Dear Katie: Survivor Stories

"Domestic violence and sexual assault are the least investigated, least prosecuted, and least coming to conviction crimes in the country... That cannot be your standard."

Rita Smith is a nationally recognized expert in domestic violence who has appeared on many local and national radio and television news shows, including the Washington Post, USA Today, People Magazine, NPR, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She began her career in 1981 as a shelter crisis line advocate and ascended to lead the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) from 1992-2014. Smith currently serves as a senior advisor to the National Football League on policy and training issues related to domestic violence and sexual assault. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

Asleep in the living room, 13-year-old Lavinia is assaulted by a stranger who breaks in through the living room window. Seeking justice, she is dismissed by the police, and evidence for her case goes unused for decades. Fueled by her own experiences, Lavinia advocates for herself and others, changing Texas law and pushing for systemic change.  

Dr. Lavinia B. Masters is a nationally recognized survivor advocate, author, keynote speaker, and DNA justice reform leader who has transformed her personal story of sexual violence into a powerful mission for systemic change. After learning that evidence from her assault at age 13 had remained untested for more than two decades, she became a leading voice in the fight to address the sexual assault kit backlog and improve survivor-centered justice practices. Her advocacy helped inspire HB 8, The Lavinia Masters Act, signed into Texas law in 2019. She was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 2023 and continues to serve survivors through advocacy, education, consulting, and mentorship. Grounded deeply in her Christian faith, Lavinia believes in leading with compassion, courage, and her guiding principle: “Empathy First. Justice Always.”

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

"Whenever you're ready and you feel safe to, sharing your experiences can and will change the world... Your story is your power, and they can't take it away."

Taken advantage of as a sophomore in high school, Leah found themselves exposed when an older boy used their intimate photos as trading cards. Finding their voice, they share the power they found through the vulnerability and nakedness of speaking their truth. 

Leah Juliett is an award-winning writer, speaker, organizer, survivor advocate, technology safety expert, and social media strategist whose work sits at the intersection of digital safety, LGBTQ+ identity, tech accountability, and survivor justice. For more than a decade, Leah has advocated for survivors of image-based sexual abuse and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, working to transform how we understand harm in an increasingly digital world. A survivor of image-based sexual abuse and CSAM, Leah founded the March Against Revenge Porn campaign in 2016 and has since become a nationally recognized voice on technology-facilitated abuse, survivor-centered policy, and Big Tech accountability. Their work has taken them from the White House Gender Policy Council and the U.S. Capitol to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, where they have advocated for survivor-centered approaches to technology design and childhood sexual violence prevention.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

"When we're talking about disrupting a male-dominant society, we're talking about disrupting sexism. But we at A Call to Men do this work with an intersectional lens, which means you can't end one group's oppression while perpetrating others."

This week, Tony Porter shares his incredible stories of activism and insights into a culture of violence and misogyny, while bringing us to the forefront of change. Porter is an author, educator, and activist working to advance gender and racial justice and create a more equitable society. He is internationally recognized for his efforts to prevent violence against women while promoting a healthy, respectful manhood, which he does through his organization A Call to Men. 

Find out more at https://www.acalltomen.org/ or listen to Tony's incredible TED Talk, 'a call to men'. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

Today’s guest is Paul Drayton, actor, animal activist and author of Ride or Die Trying. With honesty and dark humour, he shares his journey through addiction, identity, public scrutiny and rebuilding his life after years just outside the celebrity spotlight. From growing up in Sunderland to navigating fame alongside comedian Alan Carr, Paul’s story is one of resilience and self-discovery. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

'I had learned to be very comfortable in the gaps between two lives.' 

Jessica Teich began dancing at a young age, encountering the highly sexualized world of dance at a young age. Preyed upon by a much older man, she convinces her family to send her overseas and ends up living with a French family. Like so many survivors, Jessica never told anyone about the ongoing sexual assaults, but wrote her story on scraps of paper she still has today. Now, she shares her story with us, bringing to light the words she put to paper in some of her darkest moments. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

Tania Rashid is an award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, educator, and story producer whose work has taken her across South Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the United States. She has reported and produced stories on gender-based violence, migration, labor, conflict, public health, and communities pushed to the margins for outlets including VICE, NBC News, Al Jazeera English, CNN International, National Geographic, PBS NewsHour, Peacock, MSNBC, and Netflix. Tania holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA, and she teaches and mentors emerging journalists and incarcerated writers. She is currently working on a hybrid memoir, about survival, shame, family, desire, journalism, and what it means to finally turn the lens on herself.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

Ashley-Lauren Elrod is a survivor, board-certified, trauma-informed professional, advocacy and policy consultant, and child abuse prevention leader committed to helping others transform adversity into purpose. She is the founder of the award-winning Visionary Woman Productions and The Maya’s Magic Word Project, an innovative child safety and prevention education framework. Ashley serves in leadership and advisory roles supporting survivor empowerment and child advocacy initiatives. Through storytelling, education, and public speaking, she helps individuals reclaim their voices and create lasting impact. Today, she joins us to share her journey, insights on healing, and the power of turning pain into purpose.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

'If she had asked, would I have told her?'

Living in fear of violence in his own home, young David is faced with an impossible situation. Unable to tolerate the abuse any further, he and his brother make the tragic decision to end the life of their abuser. Waiting in jail and confronted with the prospect of the death penalty, David finds faith and makes the powerful choice to do his time, not let the time do him. 

David Garlock is a successful returning citizen, reentry professional, and criminal justice reform advocate. David and his brother received 25-year sentences in Alabama after taking the life of their abuser. A client of the Equal Justice Initiative, he was released on parole in 2013 after serving more than 13 years and pursuing several educational opportunities while incarcerated.  He subsequently obtained his bachelor's degree from Eastern University and was the Lancaster Program Director for New Person Ministries, a reentry program for people convicted of a sexual offense and other returning citizens. He is a frequent speaker at colleges and universities, criminal and social justice conferences, and community events.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

Jennifer Mondino has been a civil rights lawyer and advocate for survivors of gender-based violence for almost 25 years. She is currently the Senior Director of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women's Law Center. The TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund was launched in January 2018, months after #MeToo went viral. It is the only nationwide resource for people facing workplace sex harassment and retaliation to connect with legal help, and the only legal defense fund that provides dedicated funding for legal representation and media and storytelling assistance in workplace sex harassment and retaliation matters.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang