Gail Burns-Smith Award

The Gail Burns-Smith Award recognizes people who have made significant contributions to preventing sexual violence through their work to facilitate effective partnerships between advocates working on behalf of victims and survivors and those working in the area of sex offender management and treatment.

picture of Gail Burns Smith

Learn more about Gail Burns-Smith [2]

This award, named in honor of Gail Burns-Smith, a visionary woman who expanded the thinking and actions of two previously disconnected groups of professionals, is intended to ensure that this important collaboration is continued and expanded by other forward-thinking leaders.

Picture of teardrop shaped award statute One award will be granted annually. Award recipients will receive the following:

Plaque/trophy recognition award.
Free conference registration at both Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) conference [6] and National Sexual Assault Conference [7].
Travel and hotel to either the ATSA or the National Sexual Assault conference, recipient’s choice.
ATSA membership [8]fee waived for one year (Award winner must meet the criteria for ATSA membership)
Tickets to ATSA’s Speaker Event and Next Generation Reception.

The award is jointly sponsored by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) [9]and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) [10], two organizations with similar missions and goals.

About Gail Burns-Smith (1946-2009):

In 1996 Gail Burns-Smith partnered with the Center for Treatment of Problem Sexual Behavior, creating the first Victim Advocate Program for sex offender treatment. The Victim Advocate in this program is dedicated to

working with the intensive sex offender probation unit to initiate and maintain contact with victims and their families, and
working to ensure a victim centered approach to sex offender treatment/probation decision-making.

This innovative program then became the national model for such programs and Gail provided the vision and the support to make this unique collaboration possible.

Early in her career, Gail was a head nurse and the in-service educator of Nursing Staff at Hartford Hospital. By 1982 to her retirement in 2004, she was the Executive Director of Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services [12](CONNSACS), where she grew the organization from a staff of just herself to twenty-three. Her accomplishments in Connecticut and nationally over 20 years are incredible.

In Connecticut, her public policy advocacy on behalf of victims resulted in Connecticut

passing Anti-Stalking Laws,
designating Marriage License Surcharge toward funding CONNSACS member centers, and
requiring Mandatory Sexual Harassment training for all supervisors of employers with 50 or more employees.

She worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone had access to services they need. Gail ensured that the needs of Spanish speaking victims were met, by implementing a statewide Spanish hotline, one of only two in the country. At the same time, she secured funding to hire bilingual/bicultural Spanish-speaking advocates at six sexual assault crisis centers in the state. To meet the needs of deaf and hearing impaired victims, Gail acquired funding in 1997 to provide TTY machines for each of the sexual assault crisis centers.

Nationally, Gail co-founded the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence [13], which focuses on public policy advocacy. The Alliance was instrumental in securing passage of the U.S. National Violence Against Women Act and the related funding of programs for services to victims of sexual assault and other violence. She was a founding Advisory Council member for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center from 1999-2004.

About the Sponsors

The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers [14] (ATSA) is an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse. Through research, education, and shared learning ATSA promotes evidence based practice, public policy and community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center [15] (NSVRC) was founded by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Violence Prevention. It serves as an information hub related to all aspects of sexual violence and its prevention, especially designed to support victim advocates, prevention initiatives, and community-based programs. NSVRC provides training and technical assistance, disseminates materials, and coordinates national prevention campaigns.

Make a Nomination

2013 nominations are due by May 31, 2013. To nominate a candidate for the Gail Burns-Smith Award submit the following to:

Awards Committee Chair,

Via Email [16]

Or Mail: ATSA Office, 4900 SW Griffith Drive, Ste 274, Beaverton, Oregon 97005

Submit a biographical sketch/resume of the nominee.
Describe the personal and professional qualities that the nominee brings to their work or efforts and how they exemplify Gail’s efforts to facilitate effective partnerships between advocates working on behalf of victims and survivors and those working in the area of sex offender management and treatment.
Include at least two letters of support in addition to the nomination letter. At least one of the letters must come from an individual outside of the nominee's work place (e.g. agency, organization, department, institution, practice).

Please note: Current Board Members and Employees of ATSA and/or PCAR/NSVRC are not eligible for this award.

The recipient will be informed in July and the award will be presented at both the ATSA Annual Research and Treatment Conference and the National Sexual Assault Conference.

Award Winners

2012 Award Winner Lindsay Palmer. Read press release [17]. Picture of Lindsay Palmer

Lindsay Palmer began serving as Director of Education for King County Sexual Assault Resource Center [18](KCSARC) in 1999. She is responsible for developing and, with KCSARC prevention education specialists, implementing a full range of education and prevention programs for the community. The scope of her department including professional training, community development programs aimed at preventing sexual assault, and system change work with the sex offender management system at the local, county and state level.

2011 Award Winner Alison Hall. Read press release [19].

2010 Award Winner Elizabeth Barnhill. Read press release [20].

Elizabeth Barnhill, Executive Director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, receives the Gail Burns-Smith Award

Elizabeth Barnhill, Executive Director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, receives the Gail Burns-Smith Award (from Delilah Rumburg, Executive Director of PCAR, and Maia Christopher, Executive Director of ATSA, not pictured) during National Sexual Assault Conference, Sept. 1, 2010 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif.