Ending sexual violence takes action from each and every one of us. Each year, The Alliance recognizes a leader who has stepped up in a remarkable way to support survivors and prevent sexual violence by presenting them with the Visionary Voice award.
It’s an honor to acknowledge their contributions and celebrate together as we continue the hard work of prevention and advocacy. Keep reading to meet some of our Visionary Voices from the last few years.
Rachel de Leon
Visionary Voice 2024
In the spring of 2023, Rachel’s film Victim/Suspect, a Netflix original feature documentary that she reported and produced, was released and premiered at Sundance in the U.S. Documentary Competition. Victim/Suspect invites viewers on a journey with Rachel as she travels nationwide to uncover a pattern of women reporting they’ve been sexually assaulted to police, only to be charged with false reporting.
Rachel is an incredible investigative journalist and a masterful storyteller who makes difficult content both authentic and deeply relatable—and she is committed to creating change, not just raising awareness. When we reached out to ask her to come to Connecticut and talk about how we could support survivors, she showed up ready to empower a room full of law enforcement officers, legislators, advocates, and survivors to build connections and drive change. Rachel’s work provides irrefutable evidence of the challenges survivors face when engaging with systems, but it was the way she showed up—and has continued to show up—that is creating space for conversation and actionable policy changes.
More About Rachel
Rachel de Leon is a reporter and producer for TV and documentaries for Reveal. She’s won two Emmys for her work on deadly oil fields and systemic failures leading to unsolved Jane and John Doe cases. Rachel is an alum of California State University-Northridge and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
Representative Liz Linehan
Visionary Voice 2023
Since joining the Connecticut General Assembly in 2016, Representative Liz Linehan has been a steadfast and dedicated advocate for laws that benefit and protect children. She has used her position to increase the prevention of childhood sexual abuse and increase protective factors for children at risk. She works to bring survivors to the table, to make their voices heard, and to celebrate their resiliency.
Krystal Rich
Visionary Voice 2022
Since assuming her role as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Children’s Alliance (CCA) in 2014, Krystal Rich has used her advocacy skills and deep knowledge of systems-based interventions to improve access and services available to child survivors and their families. Krystal is deeply committed to supporting children who have experienced sexual violence and ensuring that they and their families have access to all the healing, justice, and support they need, while also working to promote the prevention of sexual violence.
Marc Pelka
Visionary Voice 2021
In his role as Undersecretary of Criminal Justice Policy and Planning at the Office of Policy Management, Marc has helped highlight the need for victims and survivors to have meaningful access to and transparent information about the criminal justice process. In his role, Marc has identified new resources for survivors, but his dedication to supporting survivors goes beyond his professional role. Marc trained to be a certified sexual assault crisis counselor and began taking shifts on our statewide sexual assault crisis hotline to honor his commitment to survivors and deepen his understanding of the impacts of sexual violence.