Brooke Deanne is a Trauma Healing Mentor, Rapid Transformational Therapist (RTT), and NLP Practitioner who empowers survivors to reclaim their lives by rewriting their stories. Having personally overcome indoctrination, abuse, and toxic relationships, Brooke brings profound insight and unwavering dedication to her work. As a highly sought-after speaker, best-selling author, and passionate advocate against religious abuse and domestic violence, Brooke's influence extends well beyond her practice.

She empowers women to shatter the chains of abuse and childhood trauma, enabling them to create healthier relationships and reclaim their true lives. She specializes in helping women break free from the cycles of abuse and trauma to build fulfilling and authentic lives. With her holistic approach, Brooke works through years of emotional baggage in half the time of traditional talk therapy. By helping her clients create a new foundation for their sense of self, healing their nervous systems, and removing outdated stories and patterns, she enables them to access new levels of mind, body, and spirit integration. This transformative process empowers women to reclaim their power and live in their authenticity.

Cerise Woodard is a forensic nurse examiner, domestic violence advocate, and founder of BoundlessHer. She specializes in trauma-informed prevention training for youth, schools, and multidisciplinary teams, blending lived experience with more than 30 years in healthcare. 

Cerise teaches educators and helping professionals how to recognize red flags early, build trusted connections, and protect students from manipulation and exploitation.

Cheryl L. Wright is a speaker and bestselling author of Swimming with Alligators: How to Recognize Narcissistic Abuse, Break Unhealthy Bonds, and Unlock True Empowerment. She equips survivors of toxic relationships with the tools to recognize toxic patterns, reclaim their confidence, and rebuild their lives.

Drawing from personal experience and extensive research, Cheryl delivers practical strategies that inspire healing, growth, and lasting transformation.

Dawn McCarty is a criminologist, award-winning cybersecurity strategist, author, and survivor-advocate whose work sits at the intersection of forensic intelligence, behavioral threat assessment, trauma recovery, and systems reform. She specializes in translating complex patterns of abusive family systems, grooming, coercive control, and digital exploitation into practical education for professionals, survivors, and communities.

Dawn holds an MBA in Cybersecurity, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a focus on Crime Scene and Evidence Management, and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and the Psychology of Victimology. Her work is strengthened by advanced forensic training through SANS and years of experience applying evidence-management principles to behavioral, relational, and digital threat patterns.

Dawn is the author of Unsealing the Crime Scene: A Forensic Roadmap for Survivors of Child Psychological Abuse and Coercive Control, a #1 Hot New Release in Medical Forensic Psychology, and the forthcoming memoir Sealed to My Abductor.

Elisa Rider is an Early Childhood Expert and Behaviour Support Practitioner with seventeen years of experience working inside classrooms, alongside educators, and deep within the lives of children carrying weights the world doesn’t always see.

With a background in psychology and specialised training in trauma informed care, conscious discipline, circle of security, and neurodiversity, Elisa brings both professional expertise and lived experience to everything she does. She has walked through the fire herself and came out the other side with a mission to make sure nobody has to walk through it alone.

Elisa’s work sits at the intersection of educator wellbeing and child development. She believes that regulated educators are the most powerful intervention in a child’s life and that healing the educator is not a luxury. It is a fundamental intervention and it is the one we keep missing.

She is a mother of three, based in New South Wales, Australia.

After spending the last decade teaching and working on program design in a variety of school, church, and community program settings, targeted towards including children and adults of all abilities, Emily Remsen has now turned her career towards partnering with families, educators, and churches to create supportive environments, filled with individualized resources, as an IEP advocate, educational therapist in private practice, and ministry inclusion consultant.

Emily is passionate about building inclusive communities, where individuals of all abilities can thrive. With an academic background in communication sciences and disorders and education, she’s dedicated her career to helping families navigate the educational system and advocate for the unique needs of their children. She joyfully brings tools from a variety of training experiences, ranging from Orton-Gillingham and SPELL-Talk to Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI Practitioner) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE Qualified Educator).

Dr. E'Toyare "VicTORIEus" McDonald-Williams, Ed.D., is an award-winning educator, author, speaker, and trauma-informed advocate widely known as The ACEs Educator™. As Founder and Executive Director of Be VicTORIEus Foundation — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit — and Founder/CEO of Be VicTORIEus Educational Services LLC, she has dedicated her career to dismantling the cycle of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) through her signature A.C.E. Method™ (Awareness + Community = Empowerment).

