Partner
The Jenesee Center, Inc. is a nationally recognized non-profit domestic violence prevention and intervention organization. Jenesse works locally, nationally and globally to shine a light on violence against women, girls, men and boys and advocates the basic human right for all people to have peace in their homes and relationships.. For more information, visit: www.jenesse.org
Moderator
Roman James is more than just a protective mother and survivor. She is a co-founder of the International Coercive Control Conference, the world's leading annual symposium on coercive control. As a family court activist, published writer, and public speaker, James has led discussions to address systemic violence against survivors within the legal system and its failure to serve the needs of women and children. James is an abolitionist of family court, child protective services, and the current state of domestic violence advocacy. She has long believed that the system is not broken, but is working just as it was designed!
Panelists
Susan Spell, MD, is an internationally acclaimed health and beauty expert and director of dermatology at her celebrity filled Beverly Hills practice. Dr. Susan is one of Oprah’s and Dr. Oz’s healthy skin and beauty experts. Her unique background, which includes internal medicine dermatology, from Harvard Medical School, Atlanta University Center, and New York University equips her with expertise in overall health, skin, and beauty. In March 2018, Los Angeles County paid a $150,000 settlement to a celebrity Beverly Hills doctor after social workers lied under oath and falsified evidence to take her four kids from her, amid a thorny custody battle. https://imprintnews.org/news-2/dr-90210-stars-war-la-courts-get-her-kids-back/30767
Elizabeth Stewart-Williams, MDR is the founder of Liz Evonne Dispute Resolution Services LLC, a conflict resolution firm that assists women and families in underserved communities settle disputes. She is also the founder of IAmProSe, an organization dedicated to servicing Black Survivors of Domestic Violence. Elizabeth spent over 13 years in the American Family Court systems fighting her own child custody case. Elizabeth is a proud mother of 2 beautiful children, and a survivor of domestic abuse. Elizabeth holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma (OU) and a Masters in Dispute Resolution (MDR) from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. She is currently pursuing her PhD at Nova Southeastern University.
Tiffanie Drayton is a mother, world traveler, and journalist whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Vox, Marie Claire, Playboy, Salon, Complex, Yahoo, among other outlets. She is the author of "Black American Refugee: Escaping the Narcissism of the American Dream," and has published two non-fiction young adult books, "Developing Political Leadership Skills" and "Coping with Gun Violence." She grew up in the United States, and currently lives with her family in Tobago.
Latia Suttle was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She joined the military when she was 17 years old and honorably retired from the U.S. Army in 2014. Latia achieved the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Two. Her MOS’s were 920B Supply Systems Technician and 920A Property Accounting Technician. Latia had many duty assignments and deployments such as Ansbach, Germany; Dharan, Saudi Arabia; Fort Bragg, NC; Darien, IL; Dangriga, Belize; Camp Casey, South Korea; Fort Lee, VA; Fort Buchanan, PR (Puerto Rico), Baton Rouge, LA; Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; March Air Reserve Base, CA and Iraq. Currently she is involved in the veteran community through such organizations and affiliations as National Public Relations Officer for the National Association of Black Military Women, Chairperson of the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee within the NAACP Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch, Vice Chairperson of the California- Hawaii State Conference Armed Services and Veterans Affairs of the NAACP, Dual Member of the American Legion Jackie Robinson Post #252, member of the Mary McLeod Bethune Los Angeles section of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc., member of Community Coalition, member of Reimagine Child Safety Coalition, and VP of Fortitude Empowerment Center. Latia is also a Certified Peer Support Specialist that assists individuals to regain control over their lives and their recovery process. Latia advocates for Women Veterans and their children stuck in the Family Court and Dependency Court crisis where children are being taken away from their mothers. Latia is also the recipient of the 2021 Betty Fisher award, a prestigious honor awarded to an individual who demonstrates an outstanding commitment and dedication to the field of domestic violence prevention and intervention. Latia wrote and submitted a bill proposal to start identifying Military Veterans when cases are open in Family Court. That proposal later developed into SB 1182 (Eggman). The bill was approved and signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 17, 2022.