Shirley Washenko is a survivor of child sexual abuse. She grew up in a loving home and community in Orem, Utah. After serving in the Taiwan Taichung Mission, she married her husband, Steve Washenko. They are the parents of two wonderful children. Shirley received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano performance at BYU. She is the owner and founder of an online piano studio that serves students globally. Shirley is passionate about helping survivors feel empowered to write their own stories and contribute to the world in meaningful ways as they embrace and live principles of healing through Jesus Christ. She believes in the power that living these principles has in bringing healing to survivors, families, and communities.
Through a variety of roles, Sage Williams, MSc, RN, has spent her professional career understanding, preventing, and responding to sexual violence. She began as an undergraduate research assistance to Dr. Julie Valentine at BYU, researching the impacts of sexual abuse on physical health and studying the criminal justice system’s response to sexual violence. Sage was also a victim’s advocate on the Utah County Sexual Assault Response Team. Upon graduation, she worked as a forensic pediatric nurse for the Children’s Justice Center and as a forensic sexual assault nurse examiner for Wasatch Forensic Nurses. Sage then began a doctor of nursing practice in psychiatric and mental health at the University of Utah. She paused her doctoral studies to obtain a master’s of science in international health policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Through the LSE, Sage first learned about Dr. Denis Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and the holistic, multidisciplinary approach he pioneered to support survivors of sexual violence used as a weapon of war and armed conflict. Inspired by Dr. Mukwege and his work, Sage has since focused on holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to sexual violence prevention and response. In 2021, Sage co-chaired Harvard University’s interfaith and interdisciplinary symposium “Faith and Flourishing: Strategies for Preventing and Healing Child Sexual Abuse.” She also participates in the Global Network of Religions for Children and helped the New York Board of Rabbis launch the U.S. network. The survivors and advocates Sage met at a Kurdish and Syrian refugee camp in Greece and at the preeminent Panzi Hospital founded by Dr. Mukwege in the Democratic Republic of the Congo made profound impressions on her. Sage sincerely believes that Latter-day Saints, empowered by the gospel of Jesus Christ, can help bring about significant healing not only in their personal circles but also through policy and practice changes that improve systems of accountability and create more effective and comprehensive support for survivors.