CATHERINE PIERCE
Catherine Pierce currently serves as Acting Director of the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). She was designated as Acting Director of OVW by President Barack Obama on January, 20 2009. Prior to this appointment, she served as an OVW Deputy Director responsible for public outreach and communications and for launching OVW’s Sexual Assault Services Program and the Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services Program. Since joining OVW in 1995 as one of its original founding staff members, Ms. Pierce was named Deputy Director in 1997. Her duties included developing new grant programs created by the Violence Against Women Act, creating OVW’s technical assistance program, overseeing several demonstration initiatives, and implementing a comprehensive effort to measure the effectiveness of OVW's grant programs. Ms. Pierce also served as Acting Director of OVW from January through October 2001.

From 2005 to 2007, she held the position of Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large and Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State.

Before joining OVW, Ms. Pierce directed the "Summer of Safety” program, a predecessor to AmeriCorps, for the Corporation for National and Community Service from 1994 to 1995. Prior to that, she served as a Deputy at the State Justice Institute (SJI) and oversaw the development of SJI’sjudicial education and training initiatives. Before her work at SJI, she was actively involved in thefield of criminal and juvenile justice addressing the differential treatment of women in prison and young women in the juvenile justice system; and the quality of education provided to young mena an women in juvenile correctional facilities.

Ms. Pierce has received numerous U.S. government awards, including a Special Commendation fromthe Office of Justice Programs in 2001. She also represented the Department of Justice as a civilian member of the Department of Defense Task Forec on Domestic Violence from 2000 to 2004.

Ms. Pierce received her Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has five grown children.

800 K Street NW, Suite 910, Washington, DC • (202) 307-6026 • www.ovw.usdoj.gov

Click Here for: Statement of Catherine Pierce, Acting Director, Office On Violence Against Women, United States Department Of Justice. Before The United States Senate Committee On The Judiciary Hearing Entitled "The Continued Importance Of The Violence Against Women Act" Presented June 10, 2009

CRAIG N. ACKLEY Craig N. Ackley is the President of Behavioral Science Education and Consultation Services (BSECS), Inc., a company that specializes in training and consultation services for law enforcement professionals, prosecutors, probation and parole officers, mental health professionals, and others who work with violent offenders in the areas of sexual assault, domestic violence, and homicide.  Craig is a retired law enforcement officer of 26 years, the last 21 as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He retired from the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) of the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, where he provided behavioral support and training in violent crime matters to federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. Craig has a B. S. in Criminology, an M.S. in Psychology, and is currently in the process of completing his PhD in Psychology.

LIBERTY ALDRICH Liberty Aldrich Director of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Family Court Programs at the Center for Court Innovation, provides technical assistance on the development and implementation of domestic violence courts nationally and internationally and works with government and non-government agencies to improve the coordinated community response to domestic violence. Additionally, she and the domestic violence staff provide domestic violence training to judges and court personnel and consult with family courts on child protective and custody programs.  Prior to joining the Center, Ms. Aldrich was the Director of Legal Services at Safe Horizon, the nation’s largest victim assistance agency.  In that position, she represented domestic violence victims in family and supreme courts and federal immigration proceedings in addition to supervising staff attorneys.  Ms. Aldrich is also a founder and director of Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT), an agency that assists over 55,000 New Yorkers every year by providing information and supportive services to litigants in the Family Courts. Ms. Aldrich acted as Chair of the Domestic Violence Task Force of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 2002-2005 and has authored numerous articles on domestic violence law and policy. She received the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s annual Equal Access to Justice Award in 2000. Ms. Aldrich graduated from Harvard University and New York University School of Law.

LARRY BENNETT, Ph.D., L.C.S.W. Larry Bennett is Professor, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to joining the tenure track faculty at UIC in 1993, he worked for 20 years in mental health, family service, research, and academic settings. Larry has published widely on substance abuse and domestic violence, adolescent peer sexual harassment, batterers, and batterer intervention programs.  He  is co-author of  Evaluation of Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (Sage Press, 2002).  Larry’s research focuses on the co-occurrence of substance abuse and partner violence, and on the coordination and effectiveness of services designed to interrupt that co-occurrence.  He served on the Consensus Panel on Family Violence of the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and chaired the Illinois Substance Abuse-Domestic Violence Interdisciplinary Task Force from its inception in 1997 until 2003. He is a Principal Investigator on the Great Lakes Addiction Technology Transfer Center (SAMHSA). Larry practices social work in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and limits his practice to court-ordered child custody evaluation.

