Vermont Children's Alliance Annual ConferenceL:
From CAC to Courtroom
September 22-23rd, 2026
Stoweflake mountain resort, stowe VT
9AM - 5PM, 9AM-3PM
Single-track format: Everyone attends the same sessions together, because the journey from CAC to courtroom—guided by the MDT model—is strongest when we learn, connect, and collaborate as one.
Meet the Speakers
Dr. Georgia M. Winters
A licensed clinical forensic psychologist and an associate professor & director of the Clinical Forensic Psychology M.A. Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey. Dr. Winters runs a research lab addressing sexual violence prevention, with a particular focus on sexual grooming behaviors. Dr. Winters has published over 40 peer-reviewed publications and authored the book Sexual Grooming Integrating Research, Practice, Prevention, and Policy. She consults on criminal, civil, and military cases on issues related to sexual violence.
Her presentation, Sexual Grooming Behaviors will teach attendees about the definition of sexual grooming, as well as the stages, behaviors, empirical data, “red flags”, etc. involved in the grooming process.
Robert Peters
Robert began his career in the courtroom, serving as a state prosecutor in multiple West Virginia jurisdictions, where he specialized in the prosecution of sexual offenses and online child exploitation. Following that work, he developed training, tools, publications, and technical assistance for child abuse prosecutors and allied professionals across the United States through work with the Zero Abuse Project and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). Robert has worked for GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) for over a decade as a civil investigator and now serves as the Director of Institutional Response. He is the founder of Coursing Justice, a training organization for criminal justice professionals. While a prosecutor, Robert founded SHIELD Task Force, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that partners with Child Advocacy Centers and local stakeholders to equip children and supportive adults with age-appropriate body and online safety guidance.
Megan Peterson
Megan worked in the child abuse field for 18 years before transitioning to Guardify. Her tenure is solely linked to direct service, working in Oklahoma and Texas, as a CPS Investigator for 10 years, and as a Forensic Interviewer for 8 years. She has conducted 2,479 forensic interviews and approximately 1400 child abuse investigations, completed over 1300 hours of cumulative training, and testified as an expert witness in numerous criminal court proceedings. She is a social worker and interviewer at heart and has dedicated herself to protecting children and helping others.
Tony DeVincenzo, Senior Training Specialist, Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center
Tony DeVincenzo is a Senior Training Specialist with the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, providing training and technical assistance to Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) and Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) across the Northeast. He presents at regional and national conferences on MDT dynamics, child abuse investigations, and team collaboration.
With over 30 years of experience working with MDTs, Tony previously served as Director of Programs and MDT Coordinator at Deirdre’s House, the CAC for Morris County, NJ, overseeing services and leading trainings.
Tony’s expertise is rooted in a 25-year law enforcement career, specializing in crimes against children, forensic interviewing, and MDT work. He retired as a Lieutenant supervising sex crimes and child endangerment units and also teaches Criminal Justice and Child Advocacy as an adjunct faculty member.
UVM Child Protection Team
The Child Safe Program identifies, treats and supports children who are suspected to have experienced or are at risk of experiencing abuse and neglect. This program is staffed by a board certified child abuse physician, a pediatric forensic nurse and a social worker. They conduct multidisciplinary evaluations of children in with a core goal of ensuring that all children who are suspected of being maltreated receive standardized, appropriate medical care and psychosocial support to address their medical and safety needs.
Their presentation, Better When We're Together, The Role of Medical Evaluations in Child Safety identifies the benefit of the medical examination for children who may have experienced abuse.
Lauri McGivern
A Board-certified Medicolegal Death Investigator (MDI) working with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Vermont. She has been a death investigator for twenty five years and currently works as the MDI Coordinator in which she recruits, trains and oversees the medicolegal death investigators in the state. Lauri has served on many state and national committees as a subject matter expert including the Vermont Child Fatality Review Team, Vulnerable Adult Fatality Review Team (past Chair), American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (past President), Organization of Scientific Area Committees, Medicolegal Death Investigator Subcommittee along with several other Technical Working Groups within the field of medicolegal death investigation and death certification.
Her presentation: Investigating Infant/ Child Deaths in Vermont, will educate participants on the process from medicolegal death investigations and the roles of key personnel/ agencies present during the death investigation. Diving deep into information gathering and introducing new methods, this presentation will cover more than what meets the eye.
Registration Closes August 10, 2025
Sponsored BY:
Join the Vermont Children's Alliance for our first annual statewide conference, "TOGETHER WE RISE: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES AND BUILDING TRUST," on September 23rd at the Killington Resort in beautiful Killington, Vermont.Connect with MDT professionals from across the state and demonstrate your commitment to child advocacy. Explore our sponsorship packages and vendor booth options to find the right fit for your organization. Ready to partner with VCA? Click below to access our registration form.