We Are Not Beyond Repair: Family Violence and Trauma – Seeking New Solutions to Healing

With over 3.3 million children witnessing violence each year, there is an urgent need to address the trauma caused by violence in the home. Presenters will explore the impact of violence in the home, early exposure to violence and witnessing violence as traumatic experiences that impact people over their lifespan. Family violence is a traumatic pattern that often repeats itself over generations, creating wounds that need to be healed so that they are not repeated. Explore the impact of trauma and the need to create spaces that are focused on healing.

Speaker

Carmen Pitre

Carmen Pitre is the president and chief executive officer of Sojourner, Wisconsin’s largest service provider for families dealing with domestic violence. Under Pitre’s leadership, Sojourner provides crisis housing, system advocacy and individual support to thousands of women, children and families. Pitre draws on decades of work and personal experience to improve the way the community supports families impacted by domestic violence. Pitre believes — and data proves — a holistic approach of co-locating services and coordinating resources is effective, efficient and yields better outcomes for families.

Pitre was integral in the 2009 merger of Sojourner Truth House and the Task Force on Family Violence when she became co-executive director of the new agency, Sojourner Family Peace Center. Before the merger, Pitre was the executive director of the Task Force on Family Violence from 2002 to 2009. Pitre served as the director of the First Judicial District Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative and the coordinator of the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault from 1997 to 2000.

She is a past chair of the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice Violence Against Women Advisory Committee and is a founding member of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Human Trafficking Sub-Committee. Pitre serves on the Aurora Sinai Community Steering Committee and is a member of Professional Dimensions and TEMPO Milwaukee. She served on the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice Crime Victim Rights Board from 2010-2012, is past-chair of the City of Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and served on the Medical College of Wisconsin Violence Prevention Initiative Steering Committee from 2008 to 2012.

Under Pitre’s leadership, Sojourner received an inaugural 2021 “Milwaukee Business Journal” Tech Award for centralized data system as well as the “Milwaukee Business Journal’s” 2016 Project of the Year Award, the 2015 “Milwaukee Business Times” Non-Profit Excellence Award, and was named Professional Dimension’s Charity Fund Partner 2015–2017.

Pitre recently received the 2023 Titan 100 award as one of Wisconsin’s top CEOs & C-Level executives and the 2022 Lifetime of Service Award from SERVE Marketing. She received the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s 2021 Doug Jansson Leadership Award for two decades of service at Sojourner. In 2020, Governor Tony Evers appointed Pitre to the Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership Council. She was recognized as a “Milwaukee Business Journal” Power Broker in 2019, 2018 and 2017 and named BMO Celebrating Women Milwaukee – Women Who Inspire Honoree in 2018. Pitre received the Herb Kohl Champion Award in 2018 and the Donald Driver Foundation Driven to Achieve Award in 2016. She was named “Milwaukee Magazine’s” Most Influential Person in 2015, was honored with the Sacajawea Award from Professional Dimensions in 2013 and received the “Business Journal” Women of Influence Award in 2012.

Pitre earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Terri Strodthoff

Terri Strodthoff is the founder and executive director of the Alma Center, Inc., a community-based agency in Milwaukee working to break the cycle of violence in families. The Alma Center is a research-based, gender-specific agency providing pioneering trauma-informed healing, education, social services and a positive peer community to support abusive men’s peaceful and lasting transformation. The agency is a recipient of the 2014 Celebrating Solutions Award for innovation in domestic violence prevention, chosen by a panel of leading domestic violence experts from more than 300 national applicants.

Dr. Strodhoff has more than 25 years of experience in the field of domestic violence, including program design and administration, evaluation and direct service delivery. Dr. Strodthoff received her PhD in political science from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She has co-authored articles and is a regular presenter and trainer for national and local audiences.