Guest Host Biographies

OVC Web Forum Guest Host sessions offer an impressive roster of experts discussing best practices for a wide variety of victim issues. You can read about the guest hosts here. For more information, questions, or comments about the sessions, send an e-mail to OVCproviderforum@ncjrs.gov.

To view a biography, click on the guest host's name below. To learn more about previous years’ guest hosts, visit the Guest Host Biographies Archive.

Current Guest Hosts

Robin Parker
06/05/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Incorporating LGBTQ Victims Needs into Mainstream Victim Services

Robin Parker is the Executive Director of the Beyond Diversity Resource Center in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and a diversity consultant committed to building a more inclusive society through diversity education initiatives for individuals and communities. Mr. Parker is the coauthor of The Anti-Racist Cookbook and The Great White Elephant, which address race relations in the United States, as well as the article We Can’t Talk About This: The Trouble With Discussing Sexual Orientation, 2 Honest Conversation 1. He also lectures extensively about the need for individual and community interventions in solving the problems of racism, bigotry, and prejudice. Mr. Parker previously served as a deputy attorney general for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and as chief of the Office of Bias Crime and Community Relations. He has received numerous awards including the World of Difference Award from the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, the Rachel Davis Dubois Human Relations Award from the International Institute, and the South Jersey Champions of Diversity Award. Mr. Parker received his juris doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

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Sharon Stapel
06/05/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Incorporating LGBTQ Victims Needs into Mainstream Victim Services

Sharon Stapel is the Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), an organization dedicated to ending hate, sexual, and intimate partner violence affecting people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ), and HIV-affected communities. She also is a consultant on LGBTQ issues for the Office for Victims of Crime. AVP coordinates the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), which comprises more than 40 LGBTQ-specific anti-violence programs. NCAVP also coordinates the National LGBTQ Training and Technical Assistance Center, which Ms. Stapel helped create in coordination with the Office on Violence Against Women.

Ms. Stapel is a member of the LGBT Advisory Committee to the NYPD and the NYC Family Court Advisory Council to the Administrative Judge Committee for LGBT Matters. She also is a member of various national stakeholder groups that address the inclusion of LGBTQ individuals in services provided for crime victims and survivors at local, state, and federal levels. Prior to joining AVP, Ms. Stapel directed legal programs specializing in domestic violence at South Brooklyn Legal Services and the Legal Aid Society, where she began her legal career as a staff attorney and created Legal Aid’s first dedicated domestic violence project. Ms. Stapel is the former chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Domestic Violence Committee and the New York City LGBTQ Domestic Violence Task Force. In 2011, Ms. Stapel was named a White House Champion of Change for her work regarding LGBTQ intimate partner violence.

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Upcoming Guest Hosts

Dr. Dana DeHart
2013
Topic: Model Standards for Serving Victims and Survivors of Crime

Dana DeHart, Ph.D., is on the research faculty of the University of South Carolina’s College of Social Work, where she specializes in issues related to violence and victimization. Dr. DeHart has been the principal investigator on more than $4 million in grants and contracts addressing victimization and survivor services, the impact of incarceration on families, gendered pathways to adult and juvenile offending, and predatory sexual behavior. She has experience in needs assessment, program evaluation, scale design, and ethical research design, as well as a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Dr. DeHart also has served as Project Director for the National Victim Assistance Standards Consortium and for the New Standards Project. In this role, she convened experts from diverse victim service practice, policy, and research settings throughout the Nation; held town hall meetings in several states; reviewed existing standards and practices; discussed emerging issues in the field; and drafted model standards. Most recently, Dr. DeHart helped the New Standards Project revise the standards for contemporary relevance—particularly technology issues—and develop promotional media to be released by the Office for Victims of Crime.

Dr. DeHart routinely serves as a reviewer for funded research and scholarly journals, and has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Violence Against Women, Violence & Victims, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Family Violence, Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, and Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect. She also has conducted hundreds of interviews with adult and juvenile offenders, crime victims, justice professionals, and service providers. Dr. DeHart received her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1995.

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Angela McCown
2013
Topic: Model Standards for Serving Victims and Survivors of Crime

Angie McCown is Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Victim Services Division, which provides corrections-based victim services including hotline support, victim notification, statewide resource directory support, victim impact statement updates, training, victim-offender dialogue, and victim family execution accompaniment. A licensed marriage and family therapist, Ms. McCown has more than 20 years of experience in the victim services field. As the founding director of Victim Services at the Texas Department of Public Safety, Ms. McCown developed a statewide program for victims served by state police and Texas Rangers. She also served as the cochair of the Crisis Consortium, which provides crisis response to state-declared disasters.

Ms. McCown is a consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime and for Concerns of Police Survivors. She is on the National Victim Assistance Standards Consortium and is helping to update the Standards for Victim Assistance Programs and Providers. She also coauthored the training manuals Compassion Fatigue and Response to School Violence. Previously, as victim services supervisor for the Austin Police Department, Ms. McCown conducted more than 400 videotaped forensic interviews of child abuse victims and more than 100 death notifications. Ms. McCown also previously served on the faculty of the National Victim Assistance Academy and as the lead faculty member of the Texas Victim Assistance Academy.

Ms. McCown has received numerous awards and honors, including the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Ellen Halbert Award for Excellence in Victim Services, the Austin Police Department Victim Services’ Exemplary Service to Texas Crime Victims Award, and the Texas Ranger Chief’s Award.

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Past Guest Hosts

Jamie Barnett
05/09/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Addressing the Needs of Victims on Cruise Ships

Jamie Barnett is the President of International Cruise Victims, an organization formed by victims of cruise ship crime to provide support to other victims and to advocate for legislative reform to protect passengers and increase the rights of victims. In October 2005, Ms. Barnett’s daughter Ashley died while on a cruise from California to Mexico. Since her daughter’s death, Ms. Barnett has been a staunch advocate for change in the cruise industry and has worked diligently to increase public awareness. She has appeared on 48 Hours Mystery, Hannity and Colmes, The CBS Early Show, and many other news shows. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Elsie Boudreau, LMSW
03/21/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Survivors of Clergy Abuse

Elsie Boudreau is a Licensed Master Social Worker and a Yup’ik Eskimo from the village of St. Mary’s, Alaska. She began working for the Alaska Native Justice Center in 2010 to establish and operate the Alaska Native Unit within Alaska CARES, a Child Advocacy Center. Ms. Boudreau provides advocacy services and therapy for Alaska Native and American Indian families whose children have been severely physically or sexually abused, and conducts forensic interviews of children.

As a prior Children’s Justice Act Project Coordinator for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, Ms. Boudreau helped develop an educational video highlighting child sexual abuse in Alaska, in which she incorporated the wisdom of the tribal elders and identified methods of healing that can be applied to such traumatic experiences. She also has worked as a victim advocate for various law firms, providing support to approximately 300 victims of clergy child sexual abuse in Alaska, South Dakota, Oregon, and Montana.

Ms. Boudreau has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Carroll College in Helena, Montana, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Alaska–Anchorage.

