92. Dave Markel: A Shared Episode of The Jan Broberg Show! I am honored to be able to bring to you an episode from The Jan Broberg Show, in which Jan invited me to be a guest on her show. After it aired (June 18, 2024; ), I contacted Jan and asked her if I could air a copy of her episode right here, on my show. She graciously and generously said yes! And, here is a copy of the notes from that episode, so you’ll have all the good stuff! I especially want to give a shout out to Eric Osborn, Jan’s production tech, for all the work he did in getting this episode aired originally, and for his time in providing a copy of the episode for me. Thanks Jan and Eric! Here is a copy of the notes from my episode with Jan so you’ll have all the good stuff! “Today, Jan is joined by friend of the podcast Dave Markel, an expert in trauma-informed interviews and a survivor of childhood and adult sexual assault. They discuss Dave's background and expertise, his personal experiences, and the importance of trauma-informed approaches. They explore the impact of trauma on interpersonal relationships and the challenges faced in implementing trauma-informed practices. Dave explains the neuroscience behind memory and trauma and recommends resources for further understanding. The conversation highlights the need for education and training to improve the response to sexual assault and support survivors in their healing journey. In this conversation, Jan Broberg and Dave Markel discuss the importance of telling the aftermath stories of sexual assault survivors. They explore the idea of creating a television show that focuses on the long-lasting impact of sexual assault and the different forms of grooming. They emphasize the need to start by believing survivors and the detrimental effects of blaming and disbelieving them. They also touch on the healing power of telling one's story and seeking support. In conclusion, they discuss the dangers of online relationships and how important it is to be skeptical until given proof of who you’re communicating with.” If you or your business could use Dave's consulting services visit his website at: Be sure to check out Dave Markel's podcast Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, the SASS podcast: Mentioned Resources: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Trauma and Memory by Peter Levine Other important links:

If you haven’t already heard Bailie’s two-part interview, Episodes 49 and 50, give them a listen—you’ll hear one of the most compelling and intriguing interviews of sexual assault and rape that will hold you spell-bound and awestruck. You don’t need to listen to those episodes before you listen to this one, but definitely take the time to listen to Bailie’s story on those two previous episodes; you’ll have a much deeper understanding of Bailie if you do. I had the very fortunate privilege of meeting Bailie through my friendship with my regular monthly guest, Caroline Markel. Caroline is the founder and CEO of Safe in Harm’s Way, an organization dedicated to providing victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault with resources, encouragement, and expertise in finding their way safely out of those dangerous and harmful interpersonal violence relationships. The story is that Caroline needed a break from the daily grind of running such an onerous organization and decided to go to Napa County to recoup. It was there that she met Bailie, who at the time was the Director of Training and Technical Assistance at LGBTQ Connection of Napa and Sonoma, California. And an instant connection and indelible bond was formed between the two...and, of course, Caroline encouraged me to get to know Bailie. I called her one afternoon and, again, an instant bond was formed. (That’s just the way Bailie is!!) Earlier this month Caroline made a return trip to Napa, partly to visit with Bailie. When I found out that this re-connection was occurring, I immediately asked Caroline and Bailie if they would do a dual-SASS-recording with me from Napa while Caroline was there. Unfortunately, due to schedule issues this wasn’t possible…but, just this week, after Caroline had returned to her home, we were able to schedule a time when the 3 of us could connect and record an episode…and here it is. We covered so very much that to synopsize the episode would be a time burdensome endeavor. Just know that this is an episode you won’t want to miss! And write to me and let me know what you’re thinking about this episode, about SASS, or about anything else you care to comment about. Thank you to Caroline and Bailie for an absolutely fantastic episode! And for all the links and connections provided by both you. From Bailie, please check these out: @lgbtqnapa @queerleaderscoalition @napapride @soarcollective @rainnsurvivors  bell hooks  Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center Audre Lorde Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master’s House Alok @alok Beyond the Gender Binary (Pocket Change Collective)   Life isn’t Binary Life Isn't Binary LGBTQ Connection   Family Acceptance Project And, from Caroline, please check this info out: In a world where: 40% of calls to DV hotlines go unanswered  Over 300,000 people every month can’t find the help they need Shelters are full, with no space for new arrivals  Safe In Harm’s Way has over 250 Immediate & Actionable online solutions and are the key to helping someone when they have that fear-and-sadness-fueled decision to seek help. Because if no one helps them at their most intimate moment of need, very rarely will they try again. Want to fuel our mission and be the solution for survivors who need immediate help via Safe In Harm’s Way? Donate today to save lives and create family-positive impact here: And from me:

