Spring Convention Speaker Biographies
Barbara Rubel, BS, MA, BCETS, DAAETS
Rubel is a nationally recognized speaker and author on secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and vicarious trauma. A Board-Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress and Diplomate with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, she has presented to over 1,000 organizations since 1991, providing practical wellness strategies for building career resilience. Her publications include But I Didn’t Say Goodbye: Helping Families After a Suicide (3rd ed.), Living Blue: Helping law enforcement officers and their families survive and thrive from recruitment to retirement (co-author), and various continuing education courses on grief and loss. Her personal experience with loss, including her father’s suicide, informs her work, which has been featured in media outlets such as Good Housekeeping, Newsweek, and the Emmy Award-winning documentary Fatal Mistakes: Families Shattered by Suicide. Learn more at www.griefworkcenter.com.
Matthew Murphy, Esq.
Murphy is a seasoned trial attorney with extensive experience in complex criminal litigation. A graduate of UCSB (1990, with honors) and the University of San Diego School of Law, he began his career as a prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in 1993. After assignments in various units, including Sexual Assault, he spent 17 years as a Senior Deputy District Attorney in the Homicide Unit, handling high-profile and complex murder cases, including cold cases that garnered national attention. Mr. Murphy also served on the OCDA Special Circumstances Committee for 13 years, reviewing death penalty cases. He has trained prosecutors for the California Department of Justice and other organizations, lectured at several law schools, and presented internationally on homicide prosecution. He has tried over 200 criminal cases to verdict, including over 100 jury trials. Learn more at Matt Murphy Law APC. – Plaintiffs Attorney Los Angeles, CA
