Svava Björnsdóttir Brooks. Born and raised in Reykjavík, Iceland, Svava excelled in sports where she played European handball for 7 years. While going to high school and junior collage in Iceland, she worked as a model appearing on the fashion runway, print ads and TV. After completing junior college, Svava came to USA and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from United States International University (USIU) in San Diego, CA. After completing her degree, she worked in the computer and technology industry in San Diego and New Hampshire. Svava’s work ethic, positive attitude, commitment to excellence and love of learning led her to grow in all her positions, usually taking over a department or stepping up to a management position shortly after being hired.
As a survivor of child sexual abuse, Svava has taken her passion for personal growth and made a deep commitment to helping people break the silence around the issue of child sexual abuse. In 2004, she moved to Iceland with her husband and three children so that she and her twin sister could create and run Blatt Afram, an organization dedicated to preventing and educating Icelanders about child sexual abuse. Their organization has successfully raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and created a variety of sexual abuse prevention programs, utilizing and working with other organizations such as Darkness to Light in South Carolina and Kids on the Block in Washington, DC, as well as creating her own prevention training/talks that target adults and teenagers.
Svava had Darkness to Light’s booklet, 7 Steps to Protecting Our Children, translated into Icelandic and sent to every home in Iceland. She has presented her training/talks to thousands of adults and teenagers in schools and private organizations. She is considered an expert on the issue of child sexual abuse in Iceland and has appeared in front of government committees and other child protection agencies. In cooperation with the Child Protection Agency of Iceland, in 2006, Blatt Afram held a conference called Beyond the Blame: focus on healing, education and prevention!
Currently living in San Diego, CA with her husband and children, Svava is a consultant and public speaker on the issue of child sexual abuse prevention. She is a trained facilitator of Stewards of Children, a comprehensive prevention training created by Darkness to Light.
Boards
2004 – present: Blátt áfram (“straight talk”), Vice chairman and co-founder of national child abuse prevention program in Iceland.
Memberships
2006 – Present: AVI – Authentic Voices International. www.authenticvoices.org
2006 - Present: San Diego, CA Commission on Children, Youth and Families, Child Abuse Prevention Committee
2006 - Present: The ACTION Network, Against Child Trafficking and Teen Prostitution In Our Neighborhoods
