Darby Geller worked with the County of Sacramento Department of Child, Family and Adult Services, Child Protection Bureau for twenty years. She was a first responder in the Emergency Response program investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect.

Darby has also been a Social Worker and Supervisor in the Permanency Program striving to safely reunify children with their families through the Dependency court system. Ms. Geller found her Child Welfare niche as a Forensic Interview Specialist at Sacramento’s Child Advocacy Center, the Special Assault Forensic Evaluation (SAFE) Center.

Darby propelled her leadership skills and served as the Director of the SAFE Center for seven years. She routinely provides forensic interview training/facilitation throughout Northern CA, is a member of the Child Advocacy Centers of California (CACC) State Advisory Committee and is a site reviewer with National Children’s Alliance helping to provide accreditation and reaccreditation support to Child Advocacy Centers throughout the United States.

Currently Ms. Geller is the Program Manager over the Victim Witness Assistance Program with the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office. She ensures the program is operating at its best, oversees a number of grants and supports twenty victim advocates in their daily work to ensure victims’ rights are upheld.   

Joyce Bilyeu currently works as the Director of Clients Services for the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center (SRFJC). The SRFJC serves as a central location where agencies work together to meet victim’s needs. The SRFJC provides trauma informed care to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and child abuse. The SRFJC is a “one-stop” center were survivors share their personal story only once avoiding the trauma of sharing multi times.

Prior to her work at the SRFJC Joyce worked as the AmeriCorps Training Manager for the Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) of Sacramento for 14 years. She provided overall management and coordination of the CAPC AmeriCorps Trainings, including Mandated Child Abuse Reporter Training for Sacramento County Mandated Reporters, Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention is the hospitals, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and other training topics.

Ms. Bilyeu has more than 39 years of experience in providing direct services to victims of domestic violence and other victimizations. Her experience also includes program development, implementation, training, and public speaking. Since 1981, she has developed training curricula and provided training on the dynamics of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, and Child Abuse prevention to Law Enforcement, Mental Health Professionals, Health Care Providers, Civic Organization, District Attorney’s, and other public and private organizations.

Prior to working at the Child Abuse Prevention Center, she was employed at Women Escaping A Violent Environment (WEAVE) (a comprehensive Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program) as their Director of Counseling and Crisis Services. Joyce created and implemented the first ever Domestic Violence Response Team in partnership with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and WEAVE.

Before employed at WEAVE she worked at the Fresno County Marjorie Mason Center where she coordinated, developed, and implemented the first Fresno County Domestic Violence Response Team (a partnership between the Fresno County Marjorie Mason Center, Hospital Emergency Rooms, and the Fresno City Police Department).

During Joyce’s earlier years, she also worked at the Family Support Center in Colville WA where she first went there to access their services as a survivor of Domestic Violence. Later she became one of their volunteers and then hired as an employee to serve as their Domestic Violence Program Manager where she managed their crisis line, counseling services and shelter program. In addition, Joyce served two terms as President of the Washington State Coalition against Domestic Violence Board of Directors.

Joyce is a long time active and current member of the Sacramento County Domestic Violence Death Review Team, and member of the Sacramento County Domestic Violence Prevention Collaborative. In addition, she is a past member of the Sacramento County Children’s Coalition (appointed by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors) where she served two terms (7 years) on the Violence, Prevention and Treatment seat.

Joyce is a certified Domestic Violence Peer Counselor as defined by the California Evidence Code 1037.1. In addition, she has received specialized advance training on Strangulation Prevention through the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention in San Diego, CA where she now trains law enforcement and hospital staff on assessing for and treatment of strangulation.

Joyce is an active citizen in her community by being a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary, and American Ex-Prisoners of War, not only locally, but also on a National level.

Most importantly, Joyce is a survivor of domestic violence and gun violence and has dedicated her life to making life better for not only victims of violence but for our active duty military and veterans.

Dr. Nicole Clavo, PsyD, is a proud third-generation military veteran and mother of two children; Japhera (29) and Jaulon (forever 17). She is the manager of the Office of Violence Prevention in the City of Sacramento, California. In this role, she leads the city on gang prevention and intervention and coordinates a comprehensive effort to address youth and gang violence. Dr. Clavo is a widely recognized advocate and champion for victims and communities impacted by crime.

