NIWRC Specialty Institute 2026: Full Schedule

9:00am EDT

Engaging Tribal Leadership through Advocacy and Strategic Communication

Wednesday July 29, 2026 9:00am - 11:00am EDT

This highly interactive workshop is designed to strengthen program staff's capacity to navigate leadership spaces with confidence and intention. Frequently, domestic violence program staff operate at the intersection of community responsibility, advocacy, and policy engagement. Within tribal communities, advocates are often called to communicate directly with tribal leadership, federal partners, and other partner organizations about the realities facing survivors and the systems aimed to support them. These conversations require the ability to communicate community needs clearly, strategically, and responsibly while promoting survivor confidentiality.

This session will provide participants with the opportunity to explore how lived experiences, storytelling, and data can work together to communicate their communities' needs and inform policy decisions. Through a series of guided exercises, attendees will practice framing their experiences, articulating community challenges, and identifying clear requests that can be carried into briefings, tribal leadership meetings, consultations, legislative visitations, and other formal engagements. Additionally, it will introduce practical communication frameworks and grounding strategies to help advocates remain prepared, centered, and effective as they navigate high-stakes environments while continuing to uphold survivor-centered advocacy.

Speakers

Jantzen Hale, MPP

Program Specialist, NIWRC

Jantzen Hale, Diné, currently serves as a Program Specialist with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. Previously, she worked with the National Congress of American Indians, supporting the development of communication strategies and sharing stories of impact and need about Tribal communities... Read More →

Paloma Sánchez, MA, MSW

Director of National Training and Resources, NIWRC

Paloma Hąąpnąąžįwiiga Sánchez, MSW, MA (Ho-Chunk/Xicana Indígena), currently serves as the Director of National Training and Resources at the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. Paloma holds a Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, where their studies focused on... Read More →

Wednesday July 29, 2026 9:00am - 11:00am EDT
Camellia Room

Breakout Session

9:00am EDT

Sustaining Safety: Funding Strategies to Strengthen Domestic Violence Response in Tribal Communities

Wednesday July 29, 2026 9:00am - 11:00am EDT

Oak Room

Participants will explore practical and sustainable funding strategies that strengthen domestic violence response in Tribal communities. This session will focus on how to build long-term support for survivor services, prevention, and community-based response efforts. Attendees will gain insight into aligning funding with program priorities, strengthening partnerships, and creating diversified revenue strategies that support stability, safety, and long-term impact.

Speakers

Cory Johnson

Development & Strategic Impact Officer, NIWRC

Wednesday July 29, 2026 9:00am - 11:00am EDT
Oak Room

Breakout Session

11:30am EDT

OVW Government-to-Government Tribal Consultation Preparation

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:30am - 1:00pm EDT

Grand Ballroom

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) invites you to join an informational session on the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Government-to-Government Tribal Consultation. This session will give Tribal leaders, designated representatives, and advocates the space to reflect on and develop recommendations to guide federal agencies on administering Tribal funds and programs, strengthening the safety of Native women, improving the federal response to violence, and expanding Tribal access to criminal justice systems. During this session, participants will learn about the purpose and significance of the OVW Tribal Consultation, including key policy areas like Tribal jurisdiction, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR), training and resources, research, and options for providing testimony (oral, written, or pre-recorded).

Preparing Tribal leadership for consultation is critical to ensuring testimony is survivor-focused and informed by the experiences of advocates and programs directly serving survivors in Tribal communities. This session will also highlight resources available through the NIWRC Consultation Hub to support Tribal leaders and advocates in preparing recommendations and engaging in the consultation process.

Speakers

Jantzen Hale, MPP

Program Specialist, NIWRC

Ryder Jiron

Policy Specialist, NIWRC

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:30am - 1:00pm EDT
Grand Ballroom

Breakout Session

2:00pm EDT

Conversations with Community: Advocate Storytelling

Wednesday July 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Camellia Room

We invite Tribal domestic violence advocates, Tribal leaders, and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) victim survivors to join us for an engaging session. This space is designed for open discussions where participants can share their personal stories and experiences. We will hold small group discussions to explore valuable lessons, challenges, successes, and the realities of victim survivors in Indian Country.

These discussions will help us develop important recommendations, identify key resource needs, and support the growth of Tribal domestic violence programs. By highlighting the voices of those who have experienced these challenges, this session aims to enhance understanding of the needs and successes of AI/AN victim survivors. Your participation will strengthen our commitment to addressing the needs of our communities.

Speakers

Paloma Sánchez, MA, MSW

Director of National Training and Resources, NIWRC

Wednesday July 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Camellia Room

Breakout Session

2:00pm EDT

Legislative Update

Wednesday July 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Oak Room

Speakers

Kerri Colfer

Director of Research and Policy, NIWRC

Wednesday July 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Oak Room

Breakout Session

2:00pm EDT

Visualizing Statistical Data to Engage Tribal Leadership

Thursday July 30, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Grand Ballroom

The purpose of this presentation is to provide insight into how cloud visual platforms can be leveraged to visualize data that has been collected in spreadsheets (such as Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, etc) to effectively engage with Tribal leadership and communities. This presentation includes a live demonstration of taking data stored in a spreadsheet to diagram, depict, and create visuals in Miro/Canva. This demonstration will also include a general overview of the options available within each platform, the potential for AI automations when using these platforms, as well as any information that may be pertinent to the decision making process when choosing a platform to present the data (i.e. specific considerations, any potential limitations, etc.). NIWRC is available to provide assistance on other platforms through our Tech Bundles technical assistance offering.

Speakers

Celina Gutierrez

IT Support Tech, NIWRC

Thursday July 30, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Grand Ballroom

Breakout Session

9:00am EDT

9:00am EDT

11:30am EDT

2:00pm EDT

2:00pm EDT

2:00pm EDT

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