So… 2025 Happened.
Sophie Strachan, December 30, 2025
A Year of Connection, Community & Courage
2025 was a year that asked a lot from advocates and from RAFT.
It stretched us, challenged us, and reminded us again and again that community care is stronger than any hardship we face alone.
As we look back, we’re holding gratitude for the advocates who showed up in brave conversations, the teams who invited us into their workspaces, and the moments of learning and connection we shared across the country (and beyond).
Here are just a few of the highlights that shaped our year:
March 6 – Advocate Open Forum
On Thursday, March 6th RAFT hosted our first ever Advocate Open Forum. 40 advocates in our network joined us in a collaborative, sharing session around the recent Presidential Executive orders and the consequences they were facing in light of them.
Our Takeaways:
- If we are safe in making the choice, we don’t have to be complicit with fascism, discrimination, or violence.
- Community is more important now than ever. Standing together and supporting mutual aid efforts can be a foundation for resistance.
The feedback on this event was incredible, and we’re committed to hosting more spaces like this in the future.
Read more about this event here.
March 19-20 – Reclaiming Our Love Conference – The Network, Chicago
The first message I sent the team when I arrived in Chicago was, “That was a feat for a country gal from the sticks… but I’m here!!” Working with RAFT this year hasn’t just given me an outlet for the passion I have to put good into the world... it’salso given me the chance to travel to places I’ve always dreamed of visiting.
The drive to Chicago was a long one, but absolutely worth it. I met survivors transforming their healing journeys into art, advocates teaching each other how to reconnect with their bodies through movement, and educators dedicated to helping people “keep on keeping on” after trauma. It snowed, it rained, and at one point the sky split open into the most beautiful sunset.
I came home feeling inspired, humbled, and grateful - and I can’t wait for the chance to revisit our friends in Illinois.
- Maegan, Engagement and Outreach Coordinator
April 22 – 24 - International Conference on SA, DV & Forging New Pathways – EVAWI, Anaheim, CA
3 of our team members traveled to California to attend the End Violence Against Women International Conference.
EVAWI was a week full of learning, connection, and a little bit of Disney magic. I spent much-needed time with two of our incredible RAFT team members, finally met partners I usually only see through a Zoom window, and had powerful conversations with advocates who are building their careers (and their lives) around making this world safer and more compassionate.
Full transparency: I was also very excited for the chance to sneak my partner away for a few kid-free days at Disney, and that time was genuinely rejuvenating. I returned home feeling lighter, more grounded, and deeply reminded that I’m not doing this work alone. Sitting beside two fierce RAFT women and hearing story after story of resilience from advocates across the country was something I’ll hold onto for a long time.
I’m already looking forward to EVAWI 2026. 💚
- Maegan, Engagement and Outreach Coordinator
May 5 – 6 – Forging Ahead: Our Map to a World Without Violence - DCADV, Rehoboth, DE
Joy and Nicole traveled to Delaware and presented our workshops on Healing from Urgency Culture and How to Ask for Help.
For two days Nicole and I engaged with advocates from Delaware at DCADV’s 24th Advocate Training and Networking Conference. Through interactive workshops, various conversations over tasty meals and a little partying, we learned about their successes and challenges facing advocates and survivors in the first state. Additionally, we were able to contribute to some valuable resources for Delaware’s advocates. Cherry on top: it was at the beach!
- Joy, Workshop Facilitator
May 7 – 9 – RAFT Team Retreat, Collingswood, NJ
The team traveled to Collingswood, New Jersey to eat together, solve an escape room, relax together, and build stronger bonds!
When the RAFT team retreat rolled around, I was equal parts excited and completely worn out from conference travel. Jeremie is always reminding me that I tend to bite off a little more than I can chew... what can I say, I’m a passionate gal. But the retreat was a much-needed reminder that I’m not carrying this work alone. I’m part of a team full of people who are just as committed to making the world a little better.
We had massages, ate such good food, explored Sophie’s hometown, and shared long conversations that refueled all of us. One of the highlights was spending time with our founder, Indrani. Being able to share my gratitude - how much RAFT has changed my life and my family’s life for the better - felt like passing fuel back into the mission that sustains so many of us.
It was the kind of week that fills your cup in ways you don’t even realize you needed.
- Maegan, Engagement and Outreach Coordinator
May 21 – 23 – AI Jam 2025 - Rooted and Rising: Building on Appreciative Inquiry's Legacy to Meet Tomorrow's Challenges
Jeremie and Joy attended “AI Jam 2025 – Rooted and Rising: Building on Appreciative Inquiry’s Legacy to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges.” This three-day virtual conference featured two appreciative inquiry facilitators sharing their experiences and best practices in working with communities and organizations in creating strength-based, positive change.
