You may know some of their stories.
Maybe you watched American Nightmare on Netflix and learned the story of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn. Denise will be joining us.
Maybe you followed Gabby Petito’s story, one that captured the attention of millions across the country. Gabby’s story is part of the event and the foundation her family started is co-sponsoring it.
Maybe you’ve heard Meghan Kiefer’s story. Her life was taken in a brutal act of domestic violence on Long Island by an abuser from Albany. Meghan’s mom will be joining us.
And maybe you remember Brianna Craig.
Brianna was a young mother murdered in Saratoga Springs in 2024. Her mother, Helen Travis, is bringing Brianna’s story into this exhibit for the first time.
And SO many more.
These stories are different, but each asks us to look more closely at the questions we ask survivors, victims and their families, and what can happen when we ask the wrong ones.
Meet the curatorial team and advocates helping bring this powerful exhibit to Wellspring, many who will be joining us on October 10th in person.
CURATOR
Mary Simmerling, PhD — Moral philosopher and poet whose 2005 poem “What I Was Wearing” gave rise to the What Were You Wearing? exhibits worldwide. Founder and President of The Wrong Questions Project and Principal of Write Where We Belong. Editor-in-Chief of Write Where We Belong Press.
CO-CURATORS
Denise Huskins Quinn, DPT — Survivor and advocate featured in Netflix’s American Nightmare for her lived experience of being wrongly accused of staging her own abduction and sexual assault.
Aaron Quinn, DPT — Survivor and advocate featured in Netflix’s American Nightmare for his lived experience together with Denise Huskins of being wrongly accused of staging a home invasion, abduction, and sexual assault crimes.
Nichole (Niki) + Jim Schmidt— Gabby Petito’s mother and stepfather, and leaders of the Gabby Petito Foundation, which works to prevent domestic violence and support the search for missing persons.
Jen Murphy (Wiingashk Wâhkôôm, “Sweetgrass Lodge”) — Advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People who leads a national billboard photography project for MMIW/P visibility; her work has been featured on NBC’s Today Show and CBS’s 48 Hours and inspired her award-winning film Not Afraid.
Suzy Boylan, JD — Longtime Deputy County Attorney in Missoula who served as the first Lead Attorney of the Special Victims Unit formed after the DOJ’s investigation into Missoula’s handling of sexual assault.
Chris McGhee — Father and advocate working to get legislation passed in Pennsylvania to hold mandated reports accountable for sexual violence against children.
Bevin Llanes — Surviving family member and mother of Meghan Kiefer who was murdered on October 23, 2021 in Suffolk County NY in a targeted act of domestic violence homicide. Advocate with Meggie’s Voice and ECLI-VIBES.
Donna Zucker, MFA — Survivor of non-fatal strangulation. Advocate for greater education and awareness about non-fatal strangulation and its impact.
Stevie Fellows — Advocate and nonprofit leader deeply committed to changing how communities understand and respond to domestic and sexual violence. Her work is rooted in a simple but urgent truth: abuse happens here, far more often than many realize – and it can be prevented.
Helen Travis — Surviving family member and mother of Brianna Craig, murdered in Saratoga Springs in 2024. Helen Brianna’s story into this exhibit for the first time.
Justin + Becky Bradshaw — Founders of A New Dawn: Remembering Macey Dawn, honoring their daughter Macey and advocating for victims of intimate partner homicide.
Angie Giorgis — Advocate with A New Dawn: Remembering Macey Dawn. Aunt of Macey Dawn Bradshaw.