Sunny Graff has dedicated her life to martial arts and to empowering women and girls through feminist self-defense. With over 55 years of training, she holds Senior Grandmaster rank in Taekwondo and Grandmaster in Lapunti Arnis, with 29 black belt levels across six disciplines.

Since the early 1970s, she has been active in the women’s movement, founding the Columbus Rape Crisis Center and Feminists in Self-Defense Training, conducting federally funded research on rape prevention, and organizing the first national conferences on the topic. She co-founded the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation and has contributed to multiple certification and ranking bodies.

She is a former World, Pan-American, and USA Taekwondo champion, author, and instructor who has trained hundreds of black belts and over 360 feminist self-defense instructors.

In 1985, she founded Women in Movement in Frankfurt, a nonprofit school serving diverse communities. She continues to teach internationally and hosts a biennial women’s martial arts festival.

Tasha Ina Church is an indigenous entrepreneur, the founder of ElleLiveAction, and an Empowerment Self-Defense instructor with over 25 years of experience in violence prevention, trauma-informed care, and holistic self-defense education. She is accredited as an official education services provider through ESD Global, nationally certified through the NWMAF  (National Women’s Martial Arts Federation), and has her credential through the International Association of ESD Professionals.

Tasha has taught in schools, community programs, retreats, and private settings, along with doing coaching trainings and certifications through the Transformation Academy and has reached over 14,000 in 133 countries through both in-person and online platforms. Her work integrates empowerment, self-defense, somatic practices, nervous system awareness, self-healing practices, and real-world strategies to support individuals in developing boundaries, intuition, and embodied confidence.

As a 4-time bestselling author and educator, Tasha is passionate about expanding access to Empowerment Self-Defense globally while maintaining the integrity and depth of the work. Her approach bridges traditional principles with modern delivery, supporting meaningful and sustainable impact

Danilo Malafaia is Co-Founder of the Martial Arts Coalition for Sustainable Development (MCS), a global network of 100+ organizations using martial arts and combat sports to address social challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through this role, he works with partners across multiple countries to strengthen collaboration, share knowledge, and support initiatives focused on issues such as violence prevention, youth empowerment, and community development.

He also serves as Administrative Director of the Jadir Taekwondo Association (AJTKD) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which has supported more than 8,000 children and young people through a model that combines martial arts training with education, community engagement, and environmental awareness.

With over 15 years of experience as a Taekwondo coach, Danilo brings a practical understanding of working with underserved communities, connecting local experience with global efforts to expand the role of martial arts in social impact.

Anniek Wieferink is a 29-year-old martial artist and Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) practitioner. She has been training in Shuri Ryu Karate since 2019, where she was first introduced to ESD through a presentation by the head of her style in the Netherlands. Inspired by this approach, she went on to complete her training as a self-defense instructor in Prague in 2022.

Anniek is particularly drawn to ESD’s integration of both physical and verbal skills, and to its emphasis on personal boundaries, self-awareness, and confidence. She is passionate about supporting others in developing a stronger sense of their own values, strengths, and agency.

In addition to karate, Anniek practices capoeira and enjoys continuously challenging herself by learning new skills, including motorcycle riding and chess.

Daniela Draghici is an ESD Level 3 Lead instructor certified by ESD Global Self Defense and a member of ESD Europe. Daniela transitioned from an advocacy expert and TaeBo instructor to an ESD instructor during the pandemic, when she was identified in Romania as a potential newcomer by Gentiana Susaj. She took her L1 in Prague in 2022 with Anat Errel, became an all-gender lead instructor in 2023 in the US, and took an advanced training in Albania in 2024. Since she discovered and became mesmerized by ESD she has trained more than 1,350 people as part of 72 workshops for a gamut of target audiences including Ukrainian refugee mothers and children, Central, Eastern European and Central Asian feminists, Romanian NGO leaders, LGBTQI+ and Sapphic community, Roma mothers and their teenage daughters, Greek community, police force and their teens, public and private sector representatives, university students, institutionalized children and youth – all aged 5-83.

I became actively involved with ESD Czechia after the COVID-19 pandemic, attending 2021 TTT in Albania. In 2022, I co-organised European ESD Train-the-Trainer (TTT) in Prague and subsequently establishing ESD Czechia.

Since then, I have trained more than 4,500 participants, equipping individuals and organisations with practical tools to prevent and respond to violence. My work focuses on vulnerable populations – including women, seniors, and people with disabilities – as well as professionals exposed to client violence, such as healthcare workers, social workers, civil servants, and customer-facing staff.

Beyond training delivery, I am developing xLearning technology to scale the reach of Empowerment Self-Defense, making evidence-based prevention accessible to wide range of public.

I am a member of the IA ESDPP, ESD Europe Credentialing Committee. I received my IA ESDPP credentials in October 2025 after successfully passing the certification process.