2008 Ally In Prevention Award Recipients
Valerie Talford
Daniel Borrelli
Carmen Fernandez
Dave Canham
DeAnna Blankenship
ALEXANDRIA
Valerie Talford
“Valerie brings the spirit of unselfish kindness and true altruism to her work.”
Valerie Talford has been a committed child abuse prevention advocate for nearly 25 years, taking the violence she witnessed in her own
childhood and channeling it into a lifetime of positive impact on her community. Today, Valerie is a Team Leader with the Northern
Virginia Urban League’s Alexandria Resource Mothers Program, where she has spent eight years in a variety of roles including
Resource Mother and Case Manager. Yet her job title cannot begin to encompass the many roles Valerie plays for the young mothers
and children she supports. She works tirelessly as a mediator between her clients and their parents, the fathers of their children,
their schools and their employers. She serves as a confidant, providing a safe place for young mothers to express concerns, frustrations
and hopes that otherwise may go unvoiced. Valerie also works to connect her clients with the basic services they so desperately need,
including everything from healthcare to temporary housing to parent education. Valerie is a true advocate for abuse and neglect
prevention, because she is reaching young mothers at a critical moment—a moment that can make all the difference in what kind of parent
they will be and what kind of child they will raise. Valerie’s commitment to her clients is well-known among her peers, who note her
creativity and resourcefulness in helping young parents. And still, Valerie’s commitment to helping others extends well beyond
her “day job”. Valeria serves on the Youth Services Coordinating Council, the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy and the
Head Start Policy Council. A colleague notes that her devotion to helping others is even a constant in her personal life, where family
and friends turn to her for expertise in mediation, advocacy and public health issues. Valerie’s devotion starts at home, with her
husband of 28 years, George Talford Jr., sons Miguel and Andre, and granddaughter, Mikaylah. [Top of page...]
ARLINGTON
Daniel Borrelli
“Daniel sets a standard of police work characterized by a devotion to the welfare of children.”
Master Police Officer Daniel Borrelli has worked in Arlington’s Special Victim’s Unit (SVU) for ten years, with more than 23 total years
of experience in the Police Department. His commitment to the children in his community offers a unique glimpse at someone who is
dealing with severe cases of abuse on a daily basis. Daniel handles the most sensitive of cases—where abusers are actually being
arrested—with a distinct combination of urgent determination to end abuse and tender support for the child and other family members
being abused. According to colleagues—especially those in Child Protective Services—he is especially well respected for his willingness
to respond with urgency and understanding, knowing that timing is critical in getting confessions from alleged abusers, gathering
prosecutorial information and determining child safety. His exemplary arrest record and willingness to use the authority of the police
department to promote child safety are further enhanced by his personal commitment to continued growth—both of his own personal expertise
and advancements in the field. When Arlington’s Child Advocacy Center (CAC) opened two years ago, Daniel took full advantage of the
tools it offered for child forensic interview education. He completed a wide spectrum of training and was then also able to provide
investigation trainings to other law enforcement professionals, helping both police officers and CPS workers increase their mutual
coordination and skills. An associate notes that Daniel is both a strong advocate and a protector of the rights of children.
Not only does he remain completely devoted to the belief that our community can end abuse, he often takes on the unacknowledged,
routine tasks along the way that ultimately have enormous impact on children’s lives and bring us one step closer to that goal. [Top of page...]
FAIRFAX
Carmen Fernandez
“Ms. Fernandez is truly an unsung hero who has dedicated her life to the prevention of child abuse.”
More than 25 years ago, Carmen Fernandez co-founded Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect (HACAN), and has been changing children’s
lives in Northern Virginia’s Hispanic community ever since. Her own involvement in child abuse prevention efforts began 35 years ago,
when she graduated from Catholic University with a Master’s degree in Social Work. Carmen worked for 22 years with Arlington County as
a Child Protective Services social worker before establishing HACAN. Since then, the innovative organization has strengthened families
and prevented child abuse through education, intervention and community advocacy. With a unique passion and dedication to the children
and families she serves, Carmen was able to offer two primary programs through HACAN: Fortaleciendo la Familia and Morning Star. Through
Fortaleciendo la Familia, a parenting class based on curriculum created by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Carmen has
coordinated more than 65 parenting classes in Spanish, and more than 800 immigrant parents have graduated from the classes. She has
inspired immigrant parents—often dealing with alienation, discrimination and poverty—to strengthen their self esteem and create stronger
families. Through Morning Star, a program for young Hispanic girls in at-risk communities, Carmen has reached children on a weekly basis
through regular social, educational and cultural activities that build self esteem, teach valuable life skills and foster personal growth.
