Vancouver, Wash. — ywca clark county is proud to announce that SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program Director, Debra Adams has been invited to speak on the topic of domestic violence in Minsk, Belarus from March 22nd through March 27th.
Starting out as a volunteer in 1994, Debra became Director of the SafeChoice Program in 2005. With a focus on Gender, Culture and History, Debra received her BA in 2003 and her MA in 2006. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Leadership and Organizational Change, as well as certificates in various domestic violence studies.
Debra’s long term goal is to do work on a National and International level, so when she received notice of the opportunity in Belarus, she immediately responded with a letter, resume and an article she’d written that chronicled her journey working at the ywca. Three days later, she received an email from the YWCA of Belarus inviting her to speak at the March 25th conference, “Combating Domestic Violence in Belarus: International and Local Experience.” Also while in Belarus, Debra will speak to college students and their social service provider about her experiences, and will attend a YWCA general assembly.
“I was really thrilled to hear the US Embassy would pay for my expenses: airfare, hotel, and interpreter. When they said that, I knew the y would support me. My whole 16 year career with the ywca has shown me that if they can support me, they will.” said Debra, when reflecting on the opportunity.
Debra continues to fulfill her career and personal goals. Because of her actions and interests, communities surrounding ywca clark county and YWCA of Belarus will gain valuable information and resources. Debra hopes to provide Belarus with experiences that could help them develop their responses. “If the people of Belarus can learn from our mistakes, maybe it will speed up their evolution of having good responses and intervention more quickly.” YWCA of Belarus has a lot of experience with human trafficking. Debra hopes to bring back information on that topic as well as cultural insights to help ywca clark county reach out and appeal to the local Eastern European and Russian communities.
Debra will journal her experiences at http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adamsdebra/1/1299535605/tpod.html. Community members are encouraged to visit her blog and share this once in a lifetime opportunity.
About the SafeChoice Program
The SafeChoice Program of ywca clark county commit to advocate for, educate, and support those affected by domestic violence. They strive to collaborate with our community partners to present the most helpful resources, information, and education about domestic violence.
About ywca clark county
ywca clark county serves more than 11,000 people each year who are victims of domestic violence, homelessness, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect, and oppression, as well as youth in foster care and incarcerated women.
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