“Listening to Marlee’s story was such a cathartic experience for me. As a SA survivor, I have never felt so seen in my life”
As an award-winning speaker, I’m honoured to share my voice and story internationally. Topics include:
Re-Imagining Justice for Sexual Harm, Leading with Empathy, Courageous Self-Advocacy, Consent Trivia and more.
About Marlee:
A documentary directed by Kelsey Darragh which tells Marlee’s story of justice & advocacy after trauma. Premiering: moment.co/forgiveness
Marlee Liss (she/her) is a somatic educator, author, and sparkle-loving lesbian feminist. She made history in the justice system when her sexual assault case became one of the 1st in North America to conclude with restorative justice through the courts. Since then, she has supported thousands in learning trauma-informed justice, empathy and violence prevention. Marlee's work has been featured in Forbes, Huff Post, Buzzfeed, the Mel Robbins Show and published in the International Journal of Restorative Justice.
As an award-winning speaker, she's delivered talks for over 100,000 individuals - see past speaking engagements below. Marlee is the founder of Survivors 4 Justice Reform, a global coalition of survivors advocating for restorative justice. Marlee’s memoir on re-imagining justice will be released in February 2027 with Penguin Random House. Follow @marleeliss on social media for more.
Click through the Images Below to See Updated Programming, Descriptions and Learning Objectives. Note: Marlee is booking for all of 2026-2027
Past Speaking Engagements:
Fordham School of Law, Vanderbilt University, National Restorative Justice Symposium, Georgetown University, University of Oregon, University of Toronto, Seneca College, National Sexual Assault Conference, Collective Trauma Summit, National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA) 50th Annual Conference, Hill Air Force Base SAPR, Trauma & Recovery Conference, Internal Family Systems Conference, Women’s Mental Health Conference at Yale, Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexuality Diversity, Consent Conference, Supporting Survivors Conference - Ellis-Gluckstein Lawyers, Journey Project Newfoundland, Safe Passage & Catawba Nation, University of Waterloo, Justice as Trauma Conference, Western University, Barnard College, University of San Fransisco, Niagara College, Humber College, Université de Montreal and more. See all press & past speaking engagements here.
What People are Saying.
Who Books Marlee:
When to Book Marlee:
Marlee's programming is booked across a wide range of campus departments and student organizations — and frequently co-hosted between offices, making it easier to share costs and maximize reach. Common organizers include Sexual Violence Response and Prevention offices, Title IX coordinators, Student Affairs, Athletics departments, Greek Life councils, Law Schools, Criminology, Psychology, Sociology and Social Work departments, Humanities faculties, Women's Centres, LGBTQIA+ Resource Centres, and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion offices.
Programming also regularly finds a home with Residence Life and Housing offices, Orientation and Transition teams, Student Leadership and Campus Activities boards, Mental Health and Counselling Services, Pre-Law and Pre-Social Work student associations, Human Rights and Political Science departments, Medical and Nursing schools, Faculty of Education programs, and Student Union equity committees.
Pooling resources across departments is encouraged and common. A single booking can satisfy programming mandates across multiple offices simultaneously — a keynote on restorative justice, for example, might be jointly hosted by Title IX, the Law School, and the Women's Centre, with each contributing a portion of the speaker fee. If you're unsure which departments on your campus might share an interest, Marlee's team is happy to help you map that out during your consultation.
Marlee is available in-person and virtually year-round, and her programming maps directly onto the awareness dates and grant cycles that drive campus event planning. The fall semester is particularly high-demand: September orientation programming is a natural fit given that the first eight weeks of the academic year, widely known as the Red Zone, represent the highest-risk period for sexual violence on campus, making Marlee's keynotes and workshops both timely and urgent. October brings Domestic Violence Awareness Month and November hosts Restorative Justice Week. The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (November 25 – December 10) offers another high-profile anchor for end-of-semester programming. In the winter and spring, February's Valentine's Week is popular booking for consent and pleasure programming, and March brings Women's History Month alongside No More Week. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the single busiest booking period of the year for this programming, and May's Mental Health Awareness Month creates natural demand for the somatic and embodied safety workshops. June's Pride Month is ideal for the LGBTQIA+-specific variants of the consent and pleasure programs. Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, observed in Canada each spring, is particularly relevant for Canadian campuses. Many of these dates come with dedicated institutional funding or external grant eligibility - if you're planning around a specific awareness campaign or budget cycle, Marlee's team is glad to help you identify the programming that fits best and build a proposal to support your funding application.
