
Hear from industry experts, policymakers, and service providers as we examine the complex realities survivors face—including access to safe housing, physical and mental healthcare, and pathways to financial empowerment—and learn about the innovative strategies that help foster long-term well-being.
Featured Speakers
Dr. Uju Obi Berry
Director of DV Mental Health Initiatives at NYC Health + Hospitals
Amanda Farías
Majority Leader, New York City Council
Bio
Amanda Farías serves as the Majority Leader of the City Council and is in her second term as the Council Member for the 18th District, representing the neighborhoods of Castle Hill, Clason Point, Harding Park, Parkchester, Unionport, Soundview, and Westchester Square.
She was first elected as the Council Member of the 18th district in 2021, won her re-election in November 2023, and was appointed as Majority Leader in January 2024.
Her appointment as Majority Leader by Speaker Adrienne E. Adams was a historic moment that signified the next generation of leadership in New York. Farías is the first Latina to serve in this role and marks the first time the top leadership positions of the New York City Council will all be held by women, all of whom are women of color. As Majority Leader she remains focused on the issues of the collective democratic ideals of the Council and working class communities like her own in Council District 18 and across New York City.
Bobbie Grey
Associate Vice President, Programs at Graemeen Foundation
Bio
Bobbi Gray, Associate Vice President, Programs, coordinates research, evaluation, monitoring and learning activities with Grameen staff, in-country research teams, academic researchers, and partner organizations across all of Grameen’s programs in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
Mandy Kelso
Head of Financial Education, TD Bank
Bio
Mandy Kelso serves as the Head of Financial Education at TD Bank, where she directs the North American Financial Education Strategy. In this capacity, Mandy collaborates with internal business units and external national organizations to deliver comprehensive financial education programs to both TD Bank colleagues and the communities within the bank’s operational footprint.
Mandy brings over two decades of experience spanning legal, educational, and retail banking leadership. Her professional career began with roles in both the legal and educational fields before advancing to more than ten years of team leadership within retail banking. For the past seven years, Mandy has been an integral part of TD Bank’s Community Development team, and in 2023, she played a key role in driving the Bank’s Financial Education Strategy.
A passionate advocate for inclusive communities, Mandy is deeply committed to advancing financial education and well-being for all. She has established and managed national partnerships with nonprofit organizations serving diverse populations, enabling more than 5,000 women business owners to access financial education resources in both Spanish and English. Over the last two years, Mandy has worked collaboratively across TD Bank to ensure that local communities benefit from comprehensive financial education programs, delivered virtually or in-person by TD Bank Volunteer Educators.
Molly Park
Commissioner, NYC Department of Social Services
Bio
Molly Wasow Park was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS), which oversees both the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and Department of Homeless Services (DHS), in April of 2023.
Before this appointment, she had been serving as the DHS First Deputy Commissioner since September 2019. In that position, Molly oversaw rehousing, capacity development, and agency planning and operations. In addition, Molly has played a key role in shaping agency response to emergencies, including COVID-19 and the 2022 influx of asylum seekers.
Prior to joining DHS Molly spent three years as the Deputy Commissioner for Development at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), where she had primary responsibility for the housing production goals of the Housing New York Plan and related pre-development work.
Molly briefly left City government in 2014 to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of Settlement Housing Fund, where she expanded her affordable housing expertise by overseeing Settlement’s development activity, as well as coordinating all operational needs of a growing not-for-profit organization. From 2010 to 2014, Molly served as HPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Budget, Fiscal, and Performance Management, including oversight of one of the nation’s largest Section 8 programs. A graduate of Amherst College, Molly holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the university of California – Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy.
Sandra Park
Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau, NYS Office of the Attorney General
Bio
Sandra Park serves as the Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney General, where she leads a team of attorneys, analysts, and other staff to enforce federal, state, and local civil rights laws across New York state. The Civil Rights Bureau challenges discrimination and other violations of legal rights in education, employment, housing, law enforcement, voting, and public accommodations, among other issues.
