Co-hosted By:
The Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault provides leadership, advocacy, and support to address and prevent sexual violence. As a statewide coalition, CCASA supports our members, partners, and the broader community through technical assistance, training, information and referrals, educational materials, statewide systems change, and public policy education and advocacy.
Violence Free Colorado strives to end relationship abuse by taking courageous actions and leading in partnership with survivors, heeding their experiences, and amplifying their voices. As Colorado’s state domestic violence coalition, we shape public policy, mobilize communities to act, and build the capacity of community-based programs to address the needs of survivors and advocate on their behalf.
Since its inception in 2011, the Colorado Advocacy in Action Conference has demonstrated a robust curriculum and provided high-level speakers on a variety of topics related to advocacy. In 2020, CAIA hosted the first virtual conference with over 500 attendees across the U.S.
When CAIA first started, the idea of a statewide conference for sexual and domestic violence advocates was not yet conceived. It all started back in 2008… Violence Free Colorado hosted its first annual statewide conference in Colorado Springs with a New Worker Track, an Advanced Advocacy Track, and an Executive Director Track. It also included a Leadership Institute for People of Color. The next year, Ft. Collins hosted the event.
As the conference started to expand, Violence Free Colorado and CCASA teamed up to better provide a more comprehensive curriculum that would benefit the often overlapping issue and work of community based sexual assault and domestic violence advocates around Colorado. In 2011, the CAIA was officially convened and branded. Knowing how challenging (and rewarding!) the work of advocates and allied professionals is, the two coalitions decided to host the annual conference in Vail, CO, in order to combine learning with a retreat-like feel, weaving the concept of self-care into the very fabric of the training.
CAIA has grown to almost 350 attendees from across the country, who gather to share their experiences, successes, challenges, and benefit from teachings of local and national experts.
21 Sessions
21 sessions with leading professionals covering a variety of topics.
Keynote Presentations
2 keynote presenters
Closing panel discussion
Soon to be announced Wednesday AM guest
Networking Opportunities
Network with peers from across the country who work as advocates, law enforcement, etc.
Self-Care Time
We’ve built self-care into the virtual conference with recorded yoga, meditation, coloring, suggested activities, and 1-hour breaks.