This story is compelling for lots of reasons: because it’s told by a man, Chris McGhee,  whose daughter was sexually assaulted by a cop; because the cop was convicted, but didn’t serve any jail time; because Chris and his daughter are working hard to get a Pennsylvania law changed so that cops are charged with a felony instead of a misdemeanor when they sexually assault a child. Because their story is just one of hundreds of sexual assault on a child by a cop, where the cop serves no jail time. That part of the story is also being told in an ongoing series in the Washington Post, Abused by the Badge. It might be a series you’d like to read; it’s currently available in the online version of the Washington Post. Chris did an amazing job of telling his daughters story…despite how difficult of a story it is to tell. And it’s not just of his daughter’s sexual assault by a cop, but by a fellow student from his daughter’s school. Multiple sexual assaults by multiple assailants. This is a difficult episode to hear…but it’s important. And it’s a story we all need to hear, and share. Thank you, Chris. It was an honor having you on the show. Please tell everyone you know about this episode. And if you haven’t already, I would greatly appreciate it if you would subscribe to this podcast, and also give it a 5 star rating. It all helps the podcast grow. Thank you for listening!! Here are some links you might be interested in checking out!  [email protected] @erikashershun

Erika’s life story sounds like a fictional crime novel…but the amazing aspect is that the truth really is sometimes stranger than fiction. The truth of Erika’s horrific story is that her father killed himself when Erika was just 15. Years later, a brother also ended his own life. At 19 Erika was raped by a friend of the young man she was dating; and he set her up for the rape! But there were additional rapes after that one. Subsequently, Erika also tried to end her own life but, like she said in her interview, “it wasn’t meant to be.” Years later she had an overpowering and disturbing memory surface, she was sexually assaulted when she was an infant. After two decades spent in therapy, none of which addressed the root of the problem, sexual trauma, she realized she would have to piece together what was needed to heal on her own. She did this while going through the process of becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in helping survivors heal from the devastation of sexual assault and rape. Erika's bio is impressive: “Erika Shershun, MA, LMFT, is a somatic psychotherapist who specializes in helping sexual trauma survivors reclaim the life they were meant to live. She’s the author of the Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook, the Healing Sexual Trauma Guided Journal (March 2025 release), the facilitator of the PESI Sexual Trauma Clinical Training, and the upcoming Sexual Trauma Healing Journey (September 2024). Her approach is trauma informed, rooted in somatic principles, drawing on neuroscience and integrative modalities like EMDR, energy psychology, parts work, and mindfulness. Erika offers individual online therapy sessions in California and provides coaching to clients outside of the state.  You can contact her or subscribe to her mailing list to receive your free copy of Healing Sexual Trauma, chapter 1 from the Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook at . I hope you listen to this episode. Erika’s story is powerful, transparent, and inspiring. After you’ve heard the episode, please share it…its’ a story that needs to be spread. That small act of sharing this episode will be your latest effort to help bring justice to others whose lives have been impacted by rape or sexual assault. And, remember to Start By Believing when it comes to listening to or supporting a victim or survivor of rape or sexual assault; because we all know someone whose life has been impacted by rape or sexual assault. Here are some links and email addresses I would appreciate you taking a look at, and consider leaving a message! Thank you for your support of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, the SASS podcast! @erikashershun I hope you listen to this episode. Erika’s story is powerful, transparent, and inspiring. After you’ve heard the episode, please share it…its’ a story that needs to be spread. That small act of sharing this episode will be your latest effort to help bring justice to others whose lives have been impacted by rape or sexual assault. And, remember to Start By Believing when it comes to listening to or supporting a victim or survivor of rape or sexual assault; because we all know someone whose life has been impacted by rape or sexual assault. Here are some links and email addresses I would appreciate you taking a look at, and consider leaving a message! Thank you for your support of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, the SASS podcast!   < @erikashershun   [email protected]

Laurie McBride was sexually assaulted by her brother when she was a young girl. She was also emotionally abused by her mother while growing up, and then when she was in high school, she was the victim of two separate rape attempts. By the time Laurie was 18 and left home, she felt lost. In a situation like Laurie’s, it isn’t difficult to understand how her worldview would be skewed. She felt she had no real choices in life and decided that killing herself would be the best way out. Fortunately, Laurie had a change of heart and decided she wanted to live. But life didn’t get much easier…she found herself in an abusive marriage which ended in divorce and now she was a single mom with small children to raise. Turning to alcohol and pills to self-medicate, Laurie found herself spiraling towards addiction; that is, until a neighbor’s house fire made her realize that she was putting her children’s lives at risk by abusing alcohol and drugs. She decided she could no longer live that way. Laurie dumped the alcohol and trashed the pills. Then she put herself on a path of education, and eventually found her way to helping others through providing hospice care, then eventually by counseling others who had become addicted to alcohol and drugs. She felt she had found her calling, and to this day is still counseling people who find their lives in turmoil due to drugs and alcohol, or because of interpersonal violence, sexual assault, or other types of traumas. Laurie turned her life from hopelessness to helpfulness. Her educational background includes: an Associate of Arts degree, a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology, a Masters of Clinical Social Work, and is now Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and owner of Evolving Light Counseling, LLC in St. George, UT. Laurie is thriving. But listen to her tell it in her own words…you’ll be uplifted and encouraged. Because that’s what Laurie is all about; she is compassionate, gentle, understanding, and keenly insightful. Please share this episode with several other people. Because the thriving that Laurie talks about might just be inspired by her episode. Also, please do your part to help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape or sexual assault. A fantastic way to do this is to Start By Believing when listening to or supporting someone whose life has been devastated by interpersonal violence. Here are some helpful sites and resources I hope you’ll look into to find the help and encouragement you may be needing:   (Evolving Light Counseling, LLC)

