Dedra Hardaway is the Senior Director of Partner Services at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, where she provides leadership across multidisciplinary team coordination, forensic interview services, and partner services. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and brings nearly 20 years of experience with the Department of Family and Protective Services, including multiple leadership roles.

 
Dedra joined DCAC in 2022 as the Director of MDT Services and was later promoted to her current role, where she focuses on strengthening collaboration, practice alignment, and systems that support effective outcomes for children and families.

Joanne Smith, LMSW is the Director with Chenango Child Advocacy Center and Chenango Safe Harbour Program in Central New York. With over 30 years of experience in the Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Sexual Exploitation field, she thrives on providing trauma-informed care services for clients, families, staff, and administration in the field. Throughout her career, Joanne Smith has led numerous initiatives in the development of programing for Child Advocacy Centers, such as the expansion of CSEC/CSAM services for rural communities.  A MSW graduate from Syracuse University, she is committed to continuous learning and has earned several awards while providing clinical supervision for intern students.  Joanne is passionate about working with children and families impacted by a crime and thrives on providing services, developing programming, and making a lasting impact in the domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual exploitation field.

Noelle Ainslie is a Senior Social Services Supervisor and Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) Coordinator for Orange County Children and Family Services. She holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree and has dedicated more than 20 years to serving children and families in Orange County, spending the majority of her career in Emergency Response as both a Senior Social Worker and Supervisor.

Over the past three years, Noelle has served as the CAST Coordinator, where she oversees multidisciplinary collaboration and works closely with law enforcement, medical professionals, prosecutors, and community partners to support child abuse investigations and promote best practices in child advocacy. She is passionate about improving outcomes for children and families through teamwork, education, and strong community partnerships.