BARBARA J. HART, JD Barbara J. Hart is the Director of Strategic Justice Initiatives in the Justice Policy Program of the Cutler Institute on Health and Social Policy of the Muskie School of Public Service. Ms. Hart is a Co-Principal Investigator on the Violence Against Women Measuring Effectiveness Initiative (VAWA MEI) and Principal Investigator on the Building Economic Security for Survivors (BESS) Project. She serves as the Senior Policy and Legal Advisor for the Battered Women’s Justice Project and Senior Counsel to the National Center on Full Faith and Credit. Her work includes public policy development, training, and technical assistance on a broad range of issues such as: advocacy; economic justice and security for survivors; systems to monitor batterer intervention programs; implementation of coordinated community intervention systems; development and critique of legislation; construction of court procedures and standards; consultation on impact litigation; and design of training curricula. She has served as a leader in the national efforts to implement the Violence Against Women Act. Ms. Hart hosts a series of monthly, national/international audioconferences, designed to create discourse between prominent researchers and expert practitioners. Web libraries and MP3s are produced for the audioconferences. She consults with diverse organizations/agencies related to strategies to end violence against women and children, including the Office on Violence Against Women, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Defense, the National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence, the Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence, and the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the National College of District Attorneys, the Domestic Violence Mental Health Policy Institute, and the National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative. Ms. Hart writes a monthly column for the National Bulletin on Domestic Violence Prevention , a West-Thomson publication, and has authored and co-authored many articles on domestic violence, including: State Codes on Domestic Violence: Analysis, Commentary and Recommendations; Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence; Safety and Accountability: The Underpinnings of a Just Justice System; Confronting Domestic Violence: Effective Police Response; Seeking Justice: Coordinated Justice System Intervention Against Domestic Violence; Safety for Women: Monitoring Batterers' Programs; and Accountability: Program Standards for Batterer Intervention Services. She is a co-founder of the Berks Women in Crisis, the PA Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, the Battered Women's Justice Project, the National Center on Full Faith and Credit, and International Justice connections. She has received many honors, the most precious of which is the naming of legal center serving battered women in northeast Pennsylvania – the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center. Her greatest pleasure is contemplating the bay, salt marsh, tides and soaring birds at her home in Georgetown, ME. Barbara J. Hart, J.D. 605 Bay Point Road Georgetown, ME 04548 207.371.2204 (phone & fax) barbarha@aol.com

MELISSA LABRIOLA Melissa Labriola is a principal research associate at the Center for Court Innovation. She is currently principal investigator on a randomized trial testing the impact of intensive judicial monitoring on domestic violence offender recidivism, as well as on a statewide evaluation of domestic violence courts. Her recent completed projects include a national study of domestic violence courts; an evaluation of the Queens Misdemeanor Treatment Court; and an evaluation project concerning the commercial sexual exploitation of children. In addition, she served as lead analyst on the Center’s randomized trial testing the impact of batterer programs. She was also the project director of a national survey of court responses to offender noncompliance with batterer program mandates.

RHONDA   MARTINSON Managing Attorney-Safety Audits Battered Women's Justice Project Rhonda Martinson has been a staff attorney for the Battered Women’s Justice Project (a national resource center on the criminal justice response to domestic violence) since 1996.  She provides technical assistance, such as site visits, telephone consultation, writing partnerships and training to criminal justice professionals regarding current domestic violence issues and laws.  Since 1998, she has also been a safety audit consultant providing training and consultation to criminal justice professionals across the country on conducting an audit of their criminal justice systems re the safety of battered women and the accountability of batterers.  She attends national conferences, meetings, trainings and grant reviews on safety audits and related topics such as domestic violence homicide reviews, research and evaluation of criminal justice response to domestic violence, court watches, and promising practices.  She is an advisory board member of the National Stalking Resource Center and of the National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative; and is BWJP’s liaison in training partnerships with the National Family Justice Center Alliance and with the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence against Women at the American Prosecutor’s Research Institute.  Rhonda is a Wisconsin attorney who brought a unique combination of experiences to BWJP: six years working for a Wisconsin sheriff’s department, four years as a Wisconsin prosecutor, and two years researching and developing continuing education seminars for lawyers and other professionals across the country.  Rhonda received her BA in psychology, graduating summa cum laude, and her JD, from the University of Wisconsin.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL PAYMAR In the early 1980’s, Michael Paymar worked with Ellen Pence to create the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, Minnesota. Michael and Ellen co-authored the curriculum “Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter”, the mostly widely used counseling program for abusive men in the country. Michael is the author of “Violent No More: Helping Men End Domestic Abuse”, a self help book for men who batter. He also produced “Domestic Violence: The Law Enforcement Response”.  Michael is the co-author of a new curriculum Building a Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence with Ellen Pence and Graham Barnes.  Michael is currently a Resource Specialist with the Battered Women’s Justice Project in Minneapolis and has trained internationally with the Open Society Institute, the Advocates for Human Rights and the National Training Project. Michael is serving in his 7th term in the Minnesota House of Representatives representing St. Paul. He is the chair of the House Public Safety Finance Committee, which has fiscal oversight over the Courts, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Human Rights and crime victims programs.  Michael earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Hamline University and a Bachelors degree from the College of St. Scholastica.

KATYA FELS SMYTH Katya Fels Smyth brings nearly two decades of experience in program development and services, community networking, and creating social will to address seemingly intractable social problems to the Full Frame Initiative (FFI). Katya is advancing the Initiative’s priorities as its principal and as a Research Fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She is a fellow with the Eos Foundation and a Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Clark University. Prior to launching FFI in 2007, Katya was an Echoing Green fellow, founding and leading On The Rise, Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts ?based organization that has drawn national attention for providing innovative and effective support and community to profoundly disenfranchised women. Katya speaks, publishes and provides consultation on the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions that work for highly marginalized communities. She has also participated in international training efforts for domestic violence advocates. Her writing and publications are used by scholars, policy makers and community?practitioners. Katya co?chairs the Massachusetts Governor’s Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence Systems Change and Integration Committee. She has been recognized locally and nationally by government, philanthropic, community and business entities for her thought leadership and in-the-trenches contributions to addressing community poverty and violence. Katya holds an AB with honors in Biology from Harvard, and an honorary doctorate of divinity from the Episcopal Divinity School.