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Vivian Brown, Ph.D.
08/29/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Implementing Trauma-Informed Care in Victim Services Settings

Vivian Brown, Ph.D., is the founder and former CEO of Prototypes, a California-based nonprofit agency that serves women, children, and communities affected by substance abuse, mental illness, and domestic violence. She has 40 years of experience in developing innovative, trauma-informed and trauma-specific mental health, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS services, and in developing services when these disorders co-occur. Dr. Brown currently provides consultation to a number of organizations throughout the country, including state and local agencies, on integrating mental health, substance abuse, health, and trauma services. She recently developed a number of trauma-informed practice materials for Santa Clara County and for the Institute for Collaborative Response at San Jose State University.

Dr. Brown has been a member of numerous federal, state, and local advisory committees, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Advisory Council and Women’s Advisory Committee. She also has conducted outcome studies, including the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders, and Violence Study, and has authored numerous publications. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Jean Bruggeman
03/06/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Meeting the Legal Needs of Adult and Minor Victims of Human Trafficking

Jean Bruggeman, Esq., is a Human Trafficking Fellow with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, where she provides training and technical assistance to service providers and government agencies nationwide, with a focus on legal services for survivors of human trafficking. Ms. Bruggeman has more than 12 years of nonprofit victim services experience, and expertise in nonprofit management, language access, immigration, human trafficking, and domestic violence. She has developed comprehensive legal and social services programs for survivors, provided direct legal representation to survivors, authored training resources, developed an interpreter service to ensure access to legal services in the District of Columbia, and served as the interim executive director of a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and Bryn Mawr College. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Cherise Fanno Burdeen
02/06/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Pretrial Process Considerations for Crime Victims

Cherise Fanno Burdeen is the Chief Operating Officer for the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring informed pretrial decisionmaking for safe communities. Since joining PJI in 2006, Ms. Burdeen has developed innovative strategies to raise awareness of pretrial justice issues, worked with a broad constituency of criminal justice stakeholder groups, provided technical assistance and training on policy reforms, and engaged in communications and media efforts. Ms. Burdeen is also the Chief Operating Officer for the Institute for Justice Planning, a subsidiary of PJI that provides planning support to jurisdictions engaged in criminal justice system reform.

Ms. Burdeen has extensive experience with strategic planning, initiative management, and communications efforts across the criminal justice system. She previously worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and in the research office of the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Burdeen earned her master’s degree in criminal justice from Indiana University. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Mitru Ciarlante
02/28/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Reaching Young Men of Color Exposed to Violence

02/18/2009 online discussion host
Topic: Safety Planning for Teen Victims of Dating Violence

02/27/2008 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Teen Victims of Dating Violence

Mitru Ciarlante is the Director of Child & Club Safety for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), where she works to strengthen the Clubs’ capacity to create safe places for children to learn and grow. Ms. Ciarlante is a lifelong children’s advocate with more than 25 years of leadership experience in creating youth outreach and advocacy programs and policies that are developmentally and culturally appropriate for youth from diverse cultures and backgrounds. She has spoken, trained, and written extensively on a multitude of youth victimization topics, including engaging marginalized youth, providing population-specific services, reaching and serving tribal youth victims, and building resilience in underserved communities exposed to violence.

Previously, as Director of the Youth Initiative at the National Center for Victims of Crime, Ms. Ciarlante collaborated with more than 100 community sites on multiple projects supported by the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. These included OVC Action Partnerships such as the Underserved Teen Victim Initiative, in partnership with the National Crime Prevention Council; the Effective Providers for Child Victims of Violence initiative, in partnership with the American Psychological Association; a BGCA partnership to help youth development professionals recognize and respond to childhood victimization; and work with the National Council on Black Civic Participation on a project dealing with Black children’s exposure to violence and victimization. View this Guest Host’s photograph.

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Kim Clifton
05/01/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Replicating Victim Services Programs with Limited Funding

Kim Clifton is the Executive Director of HALOS (Helping And Lending Outreach Support) in North Charleston, South Carolina, which provides resources for and works to meet the critical needs of abused and neglected children and their caregivers through partnerships with faith-based and other community organizations. Under Ms. Clifton’s leadership, HALOS received the 2011 Erin Hardwick Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management for outstanding achievement in exemplary organizational management. Ms. Clifton has 15 years of nonprofit experience supporting children and families, including working as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, serving as the director of development for an inner-city community center, and working as a fundraising specialist in Guatemala. Ms. Clifton holds a master’s degree in social work from Boston University. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Robin Clover
04/04/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Serving Sexual Assault Victims in Rural Communities

Robin Clover has been the Executive Director of the Sublette County Sexual Assault and Family Violence (SAFV) Task Force—an advocacy program in Wyoming working to eliminate domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking—since 2001. Her responsibilities include working directly with victims of violence, promoting violence prevention in schools and communities, and handling the administrative duties associated with managing and funding a nonprofit organization. Ms. Clover also is a member of the Board of Directors for the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She was a founding member of the Wyoming Prevent Team, a collaboration of organizations throughout the state whose main purpose was to promote primary sexual violence prevention.

Ms. Clover developed the SAFV “White Bird” school prevention program in partnership with the Department of Family Services, Sublette County School District #1, and Pine Creek Family Counseling. In 2004, this program was featured on a Wyoming PBS special highlighting the Department of Family Services’ work with domestic violence victims. In 2007, under Ms. Clover’s direction, the SAFV Task Force launched a countywide violence prevention campaign called “I’m Doing My Part.” That year Ms. Clover also received the National Award for Outstanding Advocacy and Community Work in Ending Sexual Violence from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Howard Davidson
04/10/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Child Welfare Agencies Responding to Child Identity Theft

Howard Davidson has been involved with the legal aspects of child protection for 38 years. He has directed the American Bar Association (ABA) Center on Children and the Law since its establishment in 1978, and is a founding board member of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He also is on the board of ECPAT–USA (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking–USA) and is a member of the Maryland Children’s Justice Task Force. Previously, Mr. Davidson served on a National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine Panel on Child Maltreatment and as chair of the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect. He also was appointed by the Mayor of Philadelphia to a Department of Human Services Community Oversight Board to help guide improvements in that city’s child protection system.

