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The Gail Burns-Smith Award recognizes people who have made significant contributions to preventing sexual violence.
The Gail Burns-Smith Award recognizes individuals who understand that eliminating sexual violence requires collaboration across the spectrum of prevention and forward-thinking leadership. Individuals eligible for this award will have demonstrated achievements in connecting the fields of survivor advocacy with the field of sexual abuse perpetration prevention and treatment.
In 2024, NSVRC and ATSA began to offer this award to two individuals, one who primarily provides services to those who have been sexually harmed, and another to an individual who provides treatment or does research in the area of treatment or prevention of sexual harm. As of 2025, NSVRC and ATSA have collaborated on this award for 15 years.
Each individual will have demonstrated success in collaborating across the prevention continuum and with their counterparts in survivor or treatment services.
Named in honor of Gail Burns-Smith — a visionary woman who expanded the thinking and actions of two previously disconnected groups of professionals — this award is intended to ensure this important collaboration is continued and expanded by other forward-thinking leaders. The award is jointly sponsored by the Association for the Treatment & Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), two organizations with similar missions and goals, honored to carry on the mission and vision of Gail Burns-Smith.
One award will be granted annually to practitioners from each of the two fields of work. Award recipients will receive the following:
working with the intensive sex offender probation unit to initiate and maintain contact with victims and their families, and
working to ensure a victim-centered approach to sex offender treatment/probation decision-making.
This innovative program became the national model for such programs, and Gail provided the vision and support to make this unique collaboration possible.
Early in her career, Gail was a head nurse and the in-service educator of Nursing Staff at Hartford Hospital. From 1982 to her retirement in 2004, she was the Executive Director of Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services (now the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence), where she grew the organization from just herself to a staff of 23. Her accomplishments in Connecticut and nationally over 20 years are incredible.
passing anti-stalking laws,
designating Marriage License Surcharge toward funding local centers, and
requiring mandatory sexual harassment training for all supervisors at workplaces with 50 or more employees.
She worked tirelessly to ensure everyone had access to services they needed. Gail ensured the needs of Spanish-speaking victims were met by implementing a statewide Spanish hotline, one of only two in the country. At the same time, she secured funding to hire bilingual/bicultural Spanish-speaking advocates at six sexual assault crisis centers in the state. To meet the needs of deaf and hearing-impaired victims, Gail acquired funding in 1997 to provide TTY machines for each of the sexual assault crisis centers.
Nationally, Gail co-founded the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV), which focuses on public policy advocacy. NAESV was instrumental in securing passage of the U.S. National Violence Against Women Act and related funding of programs for services to victims of sexual assault and other violence. She was a founding Advisory Council member for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center from 1999-2004.
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The Association for the Treatment & Prevention of Sexual Abuse is an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse. Through research, education, and shared learning, ATSA promotes evidence-based practice, public policy, and community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment, and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse. |
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The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) is the leading nonprofit in providing information and tools to prevent and respond to sexual violence. NSVRC translates research and trends into best practices that help individuals, communities and service providers achieve real and lasting change. The center also works with the media to promote informed reporting. Every April, NSVRC leads Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a campaign to educate and engage the public in addressing this widespread issue. NSVRC is also one of the three founding organizations of RALIANCE, a national, collaborative initiative dedicated to creating equitable, respectful, and safe environments. NSVRC is a primary division of Respect Together. |
2025 nominations are due by June 9, 2025. To nominate a candidate for the Gail Burns-Smith Award:
Nominations must be submitted electronically to awards@atsa.com by June 9, 2025.
Please note: Current board members and employees of ATSA and/or PCAR/NSVRC are not eligible for this award.
Nominations will be reviewed by the ATSA Awards Committee and the NSVRC selection committee. Recommendations will be forwarded to NSVRC and the Board of Directors of ATSA, who vote on the award. The recipient will be informed in April, and the award will be announced/presented at both the National Sexual Assault Conference and the ATSA Annual Research and Treatment Conference.