 

Hon. SYDNEY HANLON has been an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court since April, 2009.  She was the First Justice of the Dorchester District Court for fifteen years; before that she served as an Associate Justice for four years.  She was Chair of the Massachusetts District Court Domestic Violence Committee from 1992 until 2003 when the Dorchester District Court became part of the Boston Municipal Court; she was also a member of the District Court Education Committee in that period.  She was also a member of the Massachusetts Trial Court Racial and Ethnic Fairness Advisory Board. She sat regularly in the Dorchester Court domestic violence session between 2000 and 2007, and also in the adult criminal session.  Before she became a judge, Judge Hanlon served as a prosecutor for fifteen years:  seven years in the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office as head of the Sexual Assault Unit; five years as a drug prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District Of Massachusetts; and three years as Chief of the Narcotics Division in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.  She received a B.A. degree from Brown University in 1972 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1975.

JULIE S. HIGGINS Assistant District Attorney with Suffolk County District Attorney'sOffice in Boston, MA. From 2000 - 2004 working in the Domestic ViolenceCourt in Dorchester. Presently assigned to the Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau in our Superior Court office.

DEIRDRE  KENNEDY Dee has been a probation officer at Dorchester Municipal Court since 1991.  She served as the Site Operations Director of the Family Justice Center of Boston from 8/1/05 through 4/14/07 and as the Project Director for the Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative at the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court  from October 2000 through July 2005.  She oversaw the coordination and networking of partners of these criminal justice/human service collaboratives, which provided services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, as well as support services to the dedicated domestic violence project at the courthouse. A probation officer at Dorchester District Court for 11 years, Dee has been in the domestic violence unit for 7 years.  She served as the CoChair of the Dorchester Community Roundtable’s (DCRT) Batterer Intervention Subcommittee and as a Member of the DCRT Advisory Board for 7 years.  Having worked in community based adult education programs in Jamaica Plain and Dorchester for 14 years, she is committed to education and prevention efforts.

LOIS KANTER Professor Kanter is an expert in domestic violence prevention and legal responses to sexual assault. She has developed a range of clinical education experiences for students. She currently directs the school’s Domestic Violence Institute as well as its Domestic Violence Clinic in Dorchester Municipal Court, the Boston Medical Center Domestic Violence Project, and is a founding member, and former chair, of the board of directors of the Victim Rights Law Center, an innovative organization providing legal services to rape victims. She is also a founding partner, and Northeastern’s representative, on interdisciplinary, community-based partnerships to assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Prior to coming to Northeastern, Professor Kanter was a clinical instructor at Boston University School of Law and at Harvard Law School, and a managing attorney for Greater Boston Legal Services. Her legal career has been devoted to litigating on behalf of vulnerable women and their children; she has specialized in violence prevention since 1990.

MARY-ANN RIVA Mary-Ann has been a Boston Police Officer for 31 years. She began her career in January, 1978 as a uniformed patrol officer in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.  Over the next 19 years she also worked in the city’s West Roxbury and Hyde Park districts, responding to thousands of 911 calls for everything ranging from robberies and assaults to runaways and stolen cars.  But it was during these years on patrol that Mary-Ann saw the particularly devastating effects of domestic violence on families and communities, preparing her for her next role within the Boston Police Department. In 1996 Mary-Ann was promoted to detective and began her assignment as a dedicated domestic violence detective in the Roxbury station which serves one of Boston’s busiest and highest-crime areas. For the next 10 years she investigated thousands of cases of intimate partner and family abuse, in the process becoming a recognized and respected authority on domestic violence issues both inside and outside the police department. Within the BPD, Mary-Ann helped develop and implement departmental protocols for responding to and investigating domestic violence incidents and also taught DV-related courses at the Boston Police Academy. In the community, her knowledge and experience made her a sought-after speaker by many local neighborhood and advocacy groups, and she also received an award from the mayor of Boston in recognition of her work in domestic violence education and prevention.  During this time Mary-Ann also became involved in the No Next Time Project which aimed to reduce the number of restraining order violations by educating defendants on the stipulations and nuances of the orders. This project led to her participation in the planning and implementation of the JOD Initiative which created a dedicated domestic violence session in Dorchester District Court.  In 2006 Mary-Ann was promoted to Sergeant (and shortly after to Sergeant Detective), and assigned to a newly-centralized Domestic Violence Unit located at the Family Justice Center of Boston. In the DVU, Sergeant Detective Riva continues to help revise and implement departmental policies concerning domestic violence response, supervises DV detectives and advocates, and also investigates incidents of alleged domestic abuse involving department employees.  She remains committed to providing victims of domestic violence with justice and safety as well as educating those in law enforcement about best practices in domestic violence investigations and in serving victims and survivors.

MITCH ROTHENBERG has been working in the domestic violence field for over 25 years.  He trains, supervises, and consults with others regarding batterer intervention and still enjoys facilitating groups for men.

