_edited_edited.png)
Program & Presenters
Sibling Sexual Trauma & Abuse: Breaking the Silence Conference
Keynote Presentation: Risa Shaw, PhD
Survivor, Researcher, Author, Activist, Artist
Telling Our Stories: Shaping Change Together
Risa Shaw (she/her), is a survivor of childhood sibling sexual abuse. That trauma has shaped her life for the last five decades. From age 24 when she felt the necessity and found the courage to tell her family about her brother’s sexual predation12 years before, she has become the outspoken activist she is today. It was her family’s deeply wounding, dismissive reaction to her disclosure that gave her the strength to begin to confront the damage caused by secrecy, shame, silence, and the stigma of sibling sexual abuse both for herself and on behalf of countless others.
​
Risa's research is the first and only of its kind conducted by a survivor researcher with survivor participants’ experiences of disclosing to their family members. (Read the research here.) It documents how disclosures are often met with retraumatizing denial and rejection, instead of support, accountability, and repair. Among her conclusions was the finding that disclosing abuse, though fraught, is a courageously assertive act that is transformative and liberating for SSA survivors. Disclosure can also be transformative and liberating for all SSA family members, as well as a tool to prevent harm, to heal, and to repair.
In 2000, the publication of her anthology of survivors’ stories and artwork, Not Child’s Play, was the first and only book to focus on SSA, edited by a survivor, not only at the time but for many years to come. Not Child’s Play describes the devastation of SSA in survivors’ own words and images. It was the first published opportunity for survivors to be heard and seen. With the release of Not Child’s Play, 2nd edition in 2023, Risa reaffirmed her commitment to telling SSA survivors’ stories that have long been buried.
Risa's vision is a world where survivors of sexual abuse are heard, believed, and supported — where silence no longer dominates, and where speaking truth is honored as courageous, not denigrated as shame. She wants a future where children are raised with agency where consent, accountability, and repair are taught and expected. We need one another, all of us with lived experience, to tell our stories and imagine into being ways of transforming this world.
Breakout Presentations
S. Grace Wine, PhD, Joseph Wine, LPC, Katelyn Bleigh: Speak Out for Hope: A Family's Story of Transformation
S. Grace Wine (she/her) leads with empathy and purpose, helping schools create safe, trauma-informed spaces where students can heal. Joseph Wine (he/him) walks alongside individuals and families with grounded compassion and practical tools for healing. Katelyn Bleigh, a survivor, shares her story and co-presents trauma-informed strategies with Grace to support educators.
Heidi & Dave Yewman: The Long Road: How a Survivor and Partner Learn, Stumble, and Grow Together
Heidi Yewman (she/her) is an author, filmmaker, advocate, and SSTA survivor. Her memoir, Dumb Girl, traces a childhood marked by abuse and silence. It also chronicles the unexpected healing she found as an adult through trauma-informed advocacy and storytelling centered in empathy, accountability, and cultural change.
​
Dave Yewman (he/his) has been married to Heidi for 35 years, and together they have raised two children and built a shared life in the Pacific Northwest. As Heidi’s partner through decades of trauma recovery, he offers an honest perspective on what it means to love and support a survivor of sibling sexual abuse, including the missteps, learning curves, and growth that happen along the way. His perspective is rooted in lived experience and in a willingness to speak openly about the realities of sustaining a long-term relationship while navigating trauma and healing.
Bridget Meranda, MSW, LCSW, RPT™: Navigating the Storm: Parents Supporting their Children & Healing After Sibling Sexual Trauma
Bridget Meranda (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Registered Play Therapist who provides individual therapy to children who have difficulty with anxiety, depression, and impact of traumatic events. Bridget is also a mother and parent of a child who has experienced sibling sexual trauma. Her personal and professional experiences have increased her passion for education on sibling sexual trauma and abuse (SSTA) and family system impact of sexual trauma. Bridget is the owner of Bridget’s Empowerment Solutions where she provides training and consultation for families and professionals to increase their knowledge and impacts of SSTA. She recently published a children's book, Rosie's Big Secret to provide a resource to children that encourages communication and building confidence to share trauma they have experienced.
