Today, we announced the 2023 Gail Burns-Smith Award winner from the plenary stage at the National Sexual Assault Conference.

NSVRC and the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) are pleased to honor JAC Patrissi, the Principal and Founder of Growing a New Heart and Co-Founder of A Call For Change.

Presented jointly by ATSA and NSVRC, the award is named in honor of Gail Burns-Smith, one of the first advocates to recognize and speak publicly about the importance of collaboration between victim advocates and those working in the area of sex offender management to effectively prevent child sexual abuse.

Working among anti-racist, transformative peacemakers for 34 years, Patrissi says her, “heart is filled with the vision of our field co-creating ways of living in community that move us beyond containment and punishment and center compassionate accountability.”

Her organization, A Call For Change, is the nation's first confidential helpline dedicated to fostering change for people using the tools of dominance and abuse in their intimate partnerships. In addition to writing the intervention’s framework, she has authored three books, conducted national trainings, and worked in over 40 countries with women and children who were sexually trafficked. It is her longstanding commitment to healing the world through her survivor-centric services and educational resources that make her more than worthy of the recognition that this award brings.