Because Caroline was traveling so much of last month, I wasn't able to record an April episode with her. But now, she’s back home and busy at work. But not so busy as to miss another episode with me! This month, Caroline talks about where she was these past several weeks, who she was traveling with, what they were doing on this extended trip, and the many insights and lessons she learned along the way. That discussion, in and of itself, was intriguing…but wait ‘til you hear what else she’s been working on, in terms of her healing journey! Caroline is transparent and honest in how important it is to her to come to grips with what it truly means to take care of yourself, even at the expense of putting off past friends who aren’t ready, or capable, of leaning into holding on to Caroline’s hand as she progresses in her personal and her professional work--taking measures moving forward that are "big, bold, and unapologetic!" There are also some exciting changes coming to Safe In Harm’s Way, including the possibility of some collaborative work with another of our SASS family members, Coach Bailie! Nothing is in stone yet, but what Caroline talks about in this episode about what may be coming is exciting and powerful! And stay tuned so you don’t miss a soon to be recorded episode with Bailie! There are some additional golden nuggets of insight and information in this episode, but you’ll need to listen in to hear the power behind the words! And be sure to share this episode as well as the podcast itself! There are lots of reasons for you to do these things, not the least of which is to help this podcast grow. Which is another way to help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault. And yet another avenue to this end is to Start By Believing…because we all know someone whose life has been impacted by rape or sexual assault!   And something else I’d like for you to give some attention to and check out are these sites:

Kelly and I have a few things in common: our admiration and support of the mission of Project Callisto, and our belief that normalizing the converstation around rape and sexual assault will help reduce the prevalence of rape culture. With regard to Callisto: I won’t go into the full explanation of how Callisto works, you can find out that information on their website; but suffice it to say that Callisto is a platform built for victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault to anonymously provide information about their perpetrator into an encrypted vault system to match victims to a common, thus serial, rapist or sex offender. What the common victims of the offender do with that match is up to them. But…it is empowering. And reportedly the system is increasing the arrest and prosecution rate of serial offenders. You can imagine for yourself the impact this is having on both the survivor community, as well as our society as a whole. It’s an effective and powerful tool for addressing the rape culture that exists in this country. But right now, Callisto is only available to people who have a “.edu” email address. What is needed is additional funding to make Project Callisto a platform that anyone can use. Can you imagine the impact on reducing the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in our country alone? It would be massive! Kelly is a strong survivor of multiple rapes over the span of several years of her life. And she has zealous passion to see Callisto expand to everyone. So, she started her own non-profit organization for that very purpose: helping to raise the money necessary to expand Callisto and help provide the benefits of Callisto to anyone and everyone who wants to utilize the system. But Kelly also realizes that a component of raising awareness about Project Callisto and how empowering that platform is, comes from the strength of individuals having a safe space to gather in order to tell their stories of being raped and sexually assaulted. Kelly and I refer to that process as “normalizing the conversation.” When I found out about The Justus Project and Kelly Justus, it was logical and critical to ask her to be a guest on this podcast. She accepted immediately. And this is her episode. Please listen to Kelly’s story. And then share it. Because she recognizes how important it is for thousands of people to hear her story in order to become inspired to give to Project Callisto. Both she and I would greatly appreciate your donations to Callisto if you are in a financial position to do so. If not, no worries; do your part by sharing this episode with everyone you know. And not just this episode, but all episodes of this show!...share the podcast! Please take the time to rate and subscribe to this show if you haven’t already done so…every little bit helps in making this podcast grow. This is an important aspect to helping bring justice to victims and survivors of rape or sexual assault, because this podcast is a safe space for them to share their stories, support each other on our healing journeys, and provide education and focus on learning ways to help curb the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in our communities. Thank you for your help in this cause, and for your loyalty in listening to this show! Here are some links and information that I hope you’ll look at and share:

