<p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class=""><strong>🚨 Please note: This training is in lieu of our regular Survivor Center and Third Thursday trainings for the month of April.</strong></p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class="">This virtual training features Travis County (Austin) District Attorney José Garza and Director of Victim Services Neva Fernandez, sharing how a prosecutor’s office can center survivor needs in day-to-day practice while advancing reform. Speakers will explore how centering victims can help prosecutors build successful cases and strengthen accountability, but also, at times, complicate their role. The conversation will include concrete strategies for building trust, offering meaningful support, and aligning victim services with a prosecution model that prioritizes safety, dignity, and choice.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class=""><em>Eligible for 1 Hour of General CLE Credit in CA. <a href="mailto:contact@ProsecutorsAlliance.org">Email us</a> regarding credit in other states.</em></p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class=""><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Speakers</span></strong></p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:image {"id":7006,"width":"183px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --></p> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prosecutorsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Headshot-of-DA-Garza.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-7006" style="width:183px;height:auto" /></figure> <p><!-- /wp:image --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class=""><strong>José P. Garza</strong> was re-elected as the Travis County District Attorney by the people of Travis County in November 2024 and sworn in to serve his second term on January 2, 2025. During his tenure as district attorney, he has prioritized reducing gun violence, centering the needs of survivors and victims in the criminal legal process, and rebuilding the community’s trust in the criminal justice system.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class="">Since his election, DA Garza has focused prosecution efforts on acts of violence and developed programs to address the root causes of crime. In his first term, DA Garza created a Major Crimes and Homicides Unit, released a Four Point Plan to Reduce Gun Violence, and convened the first ever Gun Violence Summit. DA Garza also advocated for gun violence prevention strategies targeting high-risk populations, including for the creation of a Travis County Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program and the implementation of a county-wide firearm surrender protocol.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class="">DA Garza has expanded TCDA’s Victim Services Division and led efforts to resolve a historic lawsuit that sexual assault survivors had brought against Travis County and its previous district attorney. Since the settlement of that case, DA Garza has assembled a community board of sexual assault advocates and survivors to develop and oversee the implementation of a host of reforms to improve sexual assault prosecutions and the strengthen the support offered to sexual assault victims and survivors.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class="">As district attorney, Garza has championed public safety strategies that are community-based and data-driven. Under his leadership, TCDA launched the Travis County Transformation Project, a restorative justice program for youthful offenders, expanded pre-trial diversion programs to connect qualified participants to workforce training, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment, and expunged the records of over 1,000 individuals who were arrested but never convicted of a crime.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class="">DA Garza is a graduate of the University of Texas and Catholic University School of Law. Prior to being elected as Travis County District Attorney, Garza worked for a federal district judge, served as a public defender with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and the Office of the Federal Public Defender, worked in Washington, DC at the U.S. Congress, National Labor Relations Board, and the U.S. Department of Labor, and was the Executive Director of Workers Defense Project.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class=""><strong>Neva Fernandez</strong> is a graduate of New York University, where she earned her M.A. in Sociology. She has dedicated her career to serving victims of violent crime, providing direct services as a systems advocate at the Travis County Attorney’s Office and as a community-based advocate with SafePlace and Texas Legal Services Center.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class="">Neva currently serves as the Victim Services Division Director at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. In this role, she leads efforts to ensure trauma-informed, survivor-centered practices within the criminal legal system. She has conducted trainings on trauma-informed victim engagement throughout Texas and nationally and regularly trains cadets at the Austin Police Department Academy on effective, trauma-informed approaches to working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p> <p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p class="">Neva previously served on the advisory group for Healing Justice and on the Austin Commission for Women. She is currently on the Steering Committee for the Austin/Travis County Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team and serves on the Texas Council on Family Violence Public Policy Committee.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --></p>