Introducing Our Biennial Conference Keynote Speakers

We are thrilled to host two keynotes speakers for our 2025 Biennial Conference: Power Of Community. 

Teresa M. Stafford-Wright is a nationally recognized leader in the movement to end gender-based violence, with more than 25 years of experience in advocacy, organizational leadership, and systems transformation. As the Chief Executive Officer of the Hope & Healing Survivor Resource Center, she leads one of Ohio’s most comprehensive agencies supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Teresa is also the Principal Consultant of Inspiring Change, LLC, where she empowers organizations and individuals to lead with equity, compassion, and cultural humility. A survivor herself, Teresa brings a deeply personal and trauma-informed lens to her work. Her voice has shaped local, statewide, and national policy, and she has partnered with institutions like the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center to enhance culturally competent responses from law enforcement. Teresa is the author of the memoir, Beyond Surviving: The Courage to Heal and Lead, and a contributing author to Sexual Assault Kits and Reforming the Response to Rape. She is a sought-after speaker, executive coach, and the recipient of multiple honors, including the Ohio Attorney General’s Robert Denton Special Achievement Award and the Visionary Voice Award from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. A passionate advocate for developing leaders of color, Teresa created Rise & Lead, an executive leadership program designed specifically for women of color working in the fields of rape crisis, domestic violence, human trafficking, and child advocacy. The program focuses on strengthening leadership skills, fostering community, and equipping participants to navigate and challenge inequitable systems. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice & a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Tiffin University, is a certified Intercultural Development Inventory® Administrator, and is a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Tracy M. Stafford-Wright 

Rosie Hidalgo served as the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2023 until January of 2025, after previously serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor on Gender-Based Violence at the White House Gender Policy Council from 2021-2023. She also worked at OVW as Deputy Director for Policy from 2014-2017. Currently she is a Visiting Research Scholar in the Human Rights Program of the University of Miami School of Law. She also is a consultant serving as a Senior Advisor at the Battered Women’s Justice Project with the Re-Imagining CCR Initiative. Rosie has worked in the movement to end gender-based violence for over 30 years as a public interest attorney and as a national policy advocate. At the outset of her career, she provided direct civil legal services through non-profit organizations in New York and at Legal Services of Northern Virginia. Prior to her work at the White House, she was the Senior Director of Public Policy for Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities (now Esperanza United), a national resource center with a focus on providing training, research, and policy advocacy to prevent and end domestic violence and sexual assault. Rosie also served on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence. The daughter of immigrants, Rosie spent a total of 10 years as an adult living in three different countries in Latin America, including the Dominican Republic, where she helped establish and coordinate a community-based domestic violence prevention and intervention network and worked as a consultant for the World Bank on social services reforms. Rosie received her Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Rosie Hidalgo 

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