FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2003
Contact(s): Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 608-255-0539
Mary R. Lauby, Executive Director
Patti Seger, Policy Development Coordinator

Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence Announces It’s 25th Anniversary Conference: IMAGINE

September 29, 30 and October 1, 2003
Monona Terrace, Madison, WI
Honoring a quarter century of commitment to ending domestic violence, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV) proudly announces its 25th Anniversary Conference entitled "Imagine", a conference that will inspire, motivate and renew. The conference will provide policymakers and practitioners with the opportunity to learn about the challenges and create solutions for effective responses to domestic violence.

More than 80 workshops focusing on policy, legal issues, health and mental health, criminal justice, economic sufficiency, abuse in later life, children witnessing domestic violence, teen violence, violence in communities of color and more will provide participants with the tools needed to address domestic violence in Wisconsin and nationally. "As we work toward a future free of domestic violence, have to recognize that we are only limited by what we imagine and by the strength of our conviction to make our ideas live," said Mary R. Lauby, WCADV Executive Director. "The conference provides policymakers and practitioners, victims of domestic violence and their children, and citizens working towards a violence-free world with the opportunity to celebrate the visionary thinking of our past and to envision what we will imagine in our future to end domestic abuse."

The conference brings together national and state experts, as well as Wisconsin political figures such as Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, Governor Jim Doyle (invited) and Dane Co. Executive Kathleen Falk, over the course of three days to discuss policy and practice initiatives to end domestic violence. National presenters include Atty. Barbara Hart, a longtime advocate of legislative and legal reforms; Ulester Douglas, co-executive director of Men Stopping Violence; Victor Rivers, a veteran star of more than two dozen films and a survivor of a childhood violent home; Lundy Bancroft; an expert on policy and practice strategies relating to child custody and domestic violence; Anne Menard, nationally known for her expertise in the area of domestic violence and welfare policy; and Lynn Rosenthal, director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Loreta Ross, found of the Center for Human Rights Education, Atlanta, GA, will present at a Tuesday evening reception and will provide a conference wrap-up at the Wednesday luncheon. To obtain a pdf version of the Imagine Conference brochure, go to www.stopfamilyviolence.org.

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