At the 2020 Capacity Building Training our theme is Just Mercy. We ask ourselves - how can we work together to achieve justice for all victims of crime? How can we take care of ourselves to ensure this happens? How can we support survivors post-conviction? We hope you'll come away from this year's trainings and events inspired and energized!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all trainings and events will be held online.

Click here for full bios of all presenters.

You may attend any or ALL of these trainings and events!

Release Your Resilient Spirit: Resilience Building During COVID-19
Trainer: Eva Velasquez, Author, Survivor, and Victim Advocate
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 from 10:00 to 11:00 am

Learning to place past traumatic events in the proper context of our experience is a life long journey.  We often vacillate between placing our trauma on two ends of the spectrum, either foundation or footnote, but the truth is often between the two. Using inspiration through the storytelling model, author and victim advocate Eva Velasquez will share her personal journey as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence, and her resilience building strategies.The business world uses techniques for building resilient infrastructure, graceful systems, and elegant solutions. While the COVID-19 pandemic is a unique experience for everyone, many of us have already used or been exposed to these resiliency tools in other areas of our lives.  

Post-Conviction Claims of Innocence and Exonerations
Trainers: Katie Monroe, Founder & Executive Director, Healing Justice; Andrea Harrison, Victim Family Member; Jennifer Thompson, Crime Survivor
Thursday, September 17, 2020 from 10:00 am to Noon

• What information victims need during this time of upheaval and uncertainty,
• How to ensure a trauma-informed response, including choice, safety, and privacy,
• How to develop an agency policy that addresses these unique cases,
• How to help victims navigate media attention, and
• Ways to restore victims' trust in the criminal justice system.

A conversation on criminal justice reform with Alison Mollman from the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).  Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of Just Mercy, EJI is a national organization committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.   

Please note: You do not need to have read the Just Mercy book or seen the movie to attend the training (although they're wonderful and we highly recommend them). This session will not be recorded.

Registration Fees

Registration Deadline

There is no deadline for registration.