Having Roger Canaff join me on this show has long been a goal, and I finally was able to reconnect with this former colleague. I met Roger when I was working for the US Army in a position known as a Highly Qualified Expert for the Criminal Investigation Command (known as CID-Criminal Investigation Division). Part of my job was co-managing a 2-week Special Victims Unit Investigation Course (SVUIC), conducted at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Brunswick, GA.  Roger was also hired by the Army as an HQE, with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps). Prior to his appointment as an HQE Roger had been working as a sexual assault prosecutor in several different jurisdictions and capacities. I had the great fortune of meeting Roger in his HQE capacity and invited him to teach several iterations of the SVUIC at both Ft. Leonard Wood and at FLETC. Roger graciously agreed to teach, and he and I became friends, and remain so to this day. It wasn’t difficult to find common ground with Roger during this episode, and I asked him questions on numerous topics from his perspectives on prosecuting sexual assault cases to the importance of being trauma informed, both as a prosecutor and as a victim/survivor of sexual assault or rape, to his impressions of the impact of the #MeToo movement. I don’t think it matters what your job is, or what your knowledge base is concerning sexual assault or rape…Roger’s insights, experience, and perspectives on all of these topics are informative and helpful in grasping the urgency and importance of prosecuting rape and sexual assault. Please take the time to rate and subscribe to this show if you haven’t already done so…every little bit helps in making this podcast grow. This is an important aspect to helping bring justice to victims and survivors of rape or sexual assault, because this podcast is a safe space for them to share their stories, support each other on our healing journeys, and provide education and focus on learning ways to help curb the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in our communities. Thank you for your help in this cause, and for your loyalty in listening to this show! Here are some links and information that I hope you’ll look at and share:

Hey there SASS listeners…this is a special edition episode of SASS to ask for your help… If ever there was someone in need of our financial help, one of our own SASS family members, Cassie Nicholas, is currently that one! Most of you have heard Cassie's two episodes here on SASS and know of the horrific circumstances she has endured throughout her life—not only regarding the rapes and sexual assaults she has endured, but also the immense psychological and physical abuses of being trafficked. Cassie now faces even more trauma!...in the middle of April, Cassie’s car overheated and caught fire. She managed to escape without injury to herself, but almost everything Cassie owns was in that car. It’s all gone now. She is without transportation and permanent shelter. A friend of Cassie has set up a GoFundMe campaign for her so that Cassie can purchase a new vehicle (something that she can also call home, hopefully!), as well as new clothing, her personal-care items, and sustenance to keep doing what she does best: helping others! It’s our turn to help Cassie! You can read more about Cassie and her situation, as well as donate to her fundraiser And I would also encourage you to listen to Cassie’s two episodes on Sexual Assault Survivor Stories…Episodes 36 and 81. In these two episodes you’ll learn more about Cassie’s amazing heart and compassion, and more fully understand the situation that Cassie is now in. Please, please donate as much as you possibly can!   https://gofund.me/dc4908cf

When it came to healing from her rape by Jeffrey Epstein there first had to be a realization by Jess Michaels that she was raped. Because, Jess had been taught by society and the culture of the 90’s that what had happened to her must not have really been rape…she hadn’t screamed, she didn’t try to fight him, she hadn’t even tried to push him off her—she didn’t do anything that would, in her mind, have been the response of someone who was being raped; she just froze. But she knew something was wrong. She felt it. Her life routines, her world view, and her new, misunderstood feelings of fear…all reflected that she had been through a severe trauma. But she had trouble understanding any of it. None of what Jess lived through after her rape is abnormal. Millions of people experience the commonalities of rape trauma. It’s part of why I am inviting rape and sexual assault victims and survivors to be on this show, so that other victims and survivors will learn that you are not alone in what you are experiencing.  And it’s why Jess agreed to be here with me; to share her story of both the impact of her rape, and the exhilaration of getting past it and healing to the point of being able to help others. Jess is helping bring justice to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault. And as part of that mission, Jess and her team are working to build an app called 3J’s Sexual Assault First Aid Kit, providing an interactive learning experience for what to do when someone says, “me too.” I want to help make Jess Michaels a name that everyone recognizes and celebrates as a person who is much, much more than just a Jeffrey Epstein rape survivor…she is a force for justice and for healing for others who have experienced rape or sexual assault. And I want people to know she is available to tell her story, and to speak out about what it means to recognize that rape and sexual assault are injuries that need to be treated with compassion, understanding, and by being believed. This approach needs to happen before victims can begin to help the criminal justice system bring offenders to justice; before they can be expected to tell their story in a concise, chronological, and focused way. Jess is available to present her story and her mission. You can find out more about Jess’ speaking engagement opportunities by reading and exploring her website, which is listed below.     Thank you for listening to this episode. Now, I need you to do more: share the episode with everyone you know. And keep doing your part to help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault when you hear their story: Start By Believing. There’s much to learn about this program, too, and there’s a site listed below that will help you do just that. It’s important because we all know someone whose life has been impacted by rape or sexual assault. Here are some links and sites I would encourage you to check out and support: