Speakers

Rita Smith
Executive Director
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Rita began working as a crisis line advocate in a shelter for battered women and their children in Colorado in 1981. Since then, she has held numerous positions in Colorado and Florida at local programs and state coalitions, including Program Supervisor and Director.

She has been interviewed by hundreds of newspaper reporters, appeared on many local and national radio and television news shows, including Good Morning America and Oprah Winfrey, and in print media, such as the Washington Post and USA Today.

She co-authored a legal manual for attorneys working with domestic violence victims in Colorado. She also co-authored an article on child custody and domestic violence that was published in the Judges' Journal, in 1997.