Mr. Davidson has authored many articles on child maltreatment as well as commentaries to chapters of the American Psychiatric Association’s Family Violence: A Clinical and Legal Guide. Some of his most recent writings include "Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System: Reversing Trends," published in ABA Child Law Practice, the journal of the ABA Center on Children and the Law; A Common Bond: Maltreated Children and Animals in the Home—Guidelines for Practice and Policy, with Mary Lou Randour, published by the American Humane Association; and "International Legal Principles for Judges and Child Welfare Agencies to Apply with Unaccompanied and Undocumented Immigrant Children," published in The Judges’ Page newsletter. In 2009, the center published the book Children, Law, and Disasters: What We Have Learned from Katrina and the Hurricanes of 2005, for which Mr. Davidson was a coeditor. In 2008, Mr. Davidson’s article "Federal Law and State Intervention When Parents Fail: Has National Guidance of Our Child Welfare System Been Successful?" was published in the 50th anniversary issue of the Family Law Quarterly. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Marcie Davis
05/23/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Expanding Services for Crime Victims with Disabilities

Marcie Davis is the Chief Executive Officer of Davis Innovations, a research and organizational development consulting firm. She is a nationally recognized victim assistance and disability advocate and trainer who leads a diverse staff in providing program development, management, training, technical writing, grant writing, research, and evaluation services to local, state, federal, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations. The recipient of numerous awards from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors, Ms. Davis speaks, volunteers, trains, and writes to raise awareness and effect change for crime victims with disabilities. She does all of this with her assistance dog, Whistle, by her side. Ms. Davis has a bachelor of science degree in paralegal studies and a master of library science degree, both from the University of Mississippi. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Steve Derene
03/07/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Making the Most of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

Since 2001, Steve Derene has served as Executive Director of the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA), representing state agencies that administer state Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) victim assistance grants. Prior to joining NAVAA, he worked at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, first as director of research and information and later in the department’s Office of Crime Victim Services. In these positions, Mr. Derene directed the Wisconsin Victim/Witness Assistance Program and Wisconsin’s VOCA assistance administrators. He also advocated for many state and federal criminal justice and crime victim legislative initiatives, including Wisconsin’s Bill of Rights for Victims and Witnesses of Crime and amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution. Mr. Derene has served as an expert-consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. He is a recipient of the 2005 National Crime Victim Service Award, the 2006 Congressional Crime Victims’ Rights Caucus’s Lois Haight Award, and the 2009 Victim Advocacy Award from the National Crime Victim Law Institute. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Jeffrey Dion
02/06/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Pretrial Process Considerations for Crime Victims

Jeffrey Dion, Esq., is the Deputy Executive Director for the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), a nonprofit resource and advocacy organization for victims of all types of crime. In this role, Mr. Dion assists with operational management, partnerships, policy and communication strategies, and development of all financial resources. Previously, as NCVC’s Acting Executive Director, Mr. Dion oversaw five program areas—victim services, public policy, public education, training and technical assistance, and civil justice—and served as the point of contact for NCVC’s partner agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, including the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office on Violence Against Women. Mr. Dion also serves as Director for the National Crime Victim Bar Association; President of the Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Service of Prince William, Inc.; and on the Advisory Council of the National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children. Additionally, he previously served on the Virginia Criminal Justice Services Board.

Mr. Dion has received numerous awards, including the Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award from DOJ, the Northern Virginia Victim Assistance Coalition’s Champion Award, and the Victim Assistance Award and the Diamond Award from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Mr. Dion received a bachelor’s degree in international relations from George Mason University and a juris doctorate from George Mason University School of Law. He also earned an executive certificate in nonprofit management from Georgetown University. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Tiffany Eskelson-Maestas
04/04/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Serving Sexual Assault Victims in Rural Communities

Tiffany Eskelson-Maestas is the Resource Development Specialist for the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, where she has worked for the past 10 years. She provides education, training, and technical assistance to Wyoming’s domestic violence and sexual assault programs and their communities. Her experience includes advocacy, primary sexual violence prevention, sexual assault response, community mobilization, statewide council and team development, and rural services. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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John Evans
05/15/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Drunk Driving and Child Endangerment

John Evans is the National Training Manager for Victim Services at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), where he administers direct support to victims and survivors of vehicle crimes. He also provides peer support for the advocates who serve throughout MADD’s national victim services network and assists with securing grant funding to promote and sustain MADD Victim Services initiatives. He oversees all national, state, and local MADD Victim Assistance Training Institutes, death notification seminars, victim impact panel trainings, and Sharing Your Story victim/survivor retreats.

Mr. Evans first became involved with MADD in 1992 as a recipient of its victim services after he was severely injured in a drunk driving crash. MADD advocates provided him with support and encouragement during his recovery. Prior to joining MADD in 1993, Mr. Evans volunteered with the MADD Central Florida Chapter and became a certified victim advocate. Taking the position of MADD Florida Victim Services Director in 1995, he secured a VOCA grant which enabled MADD to hire regional staff victim advocates to support the volunteer advocates and offer MADD victim services in every county in Florida.

Mr. Evans has expertise in the areas of bereavement and injury survivorship following crime victimization. He has instructed law enforcement officers, clergy, chaplains, criminal justice personnel, funeral directors, and mental health and victim services professionals through national, state, and chapter MADD training programs; Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center seminars; and numerous state and county justice programs throughout the country. He also has presented to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the National Organization for Victim Assistance, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tribal Law and Policy Institutes, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. View this Guest Host's photograph.

John Firman
06/20/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Enhancing Law Enforcement Responses to Crime Victims

John Firman is the Director of the Research Division of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in Alexandria, Virginia, where his duties include developing and implementing a national and international research and evaluation program for law enforcement policy. Mr. Firman helped create and currently manages the National Law Enforcement Policy Summit Series for IACP, which addresses current and emerging issues in the policing profession. Prior to joining IACP, Mr. Firman was appointed by the Governor of Illinois to serve as associate director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority. During his 37-year career in criminal justice, he has directed planning efforts for law enforcement, courts, corrections, and other components of the criminal justice system and research studies at the federal, state, and local levels.

Mr. Firman received the G. Paul Sylvestre Award for outstanding work in researching criminal justice policy from the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Phillip Hoke Excellence in Analysis Award for research publications from the Justice Research and Statistics Association. In 2002, he received awards for Leadership and Contribution to the Law Enforcement Intelligence Community from the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts and the Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit. Mr. Firman earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from La Salle University and a master’s degree in sociology from Temple University. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Amy Fleischauer, LMSW
08/29/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Implementing Trauma-Informed Care in Victim Services Settings

Amy Fleischauer, LMSW, is Director of Victim Services at the International Institute of Buffalo, which provides culturally competent and linguistically appropriate services to foreign-born victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. Grounded in the principals of trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and the battered women’s movement, the program serves approximately 150 survivors from 45 different countries of origin each year. Ms. Fleischauer also serves as Director of Victim Services for the Northern Tier Anti-Trafficking Consortium, which provides training and technical assistance for organizations that administer direct care to survivors of human trafficking across 15 states.

