Billie Weiss and the Legacy of People-Powered Violence Prevention, Part 2

In this two-part, in-person VALOR Conversation, Leah Aldridge is joined by David S. Lee, VALOR’s Deputy Director, as they sit down with their mentor, Billie Weiss. Billie’s work has been foundational to the field of violence prevention, as she was one of the first to connect research on the rate of violence in 1980’s Los Angeles to sexual assault and traumatic harm. 

Billie, Leah, and David discuss the history of public health and the work that went into unifying the many different people who had a similar goal of preventing violence and supporting survivors of harm. Their conversation highlights Billie’s legacy and how far the movements to prevent sexual assault and violence have come since the late 1980s. 

As David and Leah remember the impact Billie had on them and their understanding of violence prevention, Billie shares her hopes that all of their legacies continue prevention work until there’s a future where violence is unimaginable.

Check out a special conversation between Ashleigh Klein-Jimenez and David S. Lee on Billie’s ongoing violence prevention legacy on PreventConnect → Prevention Then & Now: Reflections from Long-Time Practitioners with David S. Lee on Billie Weiss/