Join MCASA for a free Sexual Violence Summer Prevention Lunch & Learn Series! This series features panel discussions with experts in the prevention field.
The second Lunch & Learn session in this series will be on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Prevention: Engaging Caring Adults and Youth in Maryland. During this session, participants will learn more about the scope of CSA in Maryland, and how local organizations are working with parents, caregivers, educators, and young people to implement CSA prevention programs across the state.
Panelists will provide an overview of the content of their CSA prevention programs and discuss their approach to building trust with communities in Maryland. The panelists will also discuss the challenges they face in their work and provide insight on working through these challenges to serve youth and adults across the state.
By the end of the training, participants will be able to identify multiple community-based CSA prevention programs. Participants will also be able to recognize strategies to build trust with community members to effectively implement CSA prevention programs.
Meet the Trainers for Session #2:
Luciana Assini-Meytin, PhD, Associate Research Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, and Deputy Director at MOORE | Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
Dr. Luciana Assini-Meytin leads a research program focused on characterizing, evaluating, and improving child sexual abuse prevention strategies within youth-serving organizations. Her work on child sexual abuse in youth serving organizations began in 2018 with an examination of child safeguarding policies and practices across four of the largest and longest operating youth serving organizations in the US. Dr. Assini-Meytin has spearheaded the development of a national survey designed to assess organizational efforts in preventing child sexual abuse victimization and boundary-violating behaviors, marking one of the first comprehensive evaluations of child sexual abuse prevention by adults in organizational settings. Currently, she is conducting a prevalence survey to assess child sexual abuse and boundary-violating behaviors among educators in K-12 schools across the country.
Chelsea McGonigle, Director of Prevention and Education at Change the Conversation
Chelsea McGonigle leads the development, implementation, and expansion of Turn the Talk, a comprehensive school-based prevention program designed to equip students, educators, and caregivers with the knowledge and tools to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse. Under her leadership, Turn the Talk has grown into a multi-district initiative currently implemented across seven public school systems in Maryland, reaching over 36,000 students in just four years. This rapid growth reflects both the urgency of the issue and the effectiveness of a model designed to align with school systems and scale with fidelity. With nearly 15 years of experience supporting youth and families impacted by trauma, Chelsea brings a strong background in family studies, curriculum development, and community-based prevention strategies. Chelsea holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and is a certified Darkness to Light facilitator and Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor.
Marissa Jachman, Executive Director of the Erin Levitas Foundation
Marissa Jachman is a passionate prevention advocate and nonprofit leader with more than a decade of experience at the intersection of gender-based violence prevention, community education, and organizational development. Marissa brings together experts from diverse fields to create cutting-edge, trauma-informed programming, ensuring that every initiative is grounded in evidence and shaped by lived experience. Under her leadership, the Foundation has supported and aided in the launch of landmark programs including the Erin Levitas Initiative for Sexual Assault at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and the Erin Michele Levitas '11 Mind, Body and Soul Empowerment Program at St. Timothy's School in Baltimore, established and sustained successful community events, and built meaningful partnerships with many organizations. Marissa holds a degree in Mass Communications with a minor in Leadership from the University of Delaware.
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