The staff of the NSVRC is guided and assisted by a diverse and distinguished National Council committed to ending sexual violence. Advisory Council members serve three-year terms during which time they participate in quarterly conference calls, annual meetings, committee work, and provide consultation on a variety of topics as needed.  To nominate someone for the NSVRC Advisory Council please complete the information requested in the “Nomination Form”. Nominations are reviewed periodically.

Current Members

Emeriti

Victoria L. Banyard, PhD.
Department of Psychology
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH
Member: 2007

Vicki Banyard is an associate professor in Psychology, Justice Studies, and Women's Studies at the University of New Hampshire. She is also co-director of Prevention Innovations: Research and Practices for Ending Violence Against Women on Campus. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan and has post-doctoral research and clinical training in work with survivors of interpersonal violence. Her research focuses on understanding the long-term mental health consequences of interpersonal violence, especially factors related to resilience among survivors. Her work also focuses on community approaches to sexual violence prevention and intervention. She has been involved with the design and evaluation of "Bringing in the Bystander" a sexual assault prevention program that gives all community members a role to play in ending sexual violence.
 

Peggy Brown
Executive Director
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
Juneau, AK
Member: 2009

Peggy Brown began her journey into victims’ rights advocacy through law enforcement and healthcare.  She is currently the Executive Director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.  She has been working in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and advocacy since the early 1980’s.  Her educational background is in law enforcement, healthcare, engineering and policy development.  During her tenure as Executive Director at ANDVSA Ms. Brown has served the state of Alaska in providing leadership on both a state and national level.  Her expertise is in the areas of legislative advocacy, legal advocacy, policy analysis, economic justice, program management and development, project administration, and technical assistance and training of programs, state agencies and community partners.

Ms. Brown has a passionate commitment to advocate, as a dual domestic and sexual violence coalition, for prevention- and sexual assault efforts for rural and extreme rural populations.  She has served on several boards to support the often silent voices of women and children in Alaska and nationally.


Maia Christopher
Executive Director
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA)
Beaverton, OR
Member: 2010

Maia has been the Executive Director of ATSA for the past three years, where she has been instrumental in developing strong partnerships with victim advocacy organizations. Prior to that, she worked at a Regional Treatment Centre in British Columbia. She has made numerous national presentations on a variety of topics related to the treatment of sex offenders in both the United States and Canada
 

Marci Diamond
Massachusetts Department of Health
Boston, MA
Member: 2004
Chair

Marci Diamond, M.P.A., has been the Director of Sexual Assault Prevention and Survivor Services for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health since 1995. Her responsibilities include oversight of Massachusetts’ statewide system of rape crisis centers and related sexual and domestic violence prevention initiatives, including the Rape Prevention Education Grant program. She co-founded the Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership, served on the steering committee of the Governor’s Task Force on Sexual Assault and Abuse and co-chaired the Governor’s Commission on Domestic Violence Immigrant and Refugee Subcommittee. Currently she chairs the Massachusetts Coalition for Sex Offender Management and serves on numerous statewide and national advisory groups including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s Advisory Council. Prior to joining state service, Ms. Diamond managed a shelter for battered women and their children and taught adolescent and adult students in Spanish and English. She remains active in related social justice/human rights movements and has broad board experience with organizations focused on affordable housing, children’s issues, community organizing and collaborative fundraising for non-profit social justice groups. She is the parent of one daughter
 

Robert Franklin
Male Outreach Specialist for Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention
Virginia Department of Health
Richmond, VA
Member: 2008

Robert Franklin has worked on issues of sexual violence since the early 1990s when he was an advocate for a rape crisis center and coordinated a batter's intervention program at a domestic violence agency. As a college administrator, he presented a number of workshops on the state, regional, and national level on issues from alcohol abuse prevention, the male gender role, and why/how to involve men in sexual violence prevention. Currently, he is the male outreach coordinator at Virginia Department of Health continuing efforts to involve men in sexual violence prevention.
 

 
Grace S. Mattern
Executive Director
New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
Concord, NH
Member: 2010

Grace S. Mattern retired from her position as Executive Director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence on June 15, 2011 after 30 years with the Coalition.  She was engaged in public policy and systems advocacy to promote effective community interventions in response to domestic and sexual violence and coordinated a statewide network of programs that assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.  She has served on the NH Governor’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, the Board of Directors of the NH Coalition to End Homelessness, and the NH Network of Child Advocacy Centers, and served as a Co-Chair of the National Greenbook Policy Advisory Council and the Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.  Currently she is the Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the NH Center for Nonprofits, and is a Research to Practice Specialist with Prevention Innovations at the University of New Hampshire.

Jessica Mindlin, Esq.
Senior Legal Counsel
Victim Rights Law Center
Portland, OR
Member: 2006

Jessica Mindlin, Esq., is Senior Legal Counsel for the Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC), a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the nation’s legal response to rape and sexual assault.  Jessica staffs the VRLC’s Portland (Oregon) office. Prior to joining the VRLC, she was the Senior Staff Attorney for the National Crime Victim Law Institute and the Center for Law & Public Policy on Sexual Violence, and a clinical instructor at Lewis and Clark Law School. Jessica has served as the statewide Support Unit Attorney for the Oregon Law Center and Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Coordinator of the Oregon Supreme Court-Oregon State Bar Task Force on Gender Fairness, and Legal Access Project Director for the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Prior to law school, Jessica worked as a rape victim advocate, counselor and legal advocate for battered women, and a counselor for runaway youth. Jessica graduated with honors from the University of  Washington School of Law. She is the co-author and editor of "Rights and Remedies: Meeting the Civil Legal Needs of Sexual Violence Survivors," and author of "Child Sexual Abuse and Criminal Statutes of Limitation: A Model For Reform," 65 Wash. L.Rev.(1990), and other publications.
 

Strong Oak, LICSW
Sexual Assault Community Educator
New England Learning Center for women in Transition
Greenfield, MA
Member: 2010

Strong Oak is an indigenous woman of Maliseet descent. She coordinates the Visioning Bear Circle, a native American sexual violence prevention and survivor service program of the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition a sexual assault and domestic violence agency serving the Franklin County and North Quabbin regions of Western Massachusetts. She has a MSSA from the School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western University, Cleveland Ohio.


Paula Orlosky, MA
Health Scientist/Project Officer
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
NCIPC - Division of Violence Prevention
Atlanta, GA
Member: 2010

Paula Orlosky joined the CDC as a Public Health Prevention Services Fellow in 2007 and has worked across a range of public health disciplines, including refugee health, zