EDUCATION about and PREVENTION against gender and relationship violence
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The Midwest Campus Safety Summit
About the Conference

The Midwest Campus Safety Summit is a regional and affordable conference for college and university administrators, faculty, staff, and students interested in improving their campus efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. The 2022 Midwest Campus Safety Summit is scheduled for September 21-22 at the Husch Blackwell office space in Chicago, IL.
The Summit is designed for key college personnel from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Those invited include: Title IX coordinators, college/university legal representatives, campus and public safety officers, residential life and student affairs personnel, athletic directors, women’s center staff, student leaders, health and counseling professionals, and other campus and community representatives interested in campus safety.
Thanks to corporate and foundation sponsors and partnerships, we are able to keep Midwest Campus Safety Summit registration fees extremely affordable. Our rationale is to encourage campuses to send multi-disciplinary teams to attend, increasing the impact of the Summit on every campus represented. We are committed to hosting a wide range of regional campus safety representatives at every Summit while maintaining the highest quality conference of its kind.
The Midwest Campus Safety Summit is the result of a collaborative relationship between Jana’s Campaign, Inc. and Husch Blackwell. Utilizing their expertise and knowledge of the field these partners provide conference coordination and facilitation for the Summit. Other colleges, universities and gender-based advocacy groups are participating as supporters and collaborators for this project.
The Summit is designed for key college personnel from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Those invited include: Title IX coordinators, college/university legal representatives, campus and public safety officers, residential life and student affairs personnel, athletic directors, women’s center staff, student leaders, health and counseling professionals, and other campus and community representatives interested in campus safety.
Thanks to corporate and foundation sponsors and partnerships, we are able to keep Midwest Campus Safety Summit registration fees extremely affordable. Our rationale is to encourage campuses to send multi-disciplinary teams to attend, increasing the impact of the Summit on every campus represented. We are committed to hosting a wide range of regional campus safety representatives at every Summit while maintaining the highest quality conference of its kind.
The Midwest Campus Safety Summit is the result of a collaborative relationship between Jana’s Campaign, Inc. and Husch Blackwell. Utilizing their expertise and knowledge of the field these partners provide conference coordination and facilitation for the Summit. Other colleges, universities and gender-based advocacy groups are participating as supporters and collaborators for this project.
2022 Conference Information
Speakers and program information

Detective Justin Boardman (retired) served in Law Enforcement for 15 years with the West Valley City Police, Utah, Police Department. His first eight years were spent as a patrol officer. During his seven years in the Special Victims Unit, Justin was introduced to Salt Lake County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) where he was exposed to a multi-disciplinary team that needed involvement from law enforcement. Justin worked tirelessly to improve the investigative process for victims, ultimately identifying weaknesses and gaps in the process. It is through these efforts that SART is now uniquely positioned to influence statute and policy change on a statewide level, which includes passing mandatory processing laws that have helped eliminate sexual assault kit backlogs and increased prosecution of perpetrators. In his capacity as officer and detective, Detective Boardman was honored with numerous awards including the Police Star, multiple life-saving, Distinguished Service, and Meritorious Service Awards. Detective Boardman was assigned Investigator of the year for his work in West Valley City’s SVU. He was bestowed the Utah Visionary Voice Award presented by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. In 2017, he received a Public Policy Award by the Utah Council on Victims of Crime. Boardman has conducted nearly 300 forensic child victim interviews and 140 adult sexual assault victim interviews. Justin spent additional time with each victim, working through their trauma to build trust, ultimately building solid cases that increased prosecution, helped provide more effective procedural justice, and prioritized setting processes in place to treat victims with the dignity and empathy they deserve.