Carmen has touched the lives of more than 1,000 children through this program, not only supporting their development but also connecting
them with mentors and connecting their families with the community resources and support they so desperately need. When Carmen retired
from the County in 1995, she became HACAN’s Executive Director and serves in this role as a volunteer. [Top of page...]
LOUDOUN
Dave Canham
“Dave is a true advocate for children, someone who makes a real difference.”
More than forty years ago, Dave Canham was working undercover as a member of the Washington, D.C. Police Department. In 1987,
having honed his investigative skills, analytical abilities and federal agency contacts, he joined the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly thereafter, he began working cases of sex abuse and crimes against children, a particularly difficult caseload demanding
incredible patience, perseverance and personal stress management. A respected investigator, Dave became an expert in Internet child
pornography issues and is a pioneer in the successful implementation of children predator-related Internet “sting” operations. He has
contributed to everything from legislative documents for the Virginia General Assembly to Washington Post articles on sex offender state
registry laws. Dave’s contributions to fighting crimes against juveniles go far above and beyond his employment with the Sheriff’s Office.
He volunteers his personal time to present safety talks to children and parents, and works to strengthen relationships with schools
and other community agencies, all in an effort to keep the county’s children safe and stop child sex offenders. Today he is a part of
the team working to bring a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) to Loudoun County, and also sits on the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes
Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Dave’s four decade-long commitment to aggressively protecting children from the most dangerous
predators has also included more than three decades—32 years—of marriage to his wife, Alice, with whom he has two children and one
grandchild. In a field that is often complex and emotionally demanding, a colleague notes that Dave is especially adept at handling
the stress and responding to it with professionalism, empathy and the diligence it requires to be an extremely productive investigator.
His powerful devotion to both children and each individual case makes him not only an investigator, but also an educator, an advocate
and a champion of children’s rights. [Top of page...]
PRINCE WILLIAM
DeAnna Blankenship
“Dee has been proactive in reaching out to community members to keep children safe.”
Nearly ten years ago, DeAnna Blankenship was hired as a volunteer coordinator with Sexual Assault Victims Advocacy Service (SAVAS).
Her commitment to the cause quickly grew, and she trained for and became certified as a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) instructor
and a radKIDS (Resist Aggression Defensively) instructor. With these certifications, DeAnna began empowering both children and
adults in her community with safety education and violence prevention tools. Her work with children, ranging in age from 3 to 17,
includes teaching them how to resist many forms of aggression, particularly abduction, with realistic, age-appropriate techniques.
DeAnna has graduated more than 400 children from the program, and more than 50 of these students have taken at least one refresher
course to hone their skills even further. As an advocate, DeAnna has assisted countless child victims of sexual assault and their
families, including providing crisis intervention and support services. She has also coordinated with medical and judicial systems,
and provided accompaniment for child victims and their families. DeAnna also provides outreach and education to the community and
allied professionals on sexual assault and sexual abuse prevention, as well as SAVAS services. Of special note is DeAnna’s unique
work to promote communication between teen girls and their mothers, offering special defense courses to be taken together. She has
reached more than 100 teenage girls this way, reaching many of them just before they would leave for college. Her commitment to the
program—and empowering children and parents alike—goes beyond her “classroom”. DeAnna was instrumental in forging a partnership with
the Prince William County Sheriff’s Office, which helped to expand and enhance the radKIDS program through outreach, and by providing
free IDENT-A-KID identification I.D. cards for all children taking radKIDS classes. A colleague notes that DeAnna, who has a husband,
Darrell, works tirelessly—often on her own time—to promote the program in the community, bringing the information and training for free
to a wide variety of local organizations, reaching children and families across Greater Prince William. [Top of page...]