Lupita Najera: Creciendo con Amor/Growing with Love
Lupita Najera (she/her) is a Mexican-American SST self-healing survivor. She tells her story and chronicles the various ways that she moved forward, continued to grow, and refused to let SST consume her. Her Creciendo Con Amor Podcast is now available on YouTube and Spotify.
Amanda Lee Brush: Writing Narratives as a Healing Process
Amanda Lee Brush (she/her) is a writer with a focus on historical fiction and memoir. Drawing from her life to craft poignant prose, her words capture the essence of the most pivotal experiences of her life, especially those as a survivor of SSTA and the complex relationship that resulted with her late mother. Her work has been featured in publications like Mom Egg Review, Pangyrus, and Beyond Words Literary Magazine. When not immersed in writing, Amanda can be found enjoying independent bookstores and laughing over a good meal with friends.
Jacqueline (Jacque) Page, Psy.D.: Realities of Separation & Reunification in Sibling Sexual Abuse
Jacqueline Page (she/her) is a psychologist and professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Department of Psychiatry. She has specialized in working with children and youth with problematic sexual behavior and their families for 35+ years. A specific focus of her work is sibling sexual abuse. She enjoys presenting and collaborating with others in helping youth and families.
Darlene Lekowski: Letting Go to Live Forward
Darlene Lekowski (she/her) is an author, advocate, speaker, and survivor who broke fifty years of silence after experiencing SSTA by her two oldest brothers. After defending her truth through the civil justice system when one of them sued her, Darlene is committed to sharing her hard-won lessons on healing, resilience, and reclaiming one’s voice. Her debut memoir, Shattering Silence: A Story of Survival, Justice and The Power of Telling the Truth releases on Amazon on April 2, 2026.
Katelyn Bleigh: Reimagining Healing: What Thriving Looks Like for Survivors of Sibling Sexual Assault
Katelyn Bleigh (she/her) is a trauma survivor and advocate whose lived experience brings depth to trauma-informed workshops for educators and professionals. By sharing how trauma shaped her learning and life, she helps others respond with greater empathy, awareness, and compassion.
Brinn Langdale, LMFT: Modern Day Forgiveness: Forgive for You, Not Them
At 18 years old, Brinn Langdale (she/her) admitted to herself, and her family, for the first time that she had experienced sibling sexual abuse for 12 years. This opened her eyes to the impacts that trauma had on her mental and physical health and set her on a journey of healing and forgiveness. Today, Brinn runs a thriving private practice as a licensed psychotherapist, coach, author and speaker. Brinn’s core message, that everything you do makes perfect sense and that healing is possible, resonates with a wide range of audiences, including students, professionals, survivors, and anyone seeking personal growth and self-improvement.
Chase Henry, Certified Peer Specialist: Reeling, Feeling, Healing
Chase Henry (he/him/his) is a loving husband, partner, and pet parent; an amateur gardener; and a survivor of SSTA. In recent years, he's worked to heal his trauma by building community, connection, and self-compassion. His work as a Certified Peer Specialist helps him recover while helping others do the same.
Tova Lewin, BA: Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Unique Intrafamilial Trauma
Tova Lewin (she/her) is a senior research assistant working with Anat Talmon, PhD, Associate Professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and founder and director of The Trauma Group. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and has professional experience with youth at risk, sexual abuse and exploitation and domestic violence. Tova's research focuses on intrafamilial violence and abuse.
Jean Donahue : SSA: The Silence, The Stigma, and a Survivor's Truth
Jean Donahue (she/her) is a survivor of SSA, a Registered Early Childhood Educator, wife, and mother. She is committed to breaking the silence and stigma surrounding SSA and creating spaces where clinicians, survivors, and those who support them can listen, reflect, and heal. This presentation is her first step into public advocacy.