Ms. Fleischauer is on the Steering Committee of Freedom Network USA and is cochair of the NYS Social Services Anti-Trafficking Advisory Committee to the Governor. She is a consistent presenter and panelist at national conferences on topics related to domestic violence and human trafficking. These topics include establishing and maintaining positive relationships with law enforcement, creative housing solutions, quality case management, broadening the dialogue on mental health supports, and managing large-survivor cases. Ms. Fleischauer was awarded the 2010 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award and the 2009 New York State Governor’s Certificate of Recognition for her anti-trafficking efforts. She is a graduate of Le Moyne College and received a master of social work degree from Columbia University with a concentration in antiviolence work. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Christopher Grant
12/05/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Working with Victims of Gang Violence

Christopher Grant is a nationally recognized gang specialist, with specific emphasis on Native American street gang and prison gang trends. Mr. Grant is the former Chief of Detectives for the Rapid City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and former commander of the Rapid City Area Gang Task Force, both located in South Dakota. Over the past 20 years, he has provided hundreds of gang awareness training seminars on topics such as recognizing the manifestations of gang behavior and effective measures to mitigate and respond to gang-based victimization. Mr. Grant also has worked with individuals who have been affected by gang violence, and has assisted communities in strategizing ways to reduce the impact of gang victimization. A graduate of the FBI National Academy, Mr. Grant maintains his law enforcement certification as a Reserve Special Agent for the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Hale Guyer
09/26/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Victims of Cyberbullying

Hale Guyer is a licensed private investigator and retired special investigator with more than 32 years of law enforcement experience. He has been an adjunct professor at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at the College of DuPage in Illinois for more than 10 years, developing and instructing classes on high-technology crimes. He also teaches classes at the college’s Homeland Security Education Center. Mr. Guyer is certified through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board on topics including cyberterrorism, cyberstalking, identity theft, and computer fraud. He also is a training and technical consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime. Mr. Guyer has made multiple training and conference appearances throughout the United States and abroad, and has appeared on CourtTV, TechTV, and WGN America. He also has been featured in Law and Order magazine.

Mr. Guyer is a member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Police Association, the High Technology Crime Investigation Association, Infragard, the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, the National Association of Investigative Specialists, and the Fraternal Order of Police. He has received the Illinois Governor’s Award for Excellence for personal achievement in law enforcement training; the Award for Excellence from the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy, College of DuPage; and the John Edgar Hoover Memorial Gold Medal for Distinguished Public Service Award. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Leslie A. Hagen
11/19/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Tribal Law and Order Act: Crime Victims in Indian Country

Leslie A. Hagen has worked on criminal justice issues related to child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault for more than 20 years, earning a national reputation as a legal expert and trainer. As the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) first National Indian Country Coordinator, Ms. Hagen is responsible for planning, developing, and coordinating training on a broad range of issues related to the administration of justice in Indian Country. Previously, Ms. Hagen served as the Native American Issues Coordinator for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA). In that capacity, she served as EOUSA’s principal legal advisor on all matters pertaining to Native American issues and as a liaison and technical assistance provider to DOJ, its components, and the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on Native American Issues. Ms. Hagen also previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. There, she worked on issues of violent crime in Indian Country, handling federal prosecutions and training on issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.

Prior to joining DOJ, Ms. Hagen served as a staff attorney with the Civil Legal Justice Project for the Michigan Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; a specialist in Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice; and the Violence Against Women Training Attorney for the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. Throughout her career, Ms. Hagen has received many honors, including 2010 Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service in Indian Country and a Director’s Award from the Department of Justice in 2004. Ms. Hagen is a graduate of Alma College and Valparaiso University Law School.

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Catherine Heath
04/10/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Child Welfare Agencies Responding to Child Identity Theft

Catherine Heath is a Child and Family Program Specialist at the Children’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which partners with federal, state, tribal, and local agencies to improve the overall health and well-being of children and families. In addition to serving as the bureau’s youth specialist, Ms. Heath is responsible for the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, which provides age-appropriate independent living services to youth and young adults who are in out-of-home placements. Prior to joining the Federal Government, Ms. Heath worked as a statewide independent living coordinator for the State of Florida.

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Jayne Hitchcock
09/26/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Victims of Cyberbullying

Jayne A. Hitchcock is an author and internationally recognized expert on cyberbullying and cybercrime. As President of two all-volunteer organizations—WHOA (Working to Halt Online Abuse) and WHOA–KTD (WHOA–Kids/Teens Division)—Ms. Hitchcock strives to educate adults and children in online safety. She also volunteers with the National Center for Victims of Crime and numerous law enforcement agencies worldwide to help them solve Internet-related crimes. Additionally, Ms. Hitchcock has worked with U.S. legislators to draft and pass many of the Nation’s Internet laws.

Ms. Hitchcock conducts law enforcement training seminars for local, state, federal, and military law enforcement agencies. She has delivered lectures about cybercrime and cyberbullying at primary schools, universities, colleges, libraries, conferences, and corporate functions throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, and Asia. Ms. Hitchcock is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Cyber Crimes and Criminal Justice and is a freelance contributor to several magazines. She has authored numerous publications, including Net Crimes & Misdemeanors (2d edition) and True Crime Online: Most Shocking Stories From the Dark Side of the Web (to be released in November 2012).

Ms. Hitchcock has been featured on Nancy Grace’s Swift Justice, America’s Most Wanted, 48 Hours, Primetime, Good Morning America, and numerous local, national, and international newscasts, as well as in Cosmopolitan and TIME magazines. She also was selected by Lifetime TV as its "Champion For Change." Ms. Hitchcock is a member of the Operations Security Professionals Society, Sisters In Crime, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, The American Legion, and the Third Marine Division Association. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Laura Jones
04/11/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Analyzing the Impact of Sexual Assault Protection Orders

Laura Jones, J.D., is the CourtWatch Manager at the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) in Washington, where she networks with community and professional stakeholders in the justice system and analyzes the data collected by CourtWatch volunteers. CourtWatch is a court-monitoring program established to hold the justice system accountable for its handling of sexual assault and child abuse cases and to create a more informed public. In 2011, Ms. Jones wrote an amicus brief on KCSARC’s behalf regarding an evidentiary issue before the Washington State Supreme Court. She also published a report entitled Analyzing the Impact and Application of the Sexual Assault Protection Order in King County.

Ms. Jones received her bachelor of arts degree in political science and Spanish from the University of Washington and her juris doctor from the Seattle University School of Law.

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Karen Kalergis
01/27/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Building Resiliency within Victim Service Organizations

03/23/2011 online discussion host
Topic: Coordinating Public Awareness Events

Karen Kalergis is the Associate Director of Education and Communications at the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault at the University of Texas–Austin, where her primary focus is an OVC-funded training and technical assistance grant to build resiliency in child abuse workers. Ms. Kalergis is also a training and peer review consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center. Her victim services work has included managing a statewide information and referral program and developing curricula on crime victims’ rights and compensation.

Ms. Kalergis’ interest in how victim service work affects service providers dates back to 1991, when she helped Texas develop a state crisis response team to address not only the needs of victims, but the needs of first responders as well. Previously a public affairs producer for WSUI–KSUI (the NPR affiliate in Iowa City, Iowa) and a weekend news reporter for a country music station, Ms. Kalergis found her calling in outreach and training communications. Over the past 30 years, she has handled media relations for a broad range of corporate, government, and nonprofit events. Ms. Kalergis has a master’s degree in broadcast journalism and communications. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Rev. Dr. Bernard "Skip" Keels
03/21/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Survivors of Clergy Abuse

Reverend Dr. Bernard “Skip” Keels is the Director of the University Chapel at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a member of the Order of Elders in the Peninsula-Delaware Conference of the United Methodist Church. Previously, Reverend Keels served as District Superintendent of the Baltimore West District of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, and as Executive Director of the Methodist Action Program in Wilmington, Delaware. He also has served as the pastor of several churches.

Reverend Keels has conducted a number of workshops and delivered several major addresses, including a keynote address on "Community and Economic Development—A Partnership Between the Business and Church Community" at the Harvard Business School. He also was the conference preacher at the 1997 Annual Conference of the Methodist Church of the Bahamas in Nassau, Bahamas.

Reverend Keels received a bachelor of arts degree with honors from Haverford College, a master of divinity degree from Yale University, and a doctor of ministry degree from the McKendree School of Religion. He has served on the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, and is a recipient of the Rockefeller Theological Fellowship. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Cynthia Kennedy
01/19/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Intersections Between Human Trafficking and Other Vulnerable Populations

Cynthia Kennedy, LICSW, is the Outreach Coordinator at Project REACH, a program of the Trauma Center at the Justice Research Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, that offers trauma-focused mental health services to victims of human trafficking and consultation and training to service providers working with trafficking victims throughout the United States. Before taking this position in 2008, Ms. Kennedy worked with survivors of all forms of trauma, including domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, torture and refugee trauma. Ms. Kennedy received her master’s degrees in social work and pastoral ministry from Boston College. She completed a postgraduate fellowship in trauma and posttraumatic stress at the Victims of Violence Program at Cambridge Hospital. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Jennifer Gentile Long
02/15/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Assisting Older Victims of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence

Jennifer Gentile Long is the Director of AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women, located in Washington, D.C. She supervises, facilitates, and participates in training events, resource development, case consultation, and the delivery of technical assistance to prosecutors and allied professionals worldwide. Ms. Long has worked on issues related to violence against women for more than a decade; and, for the past 5 years, has worked with civilian and military prosecutors and other allied professionals on the prosecution of violence against women and children. She also has authored several articles and peer reviewed numerous publications. Ms. Long is the former Director of the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women at the American Prosecutors Research Institute, the research and technical assistance division of the National District Attorneys Association. She also served as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she prosecuted cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault, and child physical and sexual abuse. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Janice Harris Lord
01/27/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Building Resiliency within Victim Service Organizations

08/28/2008 online discussion host
Topic: Delivering Victim Sensitive Death Notifications

Janice Harris Lord is a licensed social worker, professional counselor, and private consultant on crime victims’ issues. She is a Fellow in Thanatology with the Association of Death Education and Counseling, and a member of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. She also was recently elected to the Board of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Ms. Lord has worked in the crime victims’ movement since 1976, and has an extensive background in personal and agency resilience, homicide and catastrophic injury, death notification, standards and ethics in victim services, and spiritually sensitive victim services. She is a consultant for a number of crime victim organizations, with special interest in caregiver resilience, trauma grief, and the role of spirituality in human services.

Ms. Lord has presented nationally, regionally, and at the state level in a training and educational capacity. She has authored numerous publications, including I’ll Never Forget Those Words: A Practical Guide to Death Notification; Spiritually-Sensitive Caregiving: A Multi-Faith Handbook; and No Time for Goodbyes: Coping With Sorrow, Anger, and Injustice After a Tragic Death. From 1983–97, Ms. Lord served as National Director of Victim Services for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She received the U.S. Presidential Award for Outstanding Service on Behalf of Victims of Crime in 1994, and an award for Outstanding Services in Crime Victim Advocacy in 1993. Ms. Lord received her master of science degree in social work from the University of Texas–Arlington. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Maureen Lowell
10/09/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Collaborative Educational Models Benefiting Victims and Providers

Maureen Lowell is a licensed marriage and family therapist with more than 20 years of experience in the field of family violence and more than 10 years of experience as a lecturer and trainer. Since 2009, Ms. Lowell has worked on an Office for Victims of Crime-funded project at San Jose State University to develop a new education and training model to teach students to respond more effectively to family violence using interdisciplinary collaboration. The resulting Institute for Collaborative Response for Victims of Family Violence provides students with an innovative learning opportunity that bridges classroom education with field experience specifically designed to provide cross-discipline, cross-system training.

Since 1993, Ms. Lowell has been actively involved in community efforts to enhance responses to domestic violence victims. She has developed two curricula for working with families affected by domestic violence—The Program for Empowered Parenting and Empowerment through Accountability: Working with women convicted of domestic violence. Ms. Lowell received a bachelor of arts degree from Miami University and a master of counseling psychology degree from Santa Clara University. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Hallie Martyniuk
04/19/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Sexual Assault Victims through Military/Civilian Partnerships

Hallie Martyniuk has 20 years of experience in justice and victim services at the local, state, and national levels, specializing in the unique dynamics of sexual assault in the military. She has been involved in the development of training programs, curricula, and resources on emerging issues related to crime victimization for the crime victim services field and allied professions. She also has presented at numerous national and international military conferences and trainings, and has conducted several trainings of trainers. Ms. Martyniuk has served on the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Training and Technical Assistance Center’s national training team, and as the training coordinator for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s training program for victim service and allied professionals. She also has served as project coordinator for the National SAVIN Training & Technical Assistance Program and as education coordinator for a community-based sexual assault program.

Much of Ms. Martyniuk’s research and writing focuses on sexual violence, and she works closely with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). Some of her publications include NSVRC’s Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Information Packet and Human Trafficking Resource Packet, and PCAR’s Core Competencies: The Unique Skills of Advocacy. Previously, through a grant funded by OVC, Ms. Martyniuk developed Strengthening Military-Civilian Community Partnerships To Respond to Sexual Assault, a curriculum for community-based sexual assault advocates that has also been used to train staff of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Safe Helpline. She also recently traveled with the United States Marine Corps to Japan and Hawaii to conduct trainings on the unique dynamics of victim impact for military sexual assault victims.

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Jenifer Markowitz
02/15/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Assisting Older Victims of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence

09/30/2009 online discussion host
Topic: Sustainability of Victim Assistance Programs

Jenifer Markowitz, N.D., is the Medical Advisor for AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women, located in Washington, D.C. Dr. Markowitz presents on a variety of forensic-related topics, including medical-forensic examinations, strangulation, drug- and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault, and expert witness testimony. She also provides case consultation, expert testimony, and technical assistance; and develops training materials, resources, and publications.

A forensic nurse examiner since 1995, Dr. Markowitz has presented and facilitated for organizations such as the National District Attorneys Association, several state prosecuting attorney associations, and the Judge Advocate General’s Corps for the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. She has worked with the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice to develop a national protocol and training standards for sexual assault forensic examinations; with the U.S. Department of Defense to revise the military’s Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit and corresponding documentation; and as an Advisory Board member for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Dr. Markowitz is the author of multiple publications, including several book chapters and the clinical text, The Color Atlas of Domestic Violence, and also serves as a member of the Editorial Board of the Sexual Assault Report. In 2004, Dr. Markowitz received the International Association of Forensic Nurses’ Distinguished Fellow award and was elected to the association’s Board of Directors in 2011. She became the board’s President in 2012.

Dr. Markowitz received a bachelor of arts degree from Case Western Reserve University and completed her clinical doctorate in nursing at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She is board certified as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (Adult/Adolescent). View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Derek Marsh
08/22/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Implementing the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Model

Lieutenant Derek Marsh has served the Westminster Police Department in California for the past 24 years. A lieutenant since 1999, he is currently assigned to the Management Services Bureau, where he is acting City Information Technology Director. He also manages the police budget, payroll, purchasing, contracts, grants, and business enterprise opportunities. In addition to his current duties, Lt. Marsh has served as cochair of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force since 2004, during which time he has developed training DVDs, delivered courses in human trafficking certified by California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and testified before the United States Congress.

