Babson’s Ashleigh Hala Main Special Guest Speaker at MBTA 2017 Domestic Violence Prevention Conference
Babson’s Associate Director of Wellness/Director of Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Services Ashleigh Hala was the main Special Guest Speaker at the event “STOP IT!” during the MBTA 2017 Domestic Violence Prevention Conference.
Her remarks focused on the work she does at Babson and how her work with students is constantly challenging societal beliefs on what healthy relationships look like. She uses examples of the work she has done with students from helping to gain access to food away from a controlling partner, finding a new place of worship the abusive partner is not involved in, and even changing concentrations or courses of students to avoid taking class with a former partner.
She asked the attendees of the event to take risks, to be uncomfortable, and to talk to the young people in their lives about healthy relationships and make sure that we are doing all we can to keep students safe.
About Ashleigh Hala
Ashleigh Hala provides confidential intervention services, consultation regarding campus policy, advocacy, and support for students who have experienced sexual harassment, stalking, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault/rape. Ashleigh is also responsible for the preventative vision and strategy for the college. The college’s prevention model includes a robust curricular experience for students, featuring bystander intervention training, guidance on responding to disclosure, and organizational assessment for survivor inclusivity. Ashleigh also serves in an on-call capacity by overseeing the Babson SAFE Hotline, a Babson-specific rape crisis hotline available to students 24/7/365. Before joining Babson Health & Wellness, Ashleigh was the Associate Director of Residence Life and the Title IX Coordinator at Wheelock College. Ashleigh earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Wheelock College and a master’s degree in social work with a focus in community organizing, program development, and human services management from Boston University.