Speakers/Special Sessions

Monday: Olga Trujillo, "Why Victims Don’t Always Behave the Way We Think They Should and What Should We do About It"

Olga Trujillo is the director of programs at Casa de Esperanza, an organization committed to mobilizing Latino communities to end domestic violence. She is an attorney, who after nearly 13 years with the United States Department of Justice, started her own consulting business to work on domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, immigration and human trafficking issues. As a consultant, Olga has worked with many national organizations addressing the issues of violence against women and children.

A nationally sought speaker, Olga has appeared in several videos, including "Cut it Out," a training video on domestic violence focusing on hair stylists, and "A Survivor’s Story," a training video based on her personal experience and live presentations. In the spring of 2005, her article, "Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder" was published in The Resource, a publication of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and was reprinted in the September/October 2005 issue of the Sexual Assault Reporter.

In 2006, Olga received the Bud Cramer Leadership Award from the National Children’s Alliance for her work to help professionals around the country better understand the impact of violence on children. Olga was a recipient of one of the Sunshine Lady Foundation 2006 Peace Awards for her work for battered women and their children. Latina Magazine featured Olga in its August 2006 issue for her survival and her work on these issues.

Tuesday: Shelley Botello & Charlotte L. Moerbe, Ph.D., "Finding Our Strengths: Military and Civilian Communities Working Together"

Shelley Botello, RN, BSN, CA-SANE, SANE-A, is the program coordinator forensic nursing services at the Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Shelley began her career as a registered nurse working with victims of crime and trauma in 1993. She has been at Methodist Specialty Transplant Hospital as a sexual assault nurse examiner since 1998 and assumed the role of program coordinator in 2000. Shelley has personally conducted over 800 examinations and has overseen of 7,500 as coordinator. Shelley is certified through the International Association of Forensic Nurses and she also serves on the board of Directors for TAASA as SANE representative.

Shelley has received numerous awards, both personally and as a team member, from organizations around the state. These include: the Partners for Change Award (to the Methodist Specialty and Transplant Forensic Nursing Team), from the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center; the Nurses Making a Difference Award from the San Antonio Express News; the Clinical Excellence Award (to the Forensic Nursing Team) from the Methodist Healthcare System; the Nurse in the Spotlight Award - Distinguished Alumni, from San Antonio College; the Edith Rust Medical Services Award of Excellence from TAASA; and the Lea Odom Community Service Award from the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center.

Shelley works with her area military bases on the planning and implementation of a unique model of care to servicemen and woman affected by sexual assault. She is also responsible for community outreach and law enforcement education on the issues relating to the medical/forensic examination. Shelley has presented at numerous local, statewide and national conferences.

Since 1993, Dr. Charlotte Moerbe has worked directly with sexual assault and abuse survivors in both civilian and military settings. After receiving her Ph.D. from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, in 1996, she worked as a psychotherapist at the Rape Crisis Center in San Antonio before she moved with her husband to Germany in 1997. While there, she continued her work with military members in an alcohol and drug inpatient program, and created several educational classes and treatment plans for individuals who were also recovering from a history of sexual trauma. Upon returning to the states, she joined a group practice and worked with physically, sexually and emotionally abused children and adults before returning to work for the military at Lackland AFB in 2001.

Since coming to Lackland AFB, Dr. Moerbe has assisted thousands of basic trainees, technical students, and active duty members, to include hundreds who presented with significant adjustment issues related to a history of sexual violence. In 2004, Dr. Moerbe was asked by the Lackland AFB commander to create the first stand-alone sexual assault prevention and outreach office in the Air Force. Over the past six years, she has developed numerous sexual assault awareness and training programs and materials for first responders, victim advocates, basic trainees, tech students and permanent party members.

Dr. Moerbe has also served as a subject matter expert on training curriculum development for the Air Force, and has worked with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and other government oversight committees to improve the level of care for military members who are sexually assaulted. Today, she oversees the largest Air Force sexual assault response and training program which currently consists of over 300 volunteers, advocates, and instructors who serve over 77,000 basic trainees, students, active duty and civilian employees annually.

Luncheon for Executive Directors Only
Leading the Change: An EDs Role in Championing Primary Prevention

As we move forward with implementation of the state plan to prevent sexual violence, leadership around community-based prevention initiatives becomes even more important. Support for prevention efforts and mentoring of prevention staff members is more vital now than it ever has been. Executive directors are in a unique position to use their expertise and role in their communities to move the prevention agenda forward. Join the discussion as executive directors explore practical ways to sustain primary prevention programs and support primary prevention staff.

Speakers: Morgan J Curtis and Peggy Helton

Morgan J Curtis, LMSW, became TAASA’s director of prevention programs in 2008 after serving two years as Primary Prevention Coordinator. In her position as director, she provides direction and leadership to TAASA’s prevention initiatives - the Primary Prevention Program, Peer Educators Acting for Change and Equality (PEACE), and the Interpersonal Violence Prevention Collaborative (IVPC). Additionally, she provides sexual violence prevention training and technical assistance to Texas rape crisis centers. Morgan served as a volunteer victim advocate and peer educator in Colorado, and spent time in Thailand working with young women who had been rescued from trafficking. She has directed two benefit performances of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues and is trained in facilitation of Theater of the Oppressed techniques. Morgan holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in community and administrative leadership.

Peggy Helton joined the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in 2006 as the primary prevention specialist. As such, Peggy’s responsibilities include planning, developing and implementing the sexual assault primary prevention program within the Crime Victim Services Division. Additionally, Peggy provides technical assistance to local sexual assault programs and statewide organizations that receive Rape Prevention and Education and Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant funding through the OAG. Prior to coming to the OAG, Peggy worked with victims/survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and in program and community development for more than a decade. Peggy holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Houston and is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Administration at Texas State University.

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