Lindsay Palmer, director of prevention for the Renton-based King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, received the National Gail Burns-Smith Award recently at the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers Conference in Denver.

The Gail Burns-Smith Award recognizes people who have made significant contributions to preventing sexual violence through their work to facilitate effective partnerships between advocates working on behalf of victims and survivors and those working in the area of sex offender management and treatment, according to the association.

“I am so honored to have received this award. The collaborations and partnerships we are building in our community are innovative and essential to keeping our community safe. Working together, we will end the silence around sexual assault,” Palmer said in a press release.

This award, named in honor of Gail Burns-Smith, a visionary woman who expanded the thinking and actions of two previously disconnected groups of professionals, is intended to ensure that this important collaboration is continued and expanded by other forward-thinking leaders.

The award is jointly sponsored by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), two organizations with similar missions and goals.

In addition to her role as prevention director for KCSARC, Palmer is the founder of the annual Interfaith Symposium and project coordinator for a grant through the Department of Justice’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). Working with SMART, Palmer assists state and local jurisdictions in establishing comprehensive strategies to manage sex offenders under community supervision.

“Lindsay is a proven leader who finds creative ways to support victims and facilitate important community conversations about safely reintegrating former offenders,” said Karen Baker, NSVRC director.