Strand²

NOVA Conference
2025-07-22 - 2025-07-25 | Oklahoma
Why We Advocate: Celebrating Community

NOVA’s 51st Annual Training Event will be held in San Francisco on July 22-25, 2025. Our theme is Why We Advocate: Celebrating Community! Join us for this unique event for survivor services professionals across the globe.

Russell Strand will be presenting: Tearing down the silos: building true multi disciplinary collaboration
Myra Strand will be presenting: Aiming for safety: Harm Reduction, Risk & Lethality Assessment, Safety Planning and Exit Planning

The Michigan Justice for Children Conference
2025-07-23 - 2025-07-24 | Michigan, Detroit, Michigan
Russell Strand will deliver:
Plenary I: My Journey from Law Enforcement to Victim Advocacy to Prevention … and Beyond: Lessons Learned
Working within the criminal justice system can often be challenging to say least and demoralizing and potentially harmful to say the most. Our individual and collect journeys matter. We don’t have to walk alone – we are literally here to support, guide, and care for each other – regardless of the profession or professions we chose. Join us for a transformative presentation, where the presenter will share deeply personal stories of abuse and triumph with the goal of inspiring and connecting with attendees on a profound level. This journey, although personal, will encourage attendees to reflect on their own journeys, challenges, triumphs, and hope. Through this presentation, participants will learn to recognize the importance of empathy, compassion, and understanding in victim advocacy, understand the challenges faced in law enforcement investigations, and discover strategies for effective prevention efforts. By the end of the session, attendees will be able to more fully empathize with survivors of abuse, identify key strategies for supporting victims, and develop a deeper understanding of the interconnected roles of law enforcement, advocacy, and prevention in creating safer communities and a better world.
Myra Strand will deliver:
Aiming for Safety: Trauma-Informed Harm Reduction, Risk Assessment and Safety Planning
This workshop will provide advocates and allied professionals with comprehensive knowledge and practical skills in trauma-informed and healing- centered: harm reduction, risk assessment, and safety planning.
Emphasizing self-efficacy and self-determination, this training will highlight the importance of an intersectional approach when working with trauma-impacted individuals, paying particular attention to vulnerable and/or rural populations as they experience higher victimization rates.
The presenter will also discuss various risk assessment tools and lethality indicators. She will then help participants to use these tools while working with clients to create a comprehensive plan to navigate and/or reduce harm in potentially dangerous situations.
Participants will learn how to create a tailored safety plan based on the individual needs of each client. There will be a special emphasis on the importance of safe exit planning- as this is a matter of life and death for many.
Russell Strand will deliver:
Comprehensive Integrated Primary Prevention – It’s a Brave New World!
In this presentation, we will delve into the concept of integrated primary prevention of harmful behaviors, with a specific focus on interpersonal violence, sexual assault, and self-harm. We will explore the theoretical foundations and practical applications of this approach within the context of the criminal justice system. We will begin by introducing the Social-Ecological Model (SEM) developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We will examine how the SEM provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the factors that contribute to harmful behaviors, emphasizing the importance of addressing multiple levels of influence, including individual, relationship,community, and societal factors. Next, we will explore the Broken Windows Theory, which proposes that visible signs of disorder and neglect in a community can contribute to an environment that fosters crime and harmful behaviors. We will discuss the implications of this theory for prevention strategies within the criminal justice system and examine how addressing minor infractions and maintaining community order can have a significant impact on reducing more serious crimes.
Click here to register:
https://web.cvent.com/event/84323041-f2f6-45cf-9aca-3e2ca08ed917/summary

NOVA Conference
2025-07-24 | Oklahoma
NOVA Virtual Conference:
Russell Strand will deliver:
Tearing down the silos: building true MDT collaboration
Myra Strand will deliver:
Aiming for Safety: Harm Reduction, Lethality Assessment and Safety Planning

