Vermont Children's Alliance 1st Annual ConferencE
Together We rise: bridging disciplines & Building trust
September 23rd, 2025
Killington Resort, Killington VT
9AM - 5PM
Single-track format: Everyone attends the same sessions together, because bridging disciplines—with the MDT model at the core—starts by sharing space, ideas, and perspectives.
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.
Adrianne Simeone
Founder of The Mama Bear Effect, a non-profit that empowers adults to protect children from sexual abuse by raising awareness and sharing prevention education. After reading one too many stories about a child being sexually abused, Adrianne felt a calling to utilize her professional skills and make a positive contribution. She believes that with the power of social media and a down-to-earth approach, The Mama Bear Effect can create change and encourage people to protect children from being sexually abused.
Her two presentations, Vulnerability Isn’t Weakness - It’s the Way Forward and
The Courage to Change will explore the role of vulnerability in child abuse prevention and response, and offer inspiration and tools to lead meaningful, lasting change.
Richard Guerry
Founder of the non-profit organization the Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication (IROC2). Throughout the 1990's, Richard worked as an executive in the information technology field. During his tenure, he encountered the darkest areas of the internet and discovered countless individuals unknowingly being manipulated and their content being stolen and exploited. In 2009, Richard left corporate America, and applied his vast experience and knowledge of digital safety to found and serve as the Executive Director of IROC2.org. He now speaks to students, educators, parents, child advocates, and law enforcement personnel across the country on the importance of maintaining a Digital Consciousness™ to prevent and avoid current – and future – digital issues.
His presentation, Teaching Digital Safety, Empathy & Mindfulness will help participants understand the need for empathy and kindness in our digital decision making and learn more on issues like cyberbullying, Deep Fakes, AI, and online gaming as they becoming more common for children at younger ages.
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.
Anthony DeVincenzo
Tony DeVincenzo is a Training Specialist at the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center. He previously served as the Director of Programs/MDT Coordinator at Deirdre’s House in Morris County, NJ, and spent 25 years in law enforcement, primarily investigating crimes against children. Tony retired as a Lieutenant from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, overseeing the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit. He has also been an adjunct faculty member at several colleges, training on topics such as child abuse investigations and forensic interviewing.
His presentation, Stronger Together: Collaborating for Better Outcomes and Team Success will encourage participants to identify key habits and behaviors that strengthen collaboration and communication within MDT's.
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.