Hon. DAVID WEINGARTEN Judge David Weingarten has been an associate justice of the Boston Municipal Court since May, 2008. Before he became a judge, he was a partner at Macy & Weingarten from 2003 until 2008, where he engaged in a general litigation practice with an emphasis on criminal defense (both trials and appeals). He was a solo practitioner from 1995 to 2003. From 2000 through 2007 he appeared regularly in the domestic violence session of the Dorchester Court representing defendants in domestic violence cases. From 1982 through 1994, he worked with Krokidas and Bluestein, primarily in civil litigation. In 1981, he was a law clerk for the Massachusetts Superior Court. Judge Weingarten received an A.B. from Boston University in 1976 and a J.D. from Northeastern University in 1981.

Hon. CARL ASHLEY Prior to being elected as a Circuit Court Judge, Judge Ashley spent seven years practicing law in the Public Defender’s Office, specializing in children’s law.  He opened his law practice in 1989.  During his private practice, he was involved in litigation on custody issues as parent’s counsel as well as guardian ad litem. Judge Ashley was elected to Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 1999. He has served in general misdemeanor court, domestic violence court, juvenile dependency and delinquency court, homicide/sexual assault court and he is presently assigned felony drug court. In 2001, he was assigned to the Domestic Violence Courts.  He became the senior Domestic Violence Judge in 2002.  He has received advanced Domestic Violence Training from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.  Judge Ashley has served on the National Advisory Board for the President’s Family Justice Center Initiative and presently serves on the Steering Committee of the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence.  He has presented at the Criminal Justice Institute in Minnesota on Oversight for Domestic Violence Probationers.  He’s also presented on the issue of urban stalking at the 10th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act.  He is on the faculty of the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence. Judge Ashley has been involved with several domestic violence initiatives from participating at the United States Department of Justice Safety and Accountability Audit in Washington, DC and the Maine Domestic Violence Case Coordination Project Peer Exchange on Judicial Reviews, to training volunteers at local shelters. Judge Ashley is a recipient of several awards including the Milwaukee Women’s Center Sam Stellman Justice for Women Award in recognition of outstanding compassion, commitment, and leadership in promoting justice for women and families affected by domestic violence and Innovator of the Year Award in recognition of vision, creativity, and innovative spirit in 2003. Judge Ashley is Vice-Chair of the Supreme Court Policy and Planning Committee and Chair of its Subcommittee on Effective Justice Strategies Committee.  He is Chair of the Milwaukee Bar Associations’ Community Relations Committee. He is married to Felita Daniels Ashley and has two girls, Elise and Zoe. JEFFREY A. KREMERS I have been a judge in Milwaukee County since December 1992.  I am currently the Chief Judge for Milwaukee County Previously I was the presiding judge in the Civil, Felony, and Misdemeanor divisions.  I earned my J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1975 and my B.A. from the University of Colorado.  I spent 11 years in private practice handling a variety of civil litigation matters and before that was an assistant D.A. for Milwaukee County assigned to, and director of the Sensitive Crimes Unit. I am a frequent instructor to the Wisconsin Judiciary on a variety of topics including DV, Sexual Assault, Immigration issues, and Sexual Predators. I am a faculty member as well as past associate dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College. I am also a member of the faculty for the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence presented by the NCJFCJ and The Family Violence Prevention Fund. Other professional activities include membership on several statewide committees charged with making recommendations regarding judicial education in the areas of DV, Sexual Assault and Stalking, our Criminal Jury Instruction Committee, and jury issues.

DANIELLE BASIL LONG Ms. Long has worked in the domestic violence field for nearly 15 years.  Currently with the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance, she coordinates the development and implementation of model projects to improve access to and enforcement of restraining orders. Ms. Long was a policy analyst for the Wisconsin Supreme Court Director of State Courts Office where she focused on restraining order policy.  She was the project director for the Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative (JODI) in the First Judicial District of Wisconsin.  She trains locally and nationwide on domestic violence issues. Ms Long earned a B.A. in Criminology and Law Studies and Political Science from Marquette University.

TERESE DICK, Defense Attorney Terese Dick is an attorney with the Wisconsin State Public Defender in Milwaukee, the largest urban public defender office in the state, where she represents indigent clients charged with felony and misdemeanor level offenses.  Ms. Dick was a member of the Milwaukee Trial Office Management Team from 1993-2003 supervising a team of 10-12 staff attorneys.  She was instrumental in developing a felony level Drug Practice Group; involved in a system wise Restorative Justice Program, and other diversion/resolution alternatives to traditional court processes.  Since 1998 Ms. Dick has served as the defense bar representative to the three specialized Domestic Violence Courts representing the staff and private bar attorneys and acts as a liaison to the Judiciary presiding in the Domestic Violence Courts.  In 1998, when Milwaukee was chosen as one of the three sites for the Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative (“JODI), Ms. Dick was selected to serve as a member of the Advisory Board and served on many committees including: court processes; BIP programs; Victim’s rights; Victim/Witness Services in the court system; information sharing among the Civil, Criminal, Family and Children’s Courts; and worked in collaboration with the District Attorney’s office and the Department of Corrections including Probation and Parole.  In 2006 Ms. Dick was invited to participate in the “Faculty Development Meeting” sponsored by the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence (NJIDV) in partnership with the NCFJCJ, Family Violence Prevention Fund and the Department of Justice Office on Violence against Women.  In 2009, Ms. Dick was a faculty member at the “Enhancing Judicial Skills in Domestic Violence Cases Workshop.”  Also in 2009 she attended the “Judicial Roundtable Discussion:  Batterer Accountability and Opportunity for Change.”

CARMEN PITRE Carmen Pitre served as the Executive Director of the Task Force on Family Violence since 2002.  In February of 2009, Pitre drew on her long history of working in the fields in domestic violence, sexual assault and victim issues and steered the merger of Sojourner Truth House and the Task Force on Family Violence.  She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director overseeing criminal and civil advocacy service and other strategic partnerships of the agency. Pitre is Co-chair of the Office of Justice Assistance Violence Against Women Advisory Committee and a member of the Office of Justice Assistance Policy and Outreach Committee and VAWA Human Trafficking Sub-Committee.  Pitre serves a member of the Medical College of Wisconsin Violence Prevention Initiative Steering Committee and is a member of Tempo and Professional Dimensions. Pitre is the past Coordinator of the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and past Director of the First Judicial District Judicial Oversight Initiative. She has received the following professional awards: the 1999 Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence Other Systems Ally Award, 1999 Governors Award for Significant Accomplishment in Domestic Violence Award, 2000 I Am My Sisters Keeper Award and 2002 Wisconsin Humane Society Kindness Award.  Pitre is a 1984 graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Bachelor of Arts program.

GILBERT F. URFER GILBERT F. URFER is the Team Captain of Domestic Violence Unit in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.  Mr. Urfer graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marquette University Law School in 2002 where he prosecuted cases for the DAs Office as an intern.  After spending a few years in private practice, he returned to the DA’s office in 2005 where he prosecuted general crimes and termination of parental rights cases until 2006, when he joined the Domestic Violence Unit as a felony prosecutor.  For the past three years Mr. Urfer has prosecuted DV felonies and chronic-offender misdemeanors.  He has also been an instructor/lecturer both locally and at the national level on the subjects of domestic abuse investigation and prosecution.  In 2009 he was appointed as the Team Captain of the DV Unit by District Attorney John Chisholm.  He now supervises ten prosecutors operating in three DV Courts and provides specialized training for those prosecutors, support staff, and law enforcement.

THOMAS SALTER As a Probation and Parole agent Thomas Salter was a domestic violence specialist from 1999 to 2007. Other related experiences during this time included: assisting in the implementation of the JODI grant, developing and training the Milwaukee Regional Domestic Violence Protocol, acting as liaison to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s DV unit, being a member of the Regional Domestic Violence Workgroup and the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, attending the Safe Return Initiative Roundtable Conference in Portland Or, training domestic violence at Agent Basic Training, planning of the annual Milwaukee DV awareness month open house.  From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Salter supervised a sex offender specialty unit and from 2008 to the present has supervised a hybrid unit consisting of presentence investigation writers, a domestic violence specialist and comprehensive agents. Mr. Salter also assists in supervising the Milwaukee intake unit and is a liaison to Chief Misdemeanor and current Senior DV Judge Jeffrey Wagner.  As a field supervisor, Mr. Salter became a representative to the Milwaukee DV Homicide Review Committee and has continued his role with the regional workgroup and Milwaukee Commission on DV and SA.  Mr. Salter is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire with a degree in Criminal Justice focusing on Juvenile Justice.  He is also a proud husband and father to wife Andrea, children Aleksa and Marcus Salter and their new puppy Misiu.

ATTIYYA NURUDDIN Attiyya Nuruddin is currently the Director of Criminal Advocacy at Sojourner Family Peace Center, Wisconsin’s largest domestic violence agency.  In this role, Attiyya oversees the Restraining Order Clinic housed in the Milwaukee County Courthouse, the Domestic Abuse Advocate Program in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, and the Community Domestic Abuse Advocacy Program, which staffs domestic violence advocates in three Milwaukee Police Department districts.  Attiyya has over 17 years of work in the area of domestic violence, when she began her career with Sojourner Truth House.  In 1993, Attiyya founded the advocate program in the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office, and managed this project for 15 years.  In the beginning of 2009, Sojourner Truth House merged with the Task Force on Family Violence, and Attiyya’s oversight extended to the Restraining Order Clinic Program and the Community Domestic Abuse Advocacy Program.  Attiyya is a current member of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV), has served as President and Vice-President of the Board of Directors of WCADV, and was recognized by WCADV for efforts in expanding its reach to communities of color.  She also served as Chairperson of Communities of People of Color, has been a member of the regional Women of Color Network, and served as one of the pioneer board members for Wisconsin’s first hospital-based domestic violence project. Attiyya also served on the Wisconsin Attorney General's Crime Victim Council.  She has worked with Milwaukee's Judicial Oversight Initiative Project by managing a Domestic Violence Liaison Program, revising the Milwaukee Police Department Standard Operating Procedures as they pertain to domestic violence, and serving on several community-coordinated response committees.  She also currently serves on the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission.  Attiyya has been a presenter on numerous national conferences, including the PRAXIS “Coordinated Community Response” National Conference in 2007, the National Institute on the Prosecution of Domestic Violence in 2005, and the Leadership Institute for People of Color in 2004.  Attiyya also served as a curriculum development faculty member for several collaborative initiatives sponsored by the National Institute on the Prosecution of Domestic Violence, The National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the United States Department of Justice-Office on Violence against Women.

