ACEing Trauma: Annual Domestic Violence Conference

Becky Haas

Becky Haas is an international advocate and trainer on using a trauma informed approach and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study.  She is a pioneer in creating trauma informed communities. The work she led in Northeast Tennessee was recognized by SAMHSA in 2018 as a model for cities to follow.  Becky authors sector specific professional development trainings with two receiving statewide accreditation in Tennessee as evidence-based training and one earning national accreditation.  She has a deep understanding of the importance for every professional sector to have intimate knowledge of healthy early childhood development and the potential for early adversity to disrupt that healthy development.  In 2022, she was awarded the Friends of Children Award by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth for her statewide efforts to reduce the effects of childhood trauma.

Aimee Stockenstroom

Aimee Stockenstroom, LCSW, is a highly skilled clinician and trainer specializing in intimate partner and sexual violence with a demonstrated history working both nationally and internationally. Her experience includes providing individual and group psychotherapy to adult survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence, as well as training advocates in local domestic violence and sexual assault agencies, law enforcement, community allied professionals, and medical healthcare professionals. Her training covers various topics such as neurobiology of trauma, trauma responses, trauma aware advocacy, the impact of trauma, and the importance of collaborative partnerships between advocates, medical healthcare professionals, and law enforcement in supporting survivors through the legal justice system. Furthermore, Aimee has offered consultation services to domestic violence and sexual assault agencies, focusing on program and policy development within a trauma-informed framework. Notably, she is an expert witness capable of testifying on subjects including trauma responses, the impact of trauma on the brain and memory, dynamics of domestic violence, and common responses observed in adult survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence.

Ashleigh McMahan

Ashleigh McMahan, BSN, RN, CEN, SANE-A, is a dedicated healthcare professional with a passion for serving vulnerable and underserved populations. Graduating from the ETSU College of Nursing in 2016 as President of her class, she was accepted into the Nurse Residency Program where she honed her skills at the Vanderbilt Adult Emergency Department and ascended to Staff Leader/Charge Nurse. In 2019, she expanded her scope by becoming a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), a role she continued while travel nursing across the country. Now, as Program Coordinator for the HELP-SARA Project, Ashleigh trains registered nurses and nurse practitioners in rural Appalachia to become SANEs as well as consults with law enforcement, first responders, advocates, and multiple other community programs, bridging gaps in support and education.

John-Paul Abner, Ph.D.

John-Paul Abner graduated from the University of Florida with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (Child and Adolescent emphasis) in 1996 where he had the honor of studying under Dr. Sheila Eyberg, creator of PCIT.  A professor in psychology at Milligan College, he is one of 21 people in the world who has been designated as a Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) Global Trainer by PCIT International.  He has conducted research on the application of PCIT to children with autism spectrum disorders and is currently an active promoter of PCIT to the autism community.    He is the Director of PCIT Training for the East Tennessee State University Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody where he helps coordinate a statewide PCIT dissemination effort to help children in the foster care system.  Dr. Abner is a frequent speaker at PCIT conferences where he focuses primarily on clinical issues.  He is passionate about PCIT and CARE and this passion often comes out at relatively high speed and volume.   He favors a highly interactive style of presentation, and his presentations often feature storytelling, games, unintentional physical humor, and prizes of minimal value.