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Dr. Tyffani Monford Dr. Tyffani Monford has provided mental health trainings and served as a panelist at conferences throughout the United States focused on culturally-informed mental health services, treatment for survivors of sexual abuse, gender-responsive treatment, the school-to-prison pipeline and Black girls, educating Black girls in white spaces, intersectionality, and social justice work. Dr. Monford has served on several state, national, and international boards addressing issues of mental health, sexual violence prevention and intervention (both with survivors and with adolescents who have caused sexual harm), and human trafficking. She is the author of several books, workbooks, and curricula including those addressing the needs of faith-based and Black women survivors of sexual assault, adolescent girl survivors of human trafficking, gender-responsive treatment practices for justice-involved girls, trauma-informed care with Black girls and cultivating emotional wellness in Black college women. |
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Melissa Webb Melissa Webb, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and owner of Red Rock Psychological Health in Nevada and Chimney Rock Psychological Health in Nebraska. Webb utilizes Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, among other modalities, to treat sexual offenses, problematic sexual fetishes, and abuse/trauma over the lifespan. She strives to make the clinic comfortable and welcoming for all, as she is aware that the first step is often the most difficult. She offers her expertise beyond her practice, having been a sex educator and advocate for victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse since 2006. Webb has worked tirelessly to connect The Department of Public Safety (Adult Parole & Probation) and Juvenile Justice (JSOs) with the Child Advocacy Center for many years, with the goal of bridging services, having tough conversations, and problem solving. She holds free trainings for officers, caseworkers, foster parents, and therapists to learn the important skills associated with sexual abuse dynamics and teaching them how to advocate for these populations. |
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Dr. Alissa Ackerman Holding a PhD in Criminal Justice from the City University of New York, and serving as the Criminal Justice Department Coordinator and Associate Professor at California State University, Fullerton, is just a part of her story as a researcher and advocate. Early in her career, her research, “focused on the detrimental impacts of sex crimes policies and practices in the United States.” This, in combination with her participation in a community-led treatment program for perpetrators who had committed sexual offenses in the past, led to her understanding that efforts to prevent sexual abuse, assault, and harassment must include treatment for people who perpetrate. Her work includes authoring and co-editing eight books, co-authoring a law review article in CUNY Law Review, writing 35 peer-reviewed journal articles, hosting two seasons of a podcast (Beyond Fear: The Sex Crimes Podcast), co-editing a special edition of the Journal of Sexual Abuse, and giving 75 talks and trainings domestically and internationally, such as her TEDx Talk in 2018. Her steadfast dedication to aligning an understanding the underlying factors behind why sexual violence occurs, the need for individual and institutional accountability, and pathways to healing for survivors and people who perpetrate all underscore why she is more than worth the recognition this award brings. |
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Casey Ballinger Casey Ballinger is the Training & Technical Assistance Manager with the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA). She has worked for ten years as a community-based advocate supporting individuals impacted by sexual harm and/or interpersonal violence in both legal and residential settings. Before stepping into her role with CCASA, Casey developed and supervised Colorado’s first post-conviction victim advocacy programming; creating intentional spaces for survivors to have their voices considered in the treatment and supervision of those who have caused harm. Through the development of post-conviction programming and facilitation of Clarification work, she discovered a passion for restorative practices and finding more opportunities for those impacted by sexual harm to seek accountability and healing on their own terms. Casey is an appointed victim representative on Colorado’s Sex Offender Management Board and a practitioner representative on the Colorado Restorative Justice Council. She earned her Master’s in Social Work from Colorado State University. |
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JAC Patrissi JAC Patrissi is the principal and founder of the nonprofit organization, Growing A New Heart, and is also the co-founder of A Call For Change, the nation’s first confidential helpline dedicated to fostering change for people using the tools of dominance and abuse in their intimate partnerships. She is the author of the intervention’s framework. Working among anti-racist, transformative peacemakers for 34 years, JAC‘s heart is filled with the vision of our field co-creating ways of living in community that move us beyond containment and punishment and center compassionate accountability. |
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Kim Alaburda Kim has been Executive Director of the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (NMCSAP) for a combined total of over 34 years. She is revered throughout the state for her visionary, brilliant, kind, dedicated, and considerate leadership in a relentless pursuit to end sexual violence. She brings a highly sophisticated and collaborative approach to her work that has always integrated services for those who have been abused, those who have abused, and anyone impacted by sexual violence, including service providers. Her expertise includes successful community and statewide program and policy development and implementation, community collaboration, professional training, and fiscal and contract management. |
