Teal Tie Gala

Welcome to the Teal Tie Gala! Join us for a night of elegance and fun at The River Center. Put on your best teal attire and get ready to help support the SAFE Center of Iowa with the very first GALA to help in fulfilling their mission of delivering coordinated, comprehensive, and compassionate care to survivors of sexual assault through clinical care, client support, and education.

This fundraising event will help in getting their success started in their start up needs and eventually their first buidling to see patients! The community support is critical and has been overwhelmingly expressed, now is the time to show up and be present with your support!

We have a special guest keynote speaker, Katie Koestner and other local notable speakers as well. We will have both a silent and live auction.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to support a good cause while having a fantastic time. Get your tickets now and get ready for a fantastic night!

Katie Koestner was on the cover of TIME Magazine at age 18 as the first woman in history to publicly speak out about being a victim of date rape. She has shared her personal story with over 5 million people. She addresses sexual assault, respect, consent, healthy decision-making, and alcohol, while inspiring listeners to become active bystanders in their community. To both educate and inspire at the same time can be a challenge, but this is exactly what Katie accomplishes with her program. Katie shares her story as she weaves in key issues on sexual assault.

Listening to Katie's story is engaging; watching her audience listen is enthralling. Those slouched in their seats when she starts not only sit up straight within the first few minutes but actually are leaning in toward her by the time she is providing additional stories from people across the country. Katie shares a message of courage through her personal story that goes well beyond the hour after her program. Her audiences remember her words, her strength and her conviction. They incorporate her examples into their next steps in life. Katie’s program provides just the right blend of facts, statistics, realism, and thought-provoking challenges around relationships, respect, alcohol, and decision-making. Her engaging speaking style lays the groundwork for proactive, long-term attitude and behavior change.

Katie Koestner is a national expert on student safety and technology issues. She has appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News, CNBC Talk Live, CNN, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Later Today, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight and other national television programs. She is the subject of an HBO movie and has lectured at and assisted over 5000 schools, churches, military bases, and other organizations in North America around the issues of sexual misconduct, student safety, risk management, technology and policy development.

Ms. Koestner has presented for the top 200 officers of the Department of Defense, the men’s D1 Basketball coaches, the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Boarding Schools, The Association of Boarding Schools, the Association of Student Conduct Administrators, the incoming classes at MIT, Brown University, Dartmouth University, West Point, the US Naval Academy, Amherst College, Williams College, and Haverford College.

In 2010, the US Ambassador to India invited Katie to keynote and lead a 19-day campaign in India to raise awareness about Violence Against Women. In 2011, Ms. Koestner’s Foundation, Take Back The Night, was chosen by the TV Show, The Good Wife, as their charity of choice for their Celebrity Golf Tournament. The Girl Scouts of America selected Katie, Katie Couric and a handful of others as honored women to present for their 100th Anniversary Celebration. She has assisted the US Department of Education in developing and providing programs to women in high-risk communities. Her testimony on Capitol Hill was instrumental in the passage of federal student safety legislation. In 2007, Coe College awarded her an honorary doctorate for her extensive work on student safety and public service. In 2015, the US Department of State chose Katie to work with a delegation of Chinese diplomates at the United Nations on strategies to reduce sexual and relationship violence. In 2022, Ms. Koestner received the Edith Surgan Victim Activist Award from the National Organization for Victim Advocacy. In 2023 and 2024, Ms. Koestner expanded her international work to include outreach and partnerships in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and Antigua.

Ms. Koestner is the author of over 500 school handbook policies and model response protocols. She has served as an expert witness in many high-profile sexual misconduct cases and is frequently asked to help schools navigate through challenging situations.

Host or Publisher S.A.F.E Center of Iowa