2026 International Courthouse Dogs Conference: Full Schedule

9:30am PDT

KEYNOTE: From Survivor to Advocate: Transforming Trauma into Justice and Empowerment

Wednesday October 7, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am PDT

Kara Robinson Chamberlain is one of the most compelling survivor advocates of our time. At age 15, Kara was abducted from her front yard in Columbia, South Carolina and held captive for 18 hours before making a daring escape. Rather than letting that experience define her as a victim, she transformed it into a lifelong commitment to justice, advocacy, and the empowerment of survivors everywhere. Her story has reached millions — through television, speaking engagements, and her own advocacy work — and her voice continues to inspire those who work on the front lines of trauma every day.
We are honored to welcome Kara to Vancouver as our opening keynote speaker for the 2026 International Courthouse Dogs® Conference.
The opening keynote at the 2026 International Courthouse Dogs® Conference is made possible through the generous support of the Vancouver Police Foundation. We are grateful for their partnership in bringing this extraordinary voice to our stage.

Speakers

Kara Robinson Chamberlain

I never set out to become a public speaker—but my story made sure I wouldn’t stay silent.

In 2002, at age 15, I was kidnapped from a friend’s front yard at gunpoint. For 18 hours, I gathered every detail I could while enduring the unthinkable, and when I escaped, I gave law enforcement the information that identified my captor—a man responsible for the murders of at

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Wednesday October 7, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am PDT
Coal Harbour Ballroom

Keynote, Opening

9:15am PDT

When Comfort Hurts: Empowering Handlers to Navigate Secondary Trauma

Thursday October 8, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am PDT

Coal Harbour Ballroom

You are the one who holds the space. You sit with survivors, support witnesses, and show up for victims on their hardest days — and you do it with steadiness, compassion, and a dog by your side. But the weight of that work goes somewhere. And for too many handlers, it goes unacknowledged.

Secondary traumatic stress is real, it is common in this field, and it is not a sign of weakness. It is the cost of caring deeply — and there is a path through it.

Katie Gray, founder of the Empowered Heart Foundation and a tireless advocate for handler wellness, opens Day 2 with an honest, grounded exploration of what secondary trauma looks like for facility dog handlers, how to recognize it in yourself and your colleagues, and the evidence-based strategies that make this work sustainable over the long arc of a career.

This is not a session about pushing through. It is about building the inner resources to show up — for your dog, for the people you serve, and for yourself — year after year.

Speakers