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David D’Amora David D’Amora is currently a Senior Policy Advisory with the Council of State Governments Justice Center. He is known for building relationships between criminal justice agencies, treatment providers, and victim advocates. David worked alongside Gail Burns-Smith to create the country’s first community-based management model that combined victim advocacy and perpetrator treatment. |
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David Fowers David Fowers is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in Utah. He helped create the Network on Juveniles Offending Sexually and was instrumental in developing an assessment tool for juvenile offenders. Fowers also helped organize an annual, statewide training conference for sexual assault treatment providers in order to ensure that those providing services for victims and offenders can work and train together. |
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Joann Schladale Joann Schladale is the founder and Executive Director of Resources for Resolving Violence, a mental health agency that provides in-home, trauma-informed services. She facilitates trainings for therapists, law enforcement officers, advocates, and other professionals on topics including intra-familial sex offenders and youth with sexual behavior problems. In addition, Schladale has authored numerous book chapters, articles, and publications on trauma-informed approaches for sexual health and violence prevention. She teaches courses nationwide on preventing violence, sexual abuse, and teen pregnancy. |
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Patty Wetterling Patty Wetterling co-founded the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center with her husband Jerry after their 11-year-old son Jacob was abducted in 1989. The resource center serves families of missing children and supports prevention programming in Minnesota. Wetterling also co-founded Team H.O.P.E., a volunteer group that provides support and resources for families with missing or exploited children. She served in leadership roles with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and served as the Director of Sexual Violence Prevention for the Minnesota Department of Health until she retired in 2015. |
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Joan Tabachnick Joan Tabachnik is a nationally recognized expert in child sexual abuse prevention, celebrated author of award-winning educational materials, and DOJ Fellow. Her fellowship with the DOJ’s SMART Office contributed to significant resources being committed to preventing sexual assault on college campuses and strengthening partnerships among federal agencies and with private partners. Tabachnick has also worked with the New England Adolescent Research Institute Inc. (NEARI) Press in Holyoke, MA, providing webinars, books, monthly newsletters, and other resources to professionals working with adult sex offenders and adolescents who have sexually abused or children with sexual behavior problems. |
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Eileen Recktenwald Eileen Recktenwald oversees the development and operation of the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault programs (KASAP). She provides a structure that promotes collaboration, support, and cooperation for the membership and for allied professionals and groups. Recktenwald also administers KASAP funding including budget monitoring and long-range financial planning. Under Recktenwald’s guidance, Kentucky established the State Prevention Team that created a statewide sexual violence plan. When the Prison Rape Elimination Act passed in Kentucky, Recktenwald served on committees, testified in front of legislators, provided extensive trainings on sexual assault in prisons, and convinced 13 of the state’s rape crisis centers that working with inmates who have been victimized — many of whom were also convicted sex offenders — was important. |
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Steve Bengis Steve Bengis is the Director and Co-Founder of the New England Adolescent Research Institute Inc., (NEARI) in Holyoke, MA. NEARI offers books and online courses to professionals working with sexual assault victims and/or sex offenders. He also is the President of the Massachusetts Adolescent Sex Offender Coalition (MASOC). Through his work with MASOC’s conferences, Bengis has helped bridge the divide between individuals working with sexual assault survivors with those working with sex offenders. Thanks to his leadership, MASOC has two victim advocates on its board of directors. |
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Lindsay Palmer Lindsay Palmer began serving as Director of Education for King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) in 1999. She is responsible for developing and implementing a full range of community education and prevention programs with KCSAC prevention education specialists. The scope of Palmer’s department including professional training, community development programs aimed at preventing sexual assault, and systems change work with the sex offender management system at the local, county, and state level. |
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Alison Hall Alison Hall, Executive Director of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR), has been with PAAR since 2004, where she continues to build effective partnerships. Hall’s accomplishments include establishing the Allegheny County Sex Offender Management and Containment Program (SOMAC) and being the driving force behind Pennsylvania’s first sex offender specialty court. |
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Elizabeth Barnhill Elizabeth Barnhill has been the Executive Director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault for over 20 years. She also serves on numerous state boards and committees related to victim advocacy and sex offender management. Barnhill is a founding member of the Iowa Board for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and provides leadership for the National Sexual Assault Coalition Resource Sharing Project. She is also a past president and founding member of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. |