Lt. Marsh’s previous assignments as a lieutenant have included watch commander, administrative services, and the Investigations Bureau. As an officer, Lt. Marsh gained experience as a field training officer and a hostage negotiator. He also was the department’s first D.A.R.E. officer. As a sergeant, he worked in patrol and as the Chief of Police’s adjutant. In addition, Lt. Marsh has served as a department grant writer, acquiring and managing millions of dollars in technology and human trafficking grants during the past 15 years.

Lt. Marsh earned a bachelor of arts in English from the University of California–Irvine, as well as a Single Subject Teaching Credential. He also received a master’s degree in human behavior from National University, a master’s in public administration in public safety management from Walden University, and a master’s certificate in criminal justice from the University of Virginia. He has taught courses in human trafficking at Vanguard University and for both the State and Federal Governments. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Fiona Mason
1/22/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Providing Services to Runaway Youth and Victims of Human Trafficking

Fiona Mason is the Supervising Social Worker for Safe Horizon's Anti-Trafficking Program, where she oversees the client services program. She also serves as the Regional Coordinator for the Northern Tier Anti-Trafficking Consortium. Ms. Mason has worked in the social services field for 10 years. Prior to joining Safe Horizon, she worked with the street homeless population in New York, and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. Ms. Mason is a member of the Freedom Network (USA) and the New York Anti-Trafficking Network. She received a master's degree in social work from Hunter College of The City University of New York.

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Carl McDonald
05/15/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Drunk Driving and Child Endangerment

Carl McDonald is the National Law Enforcement Initiative Manager for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Mr. McDonald served in law enforcement for 24 years before retiring from his position as a Lieutenant of the Wyoming State Highway Patrol to accept his current position at the National Office of MADD. Mr. McDonald is an ardent supporter of MADD, a passionate advocate, and a presenter for both law enforcement and the fight against impaired driving. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Michael Munson
06/06/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Understanding Violence Against Transgender Individuals

Michael Munson is the cofounder and Executive Director of FORGE, an organization focused on improving the lives of transgender individuals by building stronger connections, providing resources, and empowering growth through knowledge. He has been active within the transgender/SOFFA (significant others, friends, families, and allies) community since 1994. Munson is a long-time political activist, speaking out against social injustice within the transgender/SOFFA community and beyond, and attentively and compassionately listening to those whose voices often remain unheard.

Munson’s work on violence against transgender and gender non-conforming individuals stresses the intersectionality of the complex components of identity, experience, and societal constructs. He participates on multiple local and national advisory committees to ensure that the needs of transgender survivors are heard and addressed. He also has authored numerous publications for service providers and allied professionals, including “Creating a Trans‐Welcoming Environment: A Tips Sheet for Sexual Assault Service Providers,” and “Quick Tips for Caregivers of Transgender Clients." Munson earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and women’s studies from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM), with graduate course work in trauma counseling. While at UWM, he worked as a research assistant in the Departments of Psychology and Nursing. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Kimber J. Nicoletti-Martinez, MSW
09/19/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Latina/o Victims of Crime

Kimber Nicoletti-Martinez, MSW, has been an advocate for Latinas/os, migrant farm workers, and multicultural communities for more than 20 years. She is the founder and Director of Multicultural Efforts to end Sexual Assault (MESA), a statewide program at Purdue University that is committed to preventing sexual violence in multicultural communities and other underserved and underrepresented populations in Indiana. She also is the founder of Mujeres del Movimiento, a national resource and support network for Latinas who work in violence prevention.

A survivor of domestic and sexual violence, Ms. Nicoletti-Martinez works at the local, state, and national levels to engage communities and organizations in the use of culturally relevant models for promoting healing and healthy relationships and preventing sexual violence. She has worked as a consultant for many organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office on Violence Against Women, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and the United States Army. She formerly served as chair of the Advisory Council for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and as president of the Purdue Latino Faculty and Staff Association. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Mary Gleason Rappaport
03/07/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Making the Most of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

Mary Gleason Rappaport served as the Director of Communications at the National Center for Victims of Crime for the past 11 years. In that capacity, she served as Project Manager for the Office for Victims of Crime-funded National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guide for the past 6 years. Ms. Rappaport has developed a unique perspective on how victim service providers can make the most of National Crime Victims’ Rights Weekby using special events, media relations, public service campaigns, collaborative partnerships, social media, and much more. She also provides communications expertise and support to nonprofit and government agencies throughout the United States.

Ms. Rappaport has held key communications positions at the American Association of Retired Persons, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Physical Therapy Association, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Ms. Rappaport has a successful history of developing and implementing public education, outreach, and advocacy strategies that achieve tangible results at the local, state, and national levels. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Ari Redbord
08/22/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Implementing the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Model

Ari B. Redbord is an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia who specializes in cases involving sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking. He also is the coordinator of the Washington D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force, overseeing a team comprising local and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as nongovernmental organizations, whose members engage in community and law enforcement trainings, community outreach, victim services, and prosecutions of traffickers. Prior to his current position, Mr. Redbord clerked for the Honorable Malcolm J. Howard, United States District Court, Greenville, North Carolina, from 2000 to 2001. He received a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor of arts degree from Duke University.

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Dr. John Rich
02/28/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Reaching Young Men of Color Exposed to Violence

John Rich, MD, MPH, is Professor and Chair of Health Management and Policy at the Drexel University School of Public Health. A leader in the field of public health, Dr. Rich’s work focuses on serving one of the Nation’s most ignored and underserved populations—African-American men living in urban settings. In 2006, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship was granted to Dr. Rich to design new models of health care that would surpass the boundaries of public health, education, social services, and justice systems to engage young men in caring for themselves and their peers.

Dr. Rich previously served as the medical director of the Boston Public Health Commission. Earlier, as a primary care doctor at Boston Medical Center, he created the Young Men’s Health Clinic and initiated Boston HealthCREW, a program to train inner-city young men to become peer health educators who focus on the health of men and boys in their communities. In 2009, Dr. Rich was inducted into the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He recently published Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men about urban violence.

Dr. Rich earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from Dartmouth College, a doctor of medicine degree from Duke University Medical School, and a master of public health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. He received an honorary doctor of science degree from Dartmouth College in 2007 and now serves on its Board of Trustees. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Raymond Rose
06/20/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Enhancing Law Enforcement Responses to Crime Victims

Raymond Rose is the Chief of Police for the Village of Mundelein, Illinois. Prior to his appointment in 1992, he served with the Elk Grove Village Police Department for 24 years, where he achieved the rank of Deputy Chief. Chief Rose serves as Chairman of the Lake County Metropolitan Law Enforcement Group, Chairman of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, and Secretary of the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System Board. He also is active in numerous other law enforcement-affiliated organizations at the local, state, and national levels. Chief Rose has written articles for several law enforcement magazines and recently coauthored a graduate-level textbook on public administration: Managing Local Government.