Following the murder of her youngest child, Jaulon (JJ), Dr. Clavo, with daughter Japhera, founded the Healing5 Foundation, Inc., and currently serves as the Executive President. Employing the guiding principles of Acknowledgement, Empowerment, Encouragement, Motivation, and Education, Healing5 connects with others impacted by crime, unexpected tragedies, and crises. Healing5 provides support as communities, families, and individuals navigate through various forms of grief and pain. Dr. Clavo also serves as a consultant and mentor, lending her expertise to non-profits and leadership groups throughout California and beyond.

Dr. Clavo is the recipient of several awards, including the 2020 Sacramento County District Attorney Outstanding Citizen Award, Sacramento Dads’ Parent of the Year title, Grant High School’s Community Leader Award, the City of Sacramento’s inaugural Champion of Peace Award, and the Sherwood Carthen Service Above Self Award.

Additionally, Dr. Clavo received the 2016 Exceptional Woman of Color Award. Dr. Nicole Clavo is a fierce advocate and a true force to be reckoned with; driven and motivated by her own experiences of being directly impacted by crime, she inspires and supports others both publicly and behind the scenes, working tirelessly to share her journey to transform her own pain into passion and purpose.

Rhonda Campbell is a Victim Service Specialist with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Sacramento. Rhonda came to MADD as a volunteer after losing her 12-year-old sister in a drunk driving crash in 1981. At the time, she was a teenager but always had the desire to join the fight against drunk driving in some capacity. Rhonda was hired in 2018 to provide victim services for MADD Sacramento. Rhonda’s work with MADD is not just a job, it is a passion. She takes pride in knowing the work she and her organization do saves lives and helps those whose lives have been impacted by an impaired driver. In addition to Rhonda’s role at MADD, she has spent over thirty years working in the Sacramento legal community as a paralegal. In her free time, Rhonda likes to horseback ride and kayak. She is also a mother to three adult children, and her pride and joy are her 7 grandchildren.

My name is Keith Dobson. I am retired and a small business owner.  My wife, Tamra, works in the legal field. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center. We both are members of the Voices for Victims Coalition here in Sacramento.  In September 2012, our only child, Luv, was the victim of a murder suicide. She was murdered by a man who was supposed to love her. 

Kristie graduated from Sacramento State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work in 2015, after completing an internship at CASH. Her interest in helping women stems from her personal experience as a survivor and her passion to help others overcome trauma and addiction. Kristie is a trained anti-human trafficking advocate, a member of Resilient Sacramento, and active in the Medication Assisted Treatment community. When Kristie is not at work, she enjoys watching movies, spending time with family and listening to books on Audible.

Roberta Ramirez Sanchez was raised in the Sierra Foothills and settled in Sacramento during college. She currently works as an analyst for the State of California and participates in community theater as both an actor and playwright. She is a survivor of 20 years of domestic violence that culminated in her attempted murder two days before Christmas in 2013. She has been active in shaping her recovery through intensive therapy for ongoing PTSD, her participation in theater, and sharing her story in the hopes that it will help others recognize domestic violence among their friends and family before it is too late. One of her favorite quotes is, “there is only honor in being a survivor.”

Kris Pedretti survived the sexual assault from the Golden State Killer when she was just 15 years old. Forty-two years later, after the Golden State Killer was captured, Kris found her voice after much therapy and support from the community. Today, she facilitates a support group as well as hosts survivors’ gatherings. She speaks up and speaks out with groups and individuals, podcasts, and TV media to encourage healing so that we can abandon the shame that unrightfully follows sexual assault. Kris believes if we stand together, we can put the blame and shame of rape on the rapist, where it has always belonged.

Nicole is the mother of a child sexual assault survivor whose abuse was recorded and widely distributed. Since the perpetrator’s conviction, she has worked with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to help other families navigate the aftermath of this horrific crime. She has represented survivors and their families on a panel hosted by the US Department of Justice and testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of the EARN IT Act. In 2020, she was a recipient of the US Attorney General’s Civilian Volunteer Service Award. Nicole is looking forward to being a voice for victims, survivors, and their families at the state and local levels to ensure that they have a voice in the criminal justice process.