4th Annual RSOL Conference • Catching the Dream of Reform

General Information

This year's National Conference, hosted by RSOL New Mexico at the renowned Ramada Inn Conference Center in Albuquerque, seeks to empower citizen-driven law reform groups to better understand the complexity of current thinking on sex offender registration issues and find workable options for change. Distinguished speakers will launch a collaborative think-tank of proven ideas and best approaches to making all communities safe and abuse-free. 

The conference offers a unified approach to legislative advocacy and volunteer-driven organizational development with topical expert presentations and three distinct yet interrelated 'skill and awareness building' paths through panel discussions and training workshops. The workshops, panels, and forums, which may be mixed-and-matched at discretion, are actually organized as mini-tutorials with each segment building one upon the next under three headings:

• How lawmaking works and what advocates need to know to have an impact on the process
• What changes experts recommend regarding current sexual offense laws
• How to organize effective advocacy/support groups and grow professional communications networks

Featured Speakers

• Janice Bellucci, civil rights attorney and President, California Reform Sex Offender Laws
• Amy Borror, Public Information Officer for the Ohio Public Defender's Office
• Erin Comartin, doctoral candidate at Michigan's Wayne State University
• Dr. George Geysen, clinical and forensic psychologist who is an expert in the assessment and treatment of persons with problem sexual behavior and sexual offenses
• Melissa Hill, criminal appeals attorney representing the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico on the New Mexico Sentencing Commission's Sex Offender Management Board Defense Lawyers’ Association
• Dr. Eric A. Imhof, Psy.D., President/Clinical Director of Specialized Treatment and Assessment Resources, P. A.
• Tamara Rice Lave, former public defender and current Associate Professor, University of Miami School of Law
• Cisco McSorely, New Mexico Senator and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Norm Pattis, nationally acclaimed trial lawyer frequently sought as co-counsel for those who have unjustly been denied liberty
• Phil Taylor, licensed sex offender treatment provider who has worked with parolees and probationers for 20 years

In addition, several informal (and entirely optional) social events will serve conference objectives by enhancing professional networking in relaxed social environments. Several 'open sessions' will also allow attendees time and space to interact directly with peers and experts. Parents traveling with children may utilize child-care during conference hours.