KARA SCHURMAN, Law Enforcement Kara Schurman has serves as the Domestic Violence Victim Liaison for the Milwaukee Police Department’s Sensitive Crimes Division for nearly 7 years.  As a civilian non-confidential advocate employed within law enforcement, she responds with officers to the scenes of domestic violence incidents as well as manages cases addressing the needs of victims of domestic violence, domestic violence-related sexual assault and stalking. As a former Special Assistant to the Deputy Counsel to the President, DVL Schurman is actively involved in connecting the Milwaukee Police Department’s Sensitive Crimes Division with the Milwaukee County DA’s Office Domestic Violence Unit in coordinating investigations in domestic violence, stalking and intimidation of victims/witnesses.  Kara Schurman is certified by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as a Domestic Violence Instructor and regularly trains law enforcement on the dynamics and investigations of domestic violence, intimidation and stalking.  Kara holds a B.A. in Criminology & Law Studies and Political Science from Marquette University and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Kara also serves as a board member for the American Indian Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and as an alternate member to the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

BRANT FUNKHOUSER, JD Brant Funkhouser is Director of Model Cities Legal Services, where he has represented low-income clients, primarily as a criminal defense attorney, for more than 30 years.  He is committed to advancing progressive and collaborative approaches that serve to increase equity within the legal system for all participants. Brant is a primary team member of Street Outreach Court, designed to serve people who are homeless or at risk, and Sobriety Court, having attended training sessions, which included observing existing court programs.  Both of these special programs are designed to support foundational changes that will prevent recidivism, help individuals and families, and promote public safety. In 2001 he was a participant in VERA sessions where victim advocates and defense attorneys from Boston, Milwaukee and Ann Arbor learned together about leading practices in domestic violence cases.  Mr. Funkhouser is currently Vice-Chair of the City of Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County Community Corrections Advisory Board, where he has been a board member for over fifteen years.  He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and J.D. from Wayne State University.  Mr. Funkhouser has represented more defendants in domestic violence cases in 15th District Court than anyone else.

DAVID J. H. GARVIN, MSW, LMSW Senior Director of Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he founded, supervises and directs the Alternatives to Domestic Aggression Program (ADA), the Behavioral Health Services and Substance Abuse Services, Adoption and Pregnancy Services, and the Supervised Visitation and Exchange Program. David has been directly involved in the anti-domestic violence movement since 1986 when he founded the ADA Program. Mr. Garvin is a co-founder and current Chair of the Batterer Intervention Services Coalition of Michigan (BISC-MI). Mr. Garvin was selected to serve as the co-chair of the Michigan Governor's Taskforce on creating standards for batterer intervention programs. Mr. Garvin has conducted trainings, consultations, conferences, workshops, in-services around the country and has been featured on local, state and national television, in magazines, professional journals and newspapers. Mr. Garvin was named the 2009 National Association of Social Workers-Michigan (NASW-MI) Social Worker of the Year. He earned the prestigious honor for his work in the areas of domestic violence, mental health and adoption.

JAMES E. HENDERSON JR. Jim Henderson is a technical assistance provider for the US Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women through the Battered Women’s Justice Project. From 1991-2008 Jim was a probation officer responsible for overseeing the policies and practices of Intensive Probation for Domestic Violence offenders in Ann Arbor MI. He was assigned to the Washtenaw County Domestic Violence Unit as part of the Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative from 1999 to 2005 and works from a system perspective to enhance victim’s safety and defendant accountability. He has provided batterer intervention within the Detroit metropolitan area since 1995. Before joining the criminal justice system in 1993, he worked as the clinical director of Straight, Inc., a family oriented substance abuse program for drug using young people and their families. In 1998, Jim was appointed by the Mayor of Ann Arbor to serve on the Ann Arbor Domestic Violence Coordinating Board. He has served two terms as a Regional Representative for the Batterer Intervention Services Coalition of Michigan and has been active with them since 1997. He has also been an active member of the Arab American Domestic Violence Coalition from 2001-2006. In 2002 he received a certificate of appreciation for outstanding service on behalf of crime victims from the Washtenaw County Prosecutors office.  Jim has designed and conducted training’s, on the effective interviewing of domestic violence offenders and victims. He has endeavored to change the focus of the victim interview from that of “information gatherer” to that of “information provider”.  Jim trains on the utilization of probation group reporting to gain better compliance, using the community to assist in the monitoring of batterers, thus enhancing the safety of those victimized by the violence. Jim has been faculty for several organizations including the multiple probation and parole associations, The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Association, VERA institute of Justice, the Michigan Judicial Institute, Batterer Intervention Services Coalition of Michigan, Greenbook, The Battered Women’s Justice Project, American Probation & Parole Association, The National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, the American Prosecutors Research Institutes National Institute on the Prosecution of Domestic Violence., The National Collage of District Court  Attorneys Domestic Violence Conference, Praxis International, and The Presidents Family Justice Centers. Jim is on the national advisory board or acts as a consultancy team member for the Family Justice Center Alliance, The Battered Women’s Justice Program, and The Center for Court Innovation. Jim has been a Certified Addition Counselor II since 1987 and an Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor since 1990. He received his Master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan in 1995.