Chief Rose formerly served as president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the Lake County Chiefs of Police Association, the Board of Directors of the Northern Illinois Crime Lab, and the Northeast Multi-Regional Training Board. He has attended the Police Administration Training Program at Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety; the National FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia; and the Senior Management Institute for Police, hosted by the Police Executive Research Forum and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Chief Rose has a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Constance Rossiter
01/19/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Intersections Between Human Trafficking and Other Vulnerable Populations

Constance Rossiter is a licensed professional counselor and social worker, and the Social Responsibility Director for the Trafficked Persons Assistance Program at YMCA International Services, where she is responsible for program oversight. YMCA has been providing services to victims of human trafficking since 2003 and has served more than 200 foreign national victims. In 2010, OVC awarded YMCA an Enhanced Collaborative Model Grant to expand its services to domestic victims of trafficking.

Ms. Rossiter has extensive experience working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and other at-risk populations, with a special interest in trauma and cultural diversity. She is an active member of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance and Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition. As the lead service provider on the Bureau of Justice Assistance-funded Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, Ms. Rossiter has participated in four immersion learning experiences, training task forces from Wisconsin, Utah, Louisiana, and Missouri. She also has participated in several focus groups for developing curriculums for law enforcement officers and service providers, and has trained extensively on human trafficking. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Shell Schwartz
05/23/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Expanding Services for Crime Victims with Disabilities

Michelle “Shell” Schwartz is the Training Manager for Disability Services ASAP (A Safety Awareness Program) of SafePlace in Austin, Texas. She has more than 20 years of personal and professional experience advocating for the right to fair treatment and access to disability and victim services for people with physical, cognitive, and mental health disabilities. Ms. Schwartz has experience in community psychology in private and state-run counseling venues and in behavioral health and mental health organizations. She is the coauthor of Balancing the Power: Creating a Crisis Center Accessible to People with Disabilities and Beyond Labels: Working with Abuse Survivors with Mental Illness Symptoms or Substance Abuse Issues. She also speaks nationally about victimization issues as they relate to people with disabilities. Ms. Schwartz has a graduate degree in psychology. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Anne Seymour
03/07/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Making the Most of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

02/24/2010 online discussion host
Topic: Strategic Planning for Victim Service Leaders

01/30/2008 online discussion host
Topic: Cultivating Relationships Between Victim Service Providers and the Media

02/08/2006 online discussion host
Topic: NCVRW Awareness Campaign

Anne Seymour is Cofounder and Senior Advisor of Justice Solutions, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that specializes in criminal and juvenile justice, crime victims' rights and services, and community safety. She also is a consultant to the Pew Center on the States Public Safety Performance Project. Ms. Seymour has more than 29 years of experience as a national and international advocate for crime victims’ rights. She has authored or contributed to more than 30 OVC manuals and texts, including 20 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guides.

Ms. Seymour served as project manager for OVC’s Oral History Project and its National Public Awareness Campaign Project. She is a founding member of the National Victim Assistance Academy and a consultant to the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators. Ms. Seymour is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Victims’ Constitutional Amendment Network, the Board of Directors of the American Probation and Parole Association, and the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board.

Ms. Seymour has received numerous honors for her work, including the 2012 APPA Jo Kegans Award for Outstanding Victim Services, the 2011 Victim Advocacy Award from the National Crime Victim Law Institute, and the 1992 Outstanding Service to Crime Victims Award from President George H.W. Bush. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Regina Sobieski
12/05/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Working with Victims of Gang Violence

Regina Sobieski is a licensed social worker and certified trauma specialist, and an international facilitator for victims’ rights, victim legislation, and criminal justice policies and protocols. She is well known for her research in victim participation and satisfaction with the criminal justice system, juvenile justice issues, and international law enforcement efforts. Since 2006, Ms. Sobieski has served as a contractual project director for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas, Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Anti-Gang Initiatives. She has developed a strong anti-gang/anti-violence strategy for the district and provided evidence-based anti-gang/anti-violence programming to more than 3,000 youth. She also has collaborated with the National Youth Gang Center and the American Probation and Parole Association in developing standardized manuals to assist communities in implementing their own strategies to combat gang and violent crime.

Ms. Sobieski has presented on gang-related violence and delinquency, prevention programming, and reentry efforts at numerous national conferences and training events. As a trainer and consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime since 1996, Ms. Sobieski provides training and technical assistance to improve service delivery and encourage the use of promising strategies to reduce crime and delinquency, improve educational outcomes, and bolster community cooperation and involvement. She also conducts bimonthly anti-gang initiative meetings with community service providers; local and federal law enforcement officials; and community, business, and educational partners.

Ms. Sobieski earned a master of criminal justice science degree from the University of North Texas. She also is a graduate of the Northern District of Texas Citizen’s FBI Academy.

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Danny Stewart
01/22/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Providing Services to Runaway Youth and Victims of Human Trafficking

Danny Stewart is the Director of Operations for Safe Horizon's Streetwork Project, which provides services to homeless and street-involved youth and young adults. Mr. Stewart provides administrative oversight of federal, state, city, and foundation grants for homeless youth drop-in center programs. He also is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing program quality assurance and improvement activities; managing all evaluation projects; and facilitating monthly committee meetings.

Mr. Stewart became involved in non-profit social services in 1993, providing psychotherapy to individuals living with HIV and their care-partners, and co-facilitating a female sexual abuse recovery group with residential treatment facility adolescents. He previously served as the Assistant Director of Clinical Services at Hetrick-Martin Institute, a social service agency for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. He also worked at the Gay Men's Health Crisis and as a volunteer facilitator for a psychotherapeutic AIDS support group.

Mr. Stewart received a bachelor of arts degree in behavioral science and a master's degree in family psychology from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. He received a master of social work degree and a seminar in field supervision certification from Hunter College in New York. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Robin Hassler Thompson
03/06/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Meeting the Legal Needs of Adult and Minor Victims of Human Trafficking

Robin Hassler Thompson, M.A., J.D., consults with universities, state and national public policy and human rights advocacy groups, and international law firms on issues related to human trafficking and domestic and sexual violence law and policy analysis, Violence Against Women Act implementation, adult domestic violence, workplace violence, and health care issues. She has lectured extensively on the topics of human trafficking and violence against women, and is a contributor to numerous national and international publications and curricula, including an online continuing medical education course on domestic violence and human trafficking for the Florida Medical Association.

Ms. Thompson has served and held leadership positions on local, state, and national boards, committees, and task forces. She was the executive director of Florida’s first Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence from 1993–98; and, at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, has served on the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women. Ms. Thompson currently chairs the Leon County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls in Tallahassee, Florida.