Sandra previously worked at the ACLU Women’s Rights Project for 16 years. At the national ACLU, Sandra engaged in litigation, policy advocacy, and public education to advance gender equality and the rights of women and girls. Much of her work focused on holding institutions accountable for perpetuating violence and discrimination in housing, law enforcement response, and schools. Sandra’s efforts produced key precedent and new federal and state laws and guidance promoting the civil rights of survivors, fair housing, and unbiased policing of domestic and sexual violence. She also helped lead the ACLU’s ground-breaking lawsuit successfully challenging the U.S. Patent Office’s policy of granting patents on human genes, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, 569 U.S. 576 (2013).
Sandra received the 2024 NYU Law Women Alumna of the Year Award as well as the 2021 Sharon L. Corbitt Award from the American Bar Association for exceptional service and leadership to improving the legal response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by an attorney. She began her legal career as a Skadden Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of New York and clerked for U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and NYU School of Law.
Dr. Anita Ravi
Founder and CEO, PurpLE Health Foundation
Bio
Dr. Ravi is a board-certified family medicine physician who specializes in the health of survivors of gender-based violence. She is the CEO and founder of PurpLE Health Foundation, and the Director of its affiliated medical practice, PurpLE Family Health. In addition to her clinical work as a physician, Dr. Ravi’s portfolio includes collaborating with survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking in a variety of settings, including Rikers Island and immigration detention centers, developing policy on local and national committees focused on health equity and human trafficking, publishing peer-reviewed research in this field, and conducting educational trainings and workshops centered around integrating trauma-informed care principles in healthcare delivery. She regularly writes, draws, and speaks at events across the country about how the healthcare system must radically change to meet the needs of survivors. Dr. Ravi’s unique approach to healthcare and advocacy has garnered national recognition, including being selected as a 2021 “40 Under 40” Leader in Minority Health by the National Minority Quality Forum, a 2022 Presidential Leadership Scholar, and selected for the Rockefeller Foundation’s 2023 Bellagio Center Residency Program. Dr. Ravi is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, received her Medical Degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine, her Masters in Public Health from Yale University, her Masters in Health Policy research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and is a graduate of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Veterans Affairs Clinical Scholars Fellowship Program.
Shannon Wong
Public Policy Manager, The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV)
Bio
Shannon Wong is currently serving as the Public Policy Manager at the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She began working in the movement to end gender-based violence in 1990 and has served in various roles at local domestic violence service providers and state coalitions. In her current role at NYSCADV, Shannon manages their work for survivors who have been criminalized and provides advocacy, education, and technical assistance on state and national public policy.
Prior to joining NYSCADV, Shannon served as Field Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she supported staff around the state who are running advocacy, educational and organizing campaigns on civil rights and civil liberties. Her experience with legislative advocacy contributed to the successful passage of paid family leave, the Reproductive Health Act, public defense reform and Prop 1-NYS ERA.
Additionally, Wong served as an Orange County legislator, where she led campaigns to stop the expansion of asset forfeiture and to limit the shackling of pregnant women in jail. As legislative director for the YWCAs of New York State, Wong worked tirelessly on the Women’s Equality Agenda. She has also served as the president and vice-president of the Board for Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley.
Rei Shimizu, PhD, MSW
Fellow at NYU Center for Violence and Recovery, Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Social Work
Bio
Dr. Rei Shimizu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Social Work and a prior graduate research assistant at CVR. Her research interests include domestic violence intervention research, the intersections of domestic violence intervention and domestic/international policies, violence resolution, trauma recovery, and the unique role of food and food behaviors in domestic violence and intimate partner violence. She served as a research assistant at Children’s Rainbow Center in Japan, focusing on child abuse and familial suicide and funded by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Dr. Shimizu was also a Women’s Initiative for Summer Empowerment Fellow in 2016 at the Japan Institute of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, advocating for mental health awareness in Japan. She holds a PhD from NYU’s Silver School of Social Work and an MSW from Columbia University.