ELIZABETH POLLARD HINES Elizabeth Pollard Hines was elected Judge of the 15th District Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1992.  She served as Chief Judge from 1997 to 2001, and as the former Presiding Judge of the District Court Division of the Washtenaw County Trial Court when all courts in the county were unified.   She presides over criminal cases including a specialized domestic violence docket, and she helped create and launch “Street Outreach Court”, a community project of the Washtenaw County criminal justice system and advocates for the homeless.    Judge Hines received her BA, with honor, from the University of Michigan in 1974, and her JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 1977.  In 1987, she was appointed as the first Chair of Ann Arbor’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Board.  She represented her colleagues on the Executive Committee managing a Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative (“JODI”) sponsored by the US Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women  from 1999 to 2004, one of three sites in the country selected to see what works best in cases of  domestic violence.  She helps train new judges on DV through the Michigan Judicial Institute.  She was appointed to serve on the Governor’s Task Force on Children’s Justice and the Governor’s Task Force on Batterer Intervention Standards.  She was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to the Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure to review rules of criminal procedure used by all Michigan courts.  She is a member of the National Domestic Violence Court Technical Assistance Consultancy Team for the Center for Court Innovation, and the National Center for State Court’s Advisory Committee for its Problem-Solving Justice Toolkit.   A member of the Board of Governors of the AJA, Judge Hines is past Chair of the AJA Domestic Violence Committee, Chair of the AJA Access to Justice Committee, and a member of the AJA Executive Committee.  She is active in her community and has received numerous awards including the “Patriot Award” from the Washtenaw County Bar Association, and the “2008 Distinguished Service Award” from the National Center for State Courts.  STACY M. KEARNEY, MSW Stacy received a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Lourdes College and went on to earn her Master’s of Social Work degree from The University of Michigan. Stacy has worked at The Children’s Advocacy Center as a crisis counselor for child victims of abuse.  She has also worked as a legal advocate at Safe House Center in Ann Arbor assisting victims of domestic violence. Currently Stacy is assigned as a Victim/Witness Advocate with the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office Domestic Violence Unit.  She assists victims through the court system, advises them of their rights, and assists with the prosecution of the batterer.

BRIAN MACKIE, Prosecutor Assistant prosecutor, 1978 to 1991 Attorney grievance commission 1991-92 Elected prosecutor since January, 1993

ELIZABETH MCGUIRE, Deputy Director – Police Services, (retired) Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety  Deputy Director McGuire began her police career in 1985.  She is certified as a law enforcement response to domestic violence instructor and taught several years at the local police academy. McGuire served on the Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative executive committee as the law enforcement representative and was an active participant in the workings of the Initiative.  McGuire has also served on the Board of the local domestic violence advocacy shelter, SafeHouse Center.  From 2002 to 2005 she served as the President of the Board.  Deputy Director McGuire received her BA in Business Administration from Cleary College in 1991 and has attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.  She is a member and past president of the FBI National Academy Associates, Michigan Chapter and past member and past president of the Crime Prevention Association of Michigan.

DAVID M. OBLAK, MSW Mr. Oblak earned his MSW at the University of Michigan School of Social Work in 2006 and BSW at Eastern Michigan University in 2004. He is presently a probation agent with the 15th Judicial District Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he works exclusively with probationers convicted of misdemeanor Domestic Violence and Stalking.  David has extensive training and experience working in the fields of mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness and has been directly involved in the anti-domestic violence movement since 2004 when he was hired as a group facilitator for the Alternatives to Intimidation and Violence BIP.

LORE A. ROGERS JD, Domestic Violence Advocate Lore A. Rogers is a staff attorney with the State of Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board.  Previously, she worked as the Interim Co-Director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center at the University of Michigan, as the Director of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Program at the YWCA of Greater Flint, and as  the Legal Advocacy Director at Domestic Violence Project, Inc./SAFE House in Washtenaw County. Lore also worked for as a domestic violence grant coordinator and pretrial probation compliance officer with the Washtenaw County Trial Courts.  Before becoming directly employed in the domestic and sexual violence arena, she worked as a civil trial attorney for 13 years.  Lore has an extensive background teaching on issues of domestic violence.  She has designed and conducted trainings on the nature and prevalence of domestic violence; domestic violence laws; confidentiality and safety; personal protection orders; effective interviewing and assessment of survivors and batterers; working with survivors of domestic violence in family law proceedings; and the impact of domestic violence on children.  She is a certified instructor on domestic violence dynamics for the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and has traveled throughout the State of Michigan to train law enforcement officers on this topic.  For several years Lore served as an adjunct professor on Domestic Violence Law at the Michigan State University College of Law.  In addition to her work in Michigan, Lore has served as faculty at state and national conferences on domestic violence in Illinois, South Dakota, Maine, Mississippi and Wyoming.  Lore has significant teaching experience in other areas as well.  In the past she was an instructor and a moderator for several courses presented to lawyers by Michigan’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education (“ICLE”).   Ms. Rogers also served as an adjunct professor of Pretrial Advocacy at Wayne State University Law School from 1996 through 2000, and was a guest instructor for the Trial Practice Class at the University of Michigan Law School from 1992 to 2000.  She is a 1983 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.