October 27 – 29 – Care. Community. Connection. - NCADV, Kansas City, MO
Joy and Nicole traveled to Kansas City, Missouri to attend the National Conference Against Domestic Violence. They connected with advocates and shared a meal with a few as well!
December 4 – Utah SWAVO, Salt Lake City, Utah
Nicole and I spent a day in Salt Lake City, for Utah’s Office for Victims of Crime’s quarterly advocate training. Leaders there were concerned about the effects of vicarious trauma and invited RAFT to train advocates on ways to incorporate self-care into their daily lives, viewing it as something mandatory for maintaining wellbeing, not something extra to do when you’refeeling down. We also worked with advocates to explore and express what support means to them so that when they need support, they know who to ask and what to ask for.
- Joy, Workshop Facilitator
Team Achievements:
Added Hot Topics Support Call
Joy and Nicole hosted a new themed monthly support call to discuss global and national events that are especially affecting advocates and their work. This year our Hot Topics Support Calls included subjects such as gratitude, funding issues, moving up in your advocacy career, and financial wellness for advocates. Join us in 2026 when we’ll discuss the use of AI in advocacy, improving our client advocacy, advocating for ourselves, and much more!
Open Workshop Series
We had a groundbreaking 680 advocates registered for our Reclaiming Wellness: Empowerment & Healing for Advocates from 43 US States, American Samoa, Canada and the UK.
The idea for the Open Workshop Series first came to me during a moment of real worry... wondering how we could reach advocates who were carrying so much weight in such a difficult election year. It started as a simple hope: What if we created a space where advocates could breathe, learn, and feel held, no matter where they were or what their organization could afford?
Then our team traveled to California… and later to Philadelphia… and every conversation made the idea bigger, clearer, and more possible. We kept circling back to the same truth: advocates needed community... They needed a space that felt like an exhale.
Watching this series come to life and seeing more than 600 advocates from across the US and beyond register felt like proof of what can happen when we follow a spark and build together. It became more than workshops; it became connection, care, and a reminder that none of us are navigating this work alone. - Maegan, Engagement and Outreach Coordinator
Shared The RAFT Guidebook to Human-Centered Anti-Violence Workspaces: Part 1
We finally shared part one of a major project a year and a half in the making – our guidebook. Look out for Part 2 next year which focuses on Leadership and Relationships. The first part focuses on Advocates, and resources for Individuals. The third part will focus on Organizations and Community.
This guidebook is not a final solution, but it is a launching point for transformation: helping individuals care for themselves, while equipping organizations to care for the people who make this work possible.
Released New Research Report in Collaboration with The SOAR Collective
Small Actions, Big Impact: Transparency & Communication is the first of many resources we are releasing based on the findings from our What Works: Insights for Thriving Anti-Violence Organizations Project.
Anti-violence staff shared various strategies and ideas that are currently practiced and implemented at their organization that create big impacts.
- Peer Support
- Coworker Connections
- Community Care
- Sharing is Caring
- Leave Work at Work
- Prioritize Supervisory Relationship
- Authentic Communication
- Break Down Silos
Reflections from the RAFT Team:
After everything that we’ve done this year, what lessons, feelings, or thoughts are you bringing into 2026?
Jeremie - There is so much important work to be done, and we need to be careful to do this work in a sustainable and healthy fashion. This means saying "no" to more and saving our time and energy to say "yes" to those things that support RAFT in living up to and delivering our mission.
Joy – This year proved both challenging and rewarding. I took on additional responsibilities at work while the world seemed to catch fire, increasing the obstacles faced by advocates and survivors. Effectively learning and applying new skills while trying to maintain my hope, compassion, and sanity proved extremely difficult. At the same time, constantly working to improve the lives of those who work in anti-gender-based violence and seeing advocates come together to reach for new resources was the reward and refreshment that I needed.
Maegan - This year reminded me that resilience and tenderness can coexist. I’m learning to ask for support without apology, and to honor the days I show up as much as the days I rest. I’m carrying forward a fierce appreciation for small joys, the kind that keeps us grounded when everything feels heavy. Most of all, I’m grateful for this community, and I’mstepping into 2026 with a quiet hope that we’ll continue moving forward - together.
Mariam - The work RAFT does is important and needed. I'm grateful for the work we do, and I hope the lessons we learned about impactful changes and consistency carry us forward in 2026!
Sophie – Finding a community of colleagues or friends with shared life experiences is one of the most valuable antidotes for hopelessness and shame. I look forward to continuing to grow those communities within RAFT and in my personal lifenext year.
This year asked us to adapt, question, and to care more deeply than ever before. What carried us through wasn’tperfection... it was community, courage, and the simple truth that we’re stronger when we refuse to do this work alone.
As we step into 2026, we’re choosing to move forward with integrity, compassion, and a renewed commitment to building the human-centered, anti-violence world we all deserve.
Thank you for standing with us. We can’t wait to keep imagining, creating, and healing - together.