Ms. Thompson received her law degree from Florida State University’s College of Law. She holds a master of arts degree from Florida State University and a bachelor of arts degree from American University in Washington, D.C., where she graduated summa cum laude. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Steven Toporoff
04/10/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Child Welfare Agencies Responding to Child Identity Theft

Steven Toporoff is an attorney for the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where he focuses on identity protection issues. He also serves as vice chair of FTC’s privacy steering committee and participates on various federal task forces and outreach efforts regarding privacy, identity protection, and victim assistance. Prior to joining the division, Mr. Toporoff was on detail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, where he worked on privacy initiatives. He also worked for 20 years in FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices, where he focused on anti-fraud work. Mr. Toporoff is frequently engaged as a speaker and has advised foreign governments, federal agencies, and states on privacy, identity protection, and anti-fraud matters. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Ana Isabel Vallejo, J.D./LL.M.
09/19/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Latina/o Victims of Crime

Ana Vallejo is the Cofounder and Codirector of VIDA Legal Assistance Inc., a nonprofit organization working to advance the rights of immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other violent crimes. She also is an attorney for the organization and the project coordinator for the Human Trafficking Academy of the Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights at St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami, Florida. Ms. Vallejo has provided legal representation for victims of human trafficking for the past 10 years. She has worked tirelessly in collaboration with the Criminal Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure that victims of trafficking have access to the rights and services afforded to them by the criminal justice system.

Previously, Ms. Vallejo was a staff attorney at St. Thomas University Human Rights Institute, where she represented hundreds of victims of human rights violations seeking protection in the United States. She also served as a supervising attorney for LUCHA: A Women’s Legal Project at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, representing low-income immigrant women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. Ms. Vallejo received her bachelor of arts degree in political science and international affairs from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received her juris doctorate and her master of laws degree in intercultural human rights law from St. Thomas University School of Law. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Rebecca Waggoner
06/06/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Understanding Violence Against Transgender Individuals

Rebecca Waggoner is the Director of OutFront Minnesota’s Anti-Violence Program, where she manages all program-related activities including developing effective services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) crime victims, staffing the 24-hour crisis hotline, and providing individual crisis counseling and advocacy services to victims. She is also responsible for developing program-related training curricula on topics such as domestic violence, hate/bias crimes, and creating safe community responses to LGBTQ victims of crime. Waggoner has worked extensively with anti-violence focused, community-based programs for more than 15 years. She has expertise in sexual assault and domestic violence, and has worked at every level of program development and management.

Waggoner sits on several community boards and advisory committees including the St. Paul Police Chief’s Community Advisory Board, the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault Board of Directors and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs’ Governance Committee. She also is the author of the handbook, “The Accidental Lobbyist: Grassroots Organizing in Minnesota.” She holds a bachelor of arts degree in women’s studies with an emphasis in public policy from the University of Minnesota. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Deborah Lamm Weisel, Ph.D.
12/28/2011 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Victims of Property Crimes

Deborah Lamm Weisel is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at North Carolina Central University. She was formerly an Assistant Research Professor and the Director of police research in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at North Carolina Central University. Her portfolio includes research on police responses to crime problems, such as gangs, street drugs, and graffiti, as well as community policing, safety and security in public housing, and repeat victimization from burglary and robbery. Dr. Lamm Weisel has authored several guides for the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, including Burglary of Single-Family Houses and Analyzing Repeat Victimization. Her work also has been published in Justice Quarterly, Public Management, the NIJ Journal, and the American Journal of Police. Dr. Lamm Weisel holds a doctorate in political science and public policy analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Dr. Linda Williams
10/09/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Collaborative Educational Models Benefiting Victims and Providers

Linda M. Williams, Ph.D., is a Professor of criminal justice and criminology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), where she teaches courses on crime victim issues, research methods, and gender, race, and crime. The author of several books and numerous scholarly publications, Dr. Williams has lectured in the United States and internationally on topics including child sexual abuse, trauma and memory, human trafficking, and researcher-practitioner collaborations. In 2009, along with UML colleagues, she began developing the Office for Victims of Crime-funded Post-Secondary Education: Integrating Crime Victims’ Issues into University and College Curricula.

Dr. Williams has directed longitudinal research on violence against women and children for nearly 40 years and has been the principal investigator on 16 U.S. Government-funded research projects. Currently, she is completing research funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the use of social marketing and in-person training programs to enhance bystander behaviors to prevent relationship violence on college campuses. She recently completed a study of commercially sexually exploited (domestically trafficked) teens, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, and in January will begin a new study of decision-making in sexual assault cases.

Dr. Williams previously served as Director of Research at the Stone Center, Wellesley Centers for Women. She also served on the National Research Councils’ Panel on Violence Against Women. She is a recipient of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s Research Career Achievement Award. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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DeAnn Yamamoto
04/11/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Analyzing the Impact of Sexual Assault Protection Orders

DeAnn Yamamoto is the Deputy Executive Director of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) in Washington, where she oversees the Client Services Team, comprising clinical therapists, legal advocates, and crisis counselors. She also is responsible for overall staff development and organizational design. Ms. Yamamoto has more than 30 years of experience creating and implementing effective services for physical and sexual assault victims. She has been with KCSARC since 1984 and has written a series of publications for parents and sexual assault victims, including Especially for Parents, Especially for Parents of Adolescents, and A Healing Celebration: A Group Treatment Manual for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Assault.

Prior to joining KCSARC, Ms. Yamamoto worked as a Program Director for C.A.R.E. Services of Lewis County and Alternatives to Violence in Eastern Washington. With both organizations, she coordinated a range of services addressing domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault. Ms. Yamamoto received a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice from Washington State University, a master’s degree in counseling from Liberty University, and a certificate in human resources management from the University of Washington. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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Major Matthew Youngblood
04/19/2013 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Sexual Assault Victims through Military/Civilian Partnerships

Major Matthew Youngblood is a Victim Assistance Advisor for the U.S. Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, which oversees implementation of the department’s sexual assault policy and works with the United States Armed Forces and the civilian community to develop and implement innovative programs to prevent and respond to sexual assault and improve the department’s response to victims when it does occur. Major Youngblood enlisted in the United States Navy in 1991. He attended the University of South Carolina with a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1997. Major Youngblood’s awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a gold star and Meritorious Service Medal with a gold star. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in history and a master’s degree in military studies from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

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Laura Zárate
09/19/2012 online discussion host
Topic: Responding to Latina/o Victims of Crime

Laura Zárate is the Founding Executive Director of Arte Sana (Art Heals), which is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a model program for underserved survivors of sexual violence. As a Latina victim advocate and bilingual training specialist with 27 years of experience, Ms. Zárate has presented at national and international conferences and reached thousands of victim advocates, allied professionals, and promotoras through workshops held in English and Spanish. For more than a decade, she has led Arte Sana’s bilingual training and materials development projects, including the first national Spanish-language victim service Web page, the first Spanish-language Sexual Assault Awareness Month packet, and the Existe Ayuda Toolkit. Ms. Zárate is also cofounder and facilitator of Alianza Latina en contra la Agresión Sexual (ALAS), established in 2004 as the national Latina alliance against sexual violence.

In 2004, Ms. Zárate received the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s first national Award for Outstanding Effectiveness in Raising Awareness and Promoting Prevention of Sexual Violence; and, in 2009, she received the Community Empowerment Award from the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault. Ms. Zárate earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. View this Guest Host's photograph.

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