Hon. DEBORAH A. HAENDIGES Erie County Supreme Court Justice, Supreme Court Justice Haendiges was assigned to the Erie County IDV Court upon the commencement of her term as a Justice of the Supreme Court, 8th Judicial District in January 2006. Prior to her election to the Supreme Court bench, Justice Haendiges served as a Support Magistrate in Erie County Family Court in 2005 and was nominated by the Governor to serve an interim term as Erie County Family Court Judge in 2004.  As a seasoned Family Law practitioner prior to her service on the bench, she brings to the Court a rich and unique blend of skills and experience acquired through years of working with children and families in distress.  Before ascending to the bench, Justice Haendiges was a partner in the law firm of Pusatier, Sherman, Abbot and Sugarman in Kenmore, New York.  At the law firm, she primarily practiced in the area of Family Law, representing hundreds of spouses, parents and children in a broad variety of complex legal matters in Family and Supreme Court.  She has also briefed and argued many appeals at the Appellate Court level concerning intricate Family Law issues.  Judge Haendiges has an ongoing dedication to ensuring effective and sensitive representation for children in the courts.  Before her appointment to the bench she was frequently appointed by judges to serve as a law guardian representing children in both Family and Supreme Court matters.  She had continuously served as a volunteer attorney for low-income clients through the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Bar Association of Erie County.  A leader within the local bar, Judge Haendiges has served as the Chair of the “Practice and Procedure in Family Court Committee” of the Bar Association of Erie County, working to promote continuing education for Family Law attorneys and to foster effective Family Court practice.  Judge Haendiges frequently lectured and published materials for continuing legal education conferences on Divorce and Family Court topics.  Judge Haendiges was a member of the Board of Directors and served as Treasurer of the Women’s Bar Association of Western New York.  Justice Haendiges earned a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and returned to UB’s Law School where she earned her law degree.  She is married for 31 years to Michael Haendiges, an Energy Engineer and they have twin daughters, Natalie and Jennifer.

HALLIE BROWNSTEIN - Haven House Advocate Domestic Violence Victim Advocate Child & Family Services Haven House Buffalo, NY Hallie Brownstein is a Domestic Violence Victim Advocate with Child & Family Services Haven House in Erie County, New York.  Ms. Brownstein graduated from New England College in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and fine arts.  After college, she worked with at-risk children and adolescents in residential treatment programs in California and New York.  Ms. Brownstein began providing advocacy to domestic violence victims and survivors for in 1995.  She contributed to the development of Erie County’s first DV Court in Buffalo City Court and she was the first victim advocate to work directly with the prosecutors in the DV Bureau.   Since 2003, Ms. Brownstein has been employed through Haven House in collaboration with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office Be Safe Program, funded through an OVW Grant.  Ms. Brownstein provides advocacy in Erie County’s Justice Courts and in Erie County Integrated Domestic Violence Court.

COLLEEN GIBBONS, MSW Colleen has served as the  Resource Coordinator for the Integrated Domestic Violence Court and the Felony Domestic Violence Court in Erie County since January 2004. Ms Gibbons maintains linkages with criminal justice agencies and off-site community agencies, and is responsible for all mandated and voluntary referrals related to the criminal, family and matrimonial matters. She coordinates information with probation, domestic violence programs, and various mental health and substance abuse agencies to assist the court in intensive judicial monitoring  to better ensure offender accountability and victim safety.  Ms. Gibbons also provides training for all new court employees in the Eighth Judicial District of  NYS on Domestic Violence in the Workplace, and  assists in coordinating annual seminars for the various stakeholder groups involved with the Domestic Violence Courts in Erie County.  Prior to becoming  Resource Coordinator,  Ms. Gibbons  served as a Domestic Violence Training Specialist responsible for educating law enforcement, the courts,  community groups, and volunteer advocates on the dynamics of domestic violence. She had many years providing crisis intervention for victims of family violence, elder abuse, and sexual assault having served as a victim advocate with Crisis Services of Erie County. She obtained her Masters in Social Work with Community Organization Concentration from SUNY @ Buffalo in 2003.

KEVIN C. GIBBONS, Esq. Kevin C. Gibbons is an associate counsel at the law firm Gibbons & Stadler, P.C. Mr. Gibbons practices family law, criminal law and personal injury. He is trained by the Erie County Assigned Counsel Program in IDV matters and he frequently appears in Erie IDV Court on behalf of Petitioners, Respondents, and as the Attorney for the Child. He has participated in IDV committees and programs serving to educate attorneys and various community stakeholders of IDV concepts. He is currently the liaison to the Integrated Domestic Violence Court on behalf of the Erie County Family Court Practice and Procedure Committee.  Mr. Gibbons is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County as well as the New York State Defenders Association. He is also a member of the Law Guardian Panel for the 4th Department New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division. He has assisted in developing and presenting various CLE’s concerning areas of family law. Mr. Gibbons is a graduate of Canisius College and the University at Buffalo Law School.

KAREN KORKUC - Assistant DA  Karen Korkuc received a B.A. in Philosophy in  1982 and a  J.D. in 1985 from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Following graduate study in Philosophy, Karen was an Assistant District Attorney in Erie County, New York from 1987 to 2001.  Between 2001 and 2009 she was engaged in the private practice of law focusing primarily on criminal defense before rejoining the Erie County District Attorney’s Office in April, 2009.  Karen is currently the Assistant District Attorney assigned to the Erie County Integrated Domestic Violence Court.