A first-generation doctoral degree holder from Chicago State University, she brings 30+ years of mentorship experience and the lived wisdom of a Cyclebreaker to every stage, classroom, and coaching session. Through her international conferences, podcasts, ambassador programs, and training initiatives, Dr. VicTORIEus equips communities and professionals with transformative tools to heal, lead, and thrive. Her guiding principle: "If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it."

Dr. Heather Hughes, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, is a trauma-informed transformational life coach, author, intuitive healer, and ceremonialist with over 21 years of clinical nursing experience, including at Johns Hopkins Hospital. 

She is the founder and developer of the Through the Fire Method, a proprietary somatic-informed healing methodology for women, currently in development. Her debut memoir, The Wounded Healer: Through the Fire and Into the Light, is available now. 

Dr. Hughes works at the intersection of nervous system science, somatic-informed healing, and sacred practice, supporting women who are ready to move beyond surviving and into wholeness. She is based in Maryland and works with women all over the world.

Heidi Dunstan is a Certified Grief Educator, International Best-Selling Co-Author, and Speaker. She has spoken at Harvard University, and Oxford University with a passion for changing the narrative on grief so we don’t lose the legacies of those we have lost. She educates people about grief, and how to support others who are grieving. She learned firsthand after losing her husband with friends and loved ones saying the wrong thing or completely disappearing giving her first-hand knowledge that many people have never learned how to grieve, which often leaves grievers to grieve in isolation, and it means we stop talking about those we have lost. 

Heidi is helping people to feel equipped to lean in and support their loved ones so we can grieve with grace together.

Katie Connolly is a Mom, an award-winning Somatic Coach, Neuroaffirming Somatic Clinical Counsellor, Craniosacral Therapist, and Founder of a Registered Children's Yoga School.

Since 2011, Katie has shared her work with thousands of parents, educators & therapists, who have gone on to empower even more children and youth.

Join her mission to foster a world where children grow confident in their bodies, voices, and gifts so they can honour their authentic selves and gloWithin™ ... this also goes for the inner-child within each of us.

Maria Belanic is a certified grief educator and bereaved parent. She sits with you in the thing you can't say out loud. And she tells you it's not wrong. It's grief. You're not broken. You're exactly who you are right now.

Meghann Dawson is the Founder of The Unperfect Life Co., a transformational leadership and human development collective, as well as a speaker, author, and host of the Becoming is Messy podcast. Through raw storytelling, grounded humor, and her Unperfect LEVEL UP™ framework, Meghann helps people move beyond performance and perfectionism to lead with greater clarity, courage, and authenticity. Her debut memoir, Becoming is Messy, releases December 15.

Before launching her company, Meghann spent more than 20 years in the credit union movement leading national conferences, executive education programs, and leadership development initiatives, including serving as Director of CUNA Management School. Her work has centered on helping leaders strengthen culture, connection, and sustainable growth.

Meghann lives in Madison with her husband Kelly, their three teenagers, and goldendoodle, Luna.

Patty McLain, M.Ed. is a speaker, author, and well-being consultant who helps educators, leaders, and helping professionals navigate burnout, communication, and sustainable well-being in real life. After years in public education as a teacher and instructional coach, Patty shifted her focus toward trauma-informed practices, nervous system regulation, Positive Psychology, mindfulness, and practical strategies that support both adults and students.

She has partnered with schools, universities, nonprofits, and organizations to lead workshops and presentations focused on resilience, connection, emotional wellness, and post-traumatic growth. Patty is also a Prevention Educator with the WRC and author of This is Hard and I’m Tired: A Brief Guide for Overwhelmed Educators.

Rick Cram is a resilience coach, communications expert, trained caregiver, and the creator of PLAN TO BE YOUR BEST® (PTBYB), a practical approach that helps people navigate pain, pressure, adversity, and change with greater clarity, intentionality, and hope. Drawing on decades of leadership experience and a personal journey with chronic pain, Rick helps individuals, leaders, and helping professionals remain connected to who they are when life demands more.

Through PTBYB's simple framework—Tune In, Plan, Be Your Best—he equips people to strengthen resilience, become a calming and encouraging presence for others, and discover how resilience can multiply through relationships, communities, and everyday moments.

Thomas R. Wilson is a professional Educator, Writer, Consultant, Business Owner, Program Developer, purpose-driven event Specialist, and Winner of Colorado's 2025 Big Idea Contest. His work is centered around an empathic and person-first mindset that works to access and uplift community voices. It is inspired by his own lived experiences and his desire to enact mindful change. 

His work has been highlighted internationally, and he has partnered with over 55 businesses in the United States. Overall, Thomas's work continues to be a bright spot celebrated by the community.