Judy King Smith
Executive Director, Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center,
West Virginia Foundation for Rape, Information, and Services
Judy King Smith is a native of West Virginia, born in Fairmont and raised in Morgantown. She obtained her B.A. in Sociology from Fairmont State University and a Master’s Degree in Counseling from West Virginia University. She is a Certified Social Worker and Certified Domestic Violence Advocate. Ms. King Smith has served for 29 years as the Executive Director of the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center, serving Monongalia, Preston and Taylor Counties. This dual sexual assault and domestic violence program is one of the oldest rape crisis centers in West Virginia. Judy has mentored and assisted several other centers in the state in their development.
Judy has dedicated her professional career to ending violence against women. In 1982 she was one of four founding members of West Virginia’s statewide sexual assault coalition, the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services. Because of their vision and the vision of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, this coalition has grown into a network of nine rape crisis centers and numerous allied partners working to serve victims and prevent sexual violence. Since the inception of the coalition 26 years ago, Judy has been in a leadership role, serving either as president, vice-president, or treasurer.
In addition to her work in the anti-sexual violence field, Judy was also a founding member of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 1982. She currently serves as chairperson of the Family Protection Services Board, responsible for licensing domestic violence programs, batterer’s intervention programs and monitored exchange and visitation centers.
Montserrat F. Caballero
Anti-Violence Advocate and Educator,
Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault,
Arizona Sexual Assault Network
Montserrat Caballero is an anti-violence advocate and educator who has contributed to her community in Tucson and to the statewide coalition’s efforts to end sexual violence in the state of Arizona. Her work has been on all levels – from the holding hands of battered, sexually abused illegal immigrants to speaking with legislators at state-wide conferences. Arizona has a diverse population containing many immigrants, elderly adults, tribal communities (21 tribes) as well as a mix of rural and urban areas. The southern area of Arizona contains many remote areas that are hard to reach and even harder to protect. Ms. Caballero has personally extended herself to every victim of sexual abuse, assault and violence in need, traveling across vast regions alone and taking many personal risks to help others in need.
Clare Cygan Young
Affiliate Coordinator, Community Foundation Lorain County,
Lorain County Rape Crisis Center (in lieu of Ohio Coalition)
Clare Cygan Young has been in an advocacy role since 1982 when she left nursing at St. Vincent Charity Hospital to become a staff member of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. In 1988, she started the first rape crisis service in Lorain County, Ohio. The center advocates for survivors of rape and sexual abuse of all ages and their significant others. In 1996, Ms. Cygan Young became the Client Rights Officer for the Nord Center, the largest community health center in Lorain County. In 1998, she created an advocacy recovery program for those suffering from mental illness. Clare’s passion for advocacy for people who are recovering from sexual victimization and/or mental illness is clear in her ongoing commitment to survivors. She had been involved in many statewide and national initiatives around her work for the past 20 years.
Julie Coffey
Manager, Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center,
Tennesse Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
Ms. Coffey has worked in the social service field helping under-served populations for over 10 years, concentrating specifically on empowering victims of sexual assault for the past four years. She has been Manager of the Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center (MSARC) since 2004. With Ms. Coffey’s guidance and hard work, MSARC has succesfully built and sustained partnerships with local governments, medical and academic institutions, service provider agencies, grassroots organizations and the community at large. Ms. Coffey has dedicated her energies towards creating a “one-stop shop” of services for victims including: 24-hour emergency forensic medical and advocacy care; legal advocacy; counseling services; and, outreach and educational programming for the prevention of sexual violence in Memphis and Shelby County. Through Ms. Coffey’s advocacy, MSARC was one of two programs in the U.S. chosen to appear in the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's new Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) toolkit. MSARC staff will appear in the toolkit because of MSARC’s comprehensive model of care and approach to treating victims from multiple jurisdictions. In March 2008, Ms. Coffey became the manager of the Office of Early Childhood Development and Youth for Shelby County Government. In her new position, Ms. Coffey will advocate on the behalf of children and youth, including those who have been victims of sexual assault, in the Shelby County area. She serves on the boards of the Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Disability Law and Advocacy Center, PAIMI Advisory Council, Domestic Violence Council, and Memphis Front Porch, Inc. Ms. Coffey holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and a Master's of Science degree in Counseling with a Community Agency concentration from the University of Memphis.