2026 Tennessee FJC Conference Speakers
Joshue B. Dougan
Joshua B. Dougan serves as the domestic violence prosecutor for Tennessee’s 26th Judicial District. Under the leadership of General Jody S. Pickens, he prosecutes domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault offenses in Madison, Henderson, and Chester Counties. Josh vertically prosecutes cases from general sessions and municipal courts through circuit court resolution. He has tried numerous jury trials ranging from misdemeanors to first-degree murder. When he’s not on the job, Josh stays busy as an active musician in the West Tennessee.
Dr. Megan Haselschwerdt
Dr. Megan Haselschwerdt is an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in the Department of Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science. She received her PhD in Human and Community Development from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2013. Dr. Haselschwerdt began her career researching domestic violence and the impact of domestic violence on children while volunteering as a crisis line worker and on-scene advocate at The Middle Way House in Bloomington, Indiana, while completing her bachelor’s degree. Her program of research centers on the impact of childhood exposure to domestic violence across the lifespan with a strong emphasis on young adulthood, an understudied developmental period ripe for intervention and prevention work. She also examines how adults victimized by domestic violence engage with formal and legal systems. Her research has been founded by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the University of Tennessee, and more recently, Health and Human Services Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services. This project is a demonstration grant led by the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence and in collaboration with The Mary Parish Center in Nashville and her collaborator, Dr. Kristen Ravi in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Haselschwerdt enjoys ongoing collaborations with the Knoxville Family Justice Center and organizations that are part of the Coordinated Community Response Team.
Dr. Amaia Iratzoqui
Dr. Amaia Iratzoqui is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Research Director of the Public Safety Institute at the University of Memphis. She specializes in research around the gendered causes and consequences of victimization, including domestic and intimate partner violence. Her recent work explores the implications of gender and victimization within Memphis and Shelby County, through partnerships with social service, law enforcement, and other domestic violence-serving organizations. As Research Director, Dr. Iratzoqui connect faculty and practitioners in the Memphis and Shelby County community on funding and research opportunities to drive academic-practitioner partnerships, centered around program development, evaluation, or best practices research on issues related to public safety. The Public Safety Institute is available to partner with criminal justice and social service entities on grant- and contract-funded work through serving as a 1) solicitation applicant, with one or more community partners serving as support; 2) research or academic partner on an application, with the community partner as the applicant and primarily benefitting from the grant funding; or 3) the grant writer for the project without official involvement.
Phillis Lewis
Phillis Lewis, CEO of Love Doesn’t Hurt a non-profit which provides crisis intervention to victims of crime in the LGBTQ+ Community comes with over 15 years of experience not only working with the LGBTQ+ Community but has many years of experience in case management, grant monitoring, trauma-informed care, housing monitoring, program development, consultation, and facilitation work. She is a member of the Memphis Shelby Domestic & Sexual Violence Council, Vice-Chair for the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual
Becky Stephens
Becky is a Child Welfare/ Domestic Violence Liaison working for the HOPE Center Inc. with over 9 years of experience in providing support and advocacy for individuals affected by domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Becky is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of survivors through crisis intervention, resource connection, and education. With extensive training in trauma-informed care and Domestic Violence, Becky works with law enforcement, healthcare providers, and social service agencies to create comprehensive safety plans and provide holistic support. Empowering survivors to rebuild their lives, find safety and stability for their families.
Taryne Tillinghast
Taryne Tillinghast graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Music Industry from the University of New Haven in New Haven, Connecticut. While there she was a brother of Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity where she served as Service Vice President and was responsible for the planning and execution of hundreds of hours of community service and an event that raised over $10,000 for childhood cancer research. This work created a passion for public interest and finding ways to incorporate service into her daily life.
Taryne moved to Nashville in 2019 and attended Belmont University College of Law. While there, she interned with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and developed an interest in family law. After being admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 2021, she became a Family Law Staff Attorney at Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee in Nashville. In her free time, you can find Taryne taking walks with her hound dog, Todd; traveling with her husband; or curling up with a good book.