Stand Against Child Abuse Conference

Join fellow professionals and experts for a day of presentations and workshops about preventing child abuse and working with victims.

McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center holds the Stand Against Child Abuse Conference every fall. This conference is intended for school personnel, prosecutors, law enforcement, probation officers, child protective/child welfare personnel, mental health professionals, medical providers and other professionals working with children.

As told in her best-selling book, CinderGirl: My Journey Out of the Ashes to a Life of Hope, (now under development to become a major motion picture) during appearances on the Today Show and before speaking audiences nationwide, Christina’s story celebrates the transformative power of dreams, and the potential within all of us triumph over adversity. “My entire story is about hope, faith, hard work, achieving the dream and the purpose that you have been given in this life, and not allowing things to deter you, because circumstances change,” she says. “With hard work and a little faith, you can make them change.”

Christina Meredith is from the oldest city in the Nation, Saint Augustine, Florida. Christina endured years of abuse before entering the foster care system. Passed from family to family, Christina finally landed in the home where she remained until she aged out of the system at 18.
Graduating from Allen D. Nease high school with nowhere to turn, Christina spent over a year homeless and living in her car after aging out of foster care. Eager for a fresh start, Christina moved out to California where she took a series of odd jobs, eventually catching the eye of a pageant recruiter who suggested she compete in the Miss California pageant. In April of 2013, Christina won the title of Ms. California and has since dedicated herself to speaking out on behalf of abused children all over the country.

She has been the recipient of ISF’s 2019 Community Impact Award from the state of Texas and her work for child welfare reform across Texas, opened for the Special Olympics, spoken to congress on the foster care crisis pushing for bigger mental health budgets specifically trauma therapy services for all foster youth, the state of Florida had her to speak to hundreds of foster youth and state workers teaching trauma awareness, the city of Saint Augustine hailed her a hometown hero awarding her the yearly Child Abuse Prevention month from the Saint John’s Commissioners office, She has spoken all over the country sharing her story, from appearances on the Today Show, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, and others; Christina’s story has encouraged millions that they too can heal from the wounds of trauma becoming all they dream to be. Her mission to change the way America handles foster youth is well on its way as she continues to travel the country as a foster care activist and mental health advocate as a National sought-after Speaker. She has launched her foundation the CHRISTINA MEREDITH FOUNDATION that advocates for foster care reform, human trafficking laws, homelessness initiatives, and mental health programs.

Christina’s first book, Cindergirl, a national best seller, published by Harper Collins, is slated to become a major motion picture. She concurrently serves in the US ARMY as a Signal Intelligence Officer in the US Army. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science with a focus on Foreign Affairs. She is obtaining her masters in Global Security and splits her time between Jacksonville, FL and Austin, Texas.

Past Keynote Speakers

Erin Merryn (2024)

Survivor, Creator of Erin’s Law; mandating children be taught personal body safety in schools.

Carlotta Taylor (2023)

Award Winning Child Advocate, Author, Inspirational Speaker and Trainer

LaTasha C Watts (2022)

Survivor, Author, Advocate

Antwone Fisher (2019)

Survivor, Screenwriter, poet, lecturer and author of Finding Fish: A Memoir 

Derek Clark (2018)

Survivor and author of Disable the Label, Never Limit Your Life, and the I Will Never Give Up book series

Sasha Joseph Neulinger (2017)

Survivor, filmmaker, and Founder of Voices for the Kids