Lucy :) Inman: Finding Your Voice to Break the Silence
Lucy :) Inman (she/her) is a survivor of SSA who has come to find her voice through writing and experienced the healing that can be found when we risk breaking the silence. Above all, Lucy wants you to know that you are not alone and that your voice matters.
Maria Socolof, MS: Framing Sibling Sexual Behavior for Frontline Workers
Maria Socolof (she/her) is president and cofounder of the nonprofit 5WAVES, Inc., survivor of sibling sexual trauma, and author of The Invisible Key and healingfromchronicpain.com. She has a Master of Science degree in Environmental Health Management from the Harvard School of Public Health and formerly worked as a senior environmental health research scientist.
Katie Grant, MS, LCPC, LMHC, EMDR Approved Consultant: When a Shared Parent Dies: Another Layer of Pain, Another Layer of Healing
Katie Grant (she/they) is a survivor of sibling sexual abuse around age 8, discovered when she was 17. She received a Master of Arts in Psychology in 2006 and became licensed as a Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois in 2011. Katie has specialized in treating trauma in her solo private practice since 2013. Katie identifies as fat, bisexual/queer, plural, neurodivergent, and chronically ill. Her client-centered therapy work, which is delivered individually and in groups, open to all ages and genders, is both neuroscience-informed and guided by mindful experience. After two decades, she feels affirmed in her beliefs that authentic relationships are the agent of change, and being a therapy client is the best educator of excellent therapists.
Breakout Session Panels
sneak preview; more details to come
Caught in the Crossfire: Parental Voices on System Responses to SSTA
Nikki, Grace, Joseph, Jessica, Erin, Brandy
A Pivotal Moment: Experiences and Effects of Disclosure Reactions for Survivors
Aaron, Annie, Chase, Marie
The Mind-Body Connection: Healing the Somatic Effects of Sexual Trauma
Maria, Colleen, Claire, Marie
Transforming Pain into Prevention: Survivors' Pathways to Education & Advocacy
Diane, Colleen, Kimberly
Exhibitors
5WAVES extends a sincere thank you to all exhibitors, for supporting our conference. We encourage attendees to stop by and see what these individuals and organizations have to offer!
-
New York Center for Children​
-
Risa Shaw Not Child's Play
-
Darlene Lekowski Shattering Silence
-
Brinn Langdale, LMFT Everything Makes Perfect Sense
-
JAFGO Consultation and Training
-
Bridget's Empowerment Solutions Children's Book- Rosie's Big Secret
-
People First, Always LLC/Waves of Worth Trauma Informed Coaching, Hope Apparel,
Don't Say Dumb Shit: Surviving a Parent's Worst Nightmare by Sarah Waters
Conference Values
-
Inclusive: Those with connection to SSTA will be welcomed and supported while participating in planning and attendance, including those in historically and commonly marginalized groups (such as Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other people of color, LGBTQIA+, those who are neurodiverse, and people with disabilities).
-
Trauma-Aware: Our spaces, processes, language, and attitude will reflect a deep understanding of trauma and the many ways it may be reverberating in the lives of those who plan, lead, and attend the conference.
-
Lived-Experience-Centered: We value and will amplify the voices of those with lived experience of SSTA (e.g., survivors, parents, partners of survivors).
-
Research-Informed: We value sound research, which provides empirical evidence to inform effective prevention, intervention, and healing responses to SSTA.
-
Encouraging: Our messages will reflect the true reality of SSTA, while also pointing toward the possibility for restoration, healing, and hope.
-
Respect Individual Agency: We will provide information for individuals to make their own decisions regarding each unique experience of SSTA, including choices regarding justice, healing, and family relationships.
-
Respect Individual Privacy: We will prioritize privacy and confidentiality of personal images and stories throughout the conference.
-
Simple and Affordable: In order to keep costs low and respect the time required of our volunteer planning team, we will strive to identify what needs to be done to provide a conference that aligns with our values and fulfills our mission, and focus on doing those things well. ​
