Survivor Leadership Forum

A working session to transform how organizations engage survivor leaders

The Survivor Leadership Forum brings together survivor leaders, nonprofit leaders, advocates, communications professionals, and practitioners to address a critical question:

How can organizations move beyond simply including survivor voices to meaningfully sharing power with survivor leaders?

This is not a traditional conference. It is a facilitated working session designed to bring together diverse perspectives and translate them into practical standards, tools, and recommendations that organizations can implement.

By the end of the day, participants will work toward five tangible products

• Draft Governance Guidelines — Practical recommendations for organizations seeking to authentically share leadership and decision-making power with survivor leaders.
• Survivor Engagement Readiness Assessment — A tool to help organizations determine whether they have the structures, policies, culture, and resources necessary for ethical survivor engagement.
• Recommended Training Standards — Guidance for preparing organizations and professionals to work effectively and responsibly with survivor leaders.
• Ethical Communications Principles — Standards for representing survivor experiences with dignity, informed consent, autonomy, and authenticity.
• Trauma-Informed Participation Toolkit — Practical tools to help organizations create safer, more supportive environments for survivor participation and leadership.

Collaborative workshops

Participants rotate through three facilitated working groups, so everyone contributes to each topic.

Agenda at a glance

8:30–9:00 AM — Check-In

Informal opportunity for participants to connect before the day's working sessions begin.

9:00–9:45 AM — Keynote

9:45–10:30 AM — Opening Conversation — Foundations of Survivor-Led Governance

Moving beyond tokenism toward authentic shared leadership: what survivor-led governance looks like, barriers to meaningful survivor leadership, models for sharing decision-making power, and organizational accountability.

10:30–10:45 AM — Break

10:45 AM–12:00 PM — Collaborative Workshops — Round 1

Participants rotate through three facilitated working groups: Organizational Readiness, Survivor Voice in Communications, and Measuring the Impact of Survivor Leadership.

12:00–1:00 PM — Lunch

Working lunch and continued opportunities for cross-sector connection.

1:00–2:15 PM — Collaborative Workshops — Round 2

Participants rotate to the next workshop topic.

2:15–3:30 PM — Collaborative Workshops — Round 3

Final rotation, ensuring every participant contributes to all three areas of focus.

3:30–3:45 PM — Break

3:45–5:00 PM — Survivor–Law Enforcement Partnerships: Building Trust Through Collaboration

Examining how survivor and law enforcement partnerships can be strengthened while protecting survivor safety, autonomy, confidentiality, and choice.

5:00 PM — Networking Reception

Connecting survivor leaders, law enforcement, and industry partners to continue conversations beyond the forum.

Event details

Date & time

Thursday, November 5, 2026, 9:00 AM–3:30 PM. Check-in from 8:30 AM.

Survivor–Law Enforcement Partnership Panel: 3:30–5:00 PM. Followed by networking reception.

Location

Haynes & Boone, LLP, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10112

Food

Sponsored by Haynes & Boone, LLP

Accommodations

Room blocks have been reserved under the group name Our Rescue at:

• Home2 Suites by Hilton New York Times Square — $269/night plus taxes
• Hampton Inn by Hilton New York Times Square — $289/night plus tax