Register here:
NOVA’s Annual Training Event

Holistic health: Mind. Body. Soul.
2025-08-11 - 2025-08-12 | Minnesota, Duluth
Myra will travel from site to site providing this train in three different regions in Minnesota.
Holistic health: Mind. Body. Soul.
This training is an offering that is a gentle and heartfelt exploration of the profound connection between mind, body, and soul. Within the demanding landscape of crime victimization response, caring for oneself becomes an act of deep integrity—a sacred obligation rooted in honoring the entire self.
Participants will be invited to journey inward, cultivating awareness of self-regulation and the power of co-regulation, recognizing how these practices serve as vital anchors amid chaos. Emphasizing holistic self-care, the session encourages a mindful embrace of nurturing routines that restore resilience, replenish vitality, and nurture the spirit, fostering a sense of wholeness that sustains both personal well-being and professional effectiveness.
Central to this awareness is the importance of setting healthy boundaries—learning to honor one’s limits and cultivate protective barriers that preserve energy and mental clarity. Together, we reflect on the sacred responsibility of self-care as a vital foundation for serving others, honoring the sacred interplay of mind, body, and soul that sustains us through life’s most challenging moments.
Learning Objectives:

Articulate the importance of holistic health in personal and professional life.
Identify key strategies for self-regulation, co-regulation, and boundary-setting.
Incorporate mindful self-care practices into daily routines.
Recognize their ethical obligation to prioritize well-being as part of their service.
A Hour long Yoga class will be delivered as an offering.

Holistic health: Mind. Body. Soul.
2025-08-13 - 2025-08-14 | Mankato, MN, Mankato, MN

CASCI Colorado Association of Sex Crimes Investigators
2025-09-03 - 2025-09-05 | Oklahoma
Russell Strand will be delivering three presentations:

Peep Behind the Curtain – Pornography
Human Centric Interviewing
Hunter and the Hunted – Understanding Offender Behaviors

Register here:
https://www.casci.net/about

CCAW South Padre Island
2025-09-22 - 2025-09-23 | Texas, Texas
The CCAW Summit: Beyond the Bounds serves as an extension of the Conference on Crimes Against Women to highlight the specific gender-based challenges that are unique to coastal cities, rural towns, and resort communities. Victims and survivors of these areas are confronted with geographic isolation and transportation issues as well as a lack of anonymity and limited access to resources and services.

CCAW Summit provides education, training, and best-practice strategies to address problems such as:
Aquatic Homicide, Human Trafficking, Immigration and Border Issues, Sexual Abuse, CPS Involvement, 9-1-1 Reporting, Domestic Violence, Law Enforcement Report Writing, Forensic Nursing, Prosecutorial Perspectives

Myra and Russell will presenting on:
Human Centric Interviewing
Violence Against Women in Outdoor Spaces
Trauma Informed Scuba Diving

Heart Connections
2025-10-16 | New Jersey
Myra will deliver two training workshops:

Empathy, Compassion, Vulnerability and Hope – Human Connection is the Key
It’s a Vibe self-regulation and co regulation

One Loud Voice
2025-11-05 - 2025-11-06 | Mississippi
Myra and Russ will be providing training at this conference.
TBD

Register Here:
https://www.childadvocacyms.org/one-loud-voice-conference

Crimes Against Women Conference
2026-05-17 - 2026-05-21 | Texas, Texas
Myra and Russell will both be presenting at the Crimes Against Women Conference:

Russ will present on:
-Human Centric Interviewing
-SWAT: Special Weapons Against Trauma
Myra will present on:
-Aiming for Safety: Harm Reduction, Safety Planning and Escape Planning
-Detecting Danger: Conducting Lethality Assessments for Advocates

We will also be providing four sessions of trauma-informed yoga

Children's Justice Conference
2026-07-28 - 2026-07-31 | Michigan, Detroit, Michigan
Myra and Russell will be providing training at the Detroit Children’s conference.
TBA