In 2013, Detective Boardman co-authored a Trauma Informed Victim Interview protocol for adult victims of sexual assault. This process has been studied and has shown increased prosecutions along with procedure: now the standard for victim interview process in Utah and neighboring states. Since retiring in 2017, Justin trains and consults globally on a variety of subjects, most notably the trauma-informed victim interview and trauma-informed investigations. He relentlessly researches and re-designs this approach to create better processes that protect victims. His focus is to strengthen investigations that are victim-centered, suspect-focused, and trauma-informed. He advocates for culture change within the justice system and law enforcement, with a focus on “policing with compassion”. He believes that police work performed with compassion and empathy improves communication, builds bridges, establishes a system of consistency and belief, supports prosecution of those who harm, and provides strong support for survivors.
In 2013, Detective Boardman co-authored a Trauma Informed Victim Interview protocol for adult victims of sexual assault. This process has been studied and has shown increased prosecutions along with procedure: now the standard for victim interview process in Utah and neighboring states. Since retiring in 2017, Justin trains and consults globally on a variety of subjects, most notably the trauma-informed victim interview and trauma-informed investigations. He relentlessly researches and re-designs this approach to create better processes that protect victims. His focus is to strengthen investigations that are victim-centered, suspect-focused, and trauma-informed. He advocates for culture change within the justice system and law enforcement, with a focus on “policing with compassion”. He believes that police work performed with compassion and empathy improves communication, builds bridges, establishes a system of consistency and belief, supports prosecution of those who harm, and provides strong support for survivors.
Registration, hotels, and location
The Midwest Campus Safety Summit will take place in downtown Chicago, IL.
Hotel Information:
La Quinta Inn Downtown - 1 S Franklin Street, Chicago, IL - 312-558-1020
Hyatt Place Chicago|Downtown|The Loop - 28 N Franklin Street, Chicago, IL - 312-955-0950
Hilton Garden Inn Chicago|Magnificant Mile - 10 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL - 312-595-0000
Palmer House - A Hilton Hotel - 17 E Monroe Street, Chicago, IL - 312-726-7500
Congress Plaza Hotel - 520 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL - 312-427-3800
Hotel Information:
La Quinta Inn Downtown - 1 S Franklin Street, Chicago, IL - 312-558-1020
Hyatt Place Chicago|Downtown|The Loop - 28 N Franklin Street, Chicago, IL - 312-955-0950
Hilton Garden Inn Chicago|Magnificant Mile - 10 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL - 312-595-0000
Palmer House - A Hilton Hotel - 17 E Monroe Street, Chicago, IL - 312-726-7500
Congress Plaza Hotel - 520 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL - 312-427-3800
The Midwest Campus Safety Summit will take place in downtown Chicago, IL at the Husch Blackwell office space.
sponsors/exhibitors
If you are interested in sponsoring this Summit or reserving an exhibitor booth please view our opportunities here.
Proposed Summit Topics
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Summit Objectives
Campus leaders will be encouraged to develop a team of key campus stakeholders to create a comprehensive and integrated approach to preventing and responding to gender-based violence at their institutions. Furthermore, promoting a focused and coherent system of support that encourages respectful, non-violent relationships will also be addressed. The summit’s ultimate goal is to transform area colleges and universities to:
- Prevent abusive behaviors by engaging faculty, staff, and students in promoting healthy relationships;
- Ensure that the institution is prepared to respond promptly and effectively to incidents and reports of violence when they do occur; and
- Ultimately to change campus norms so that campus members hold themselves and each other to respectful and non-violent standards of interpersonal behavior.
The conceptual framework for this educational summit was developed with the assistance of the report Beyond Title IX: Guidelines for Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education.
This document was developed by Futures Without Violence and the Avon Foundation for Women.
This document was developed by Futures Without Violence and the Avon Foundation for Women.
Regional Summits
Based off of a highly successful model, the Midwest Campus Safety Summit is one of four regional summits. Other Campus Safety Summits include: The Rocky Mountain Campus Safety Summit (Denver, CO), the Heartland Campus Safety Summit (Overland Park, KS), and the Gulf Coast Campus Safety Summit (Houston, TX). Together, these summits have attracted hundreds of participants from dozens of states across the United States.
Exhibitor Space
If you are interested in sponsoring this Summit or reserving an exhibitor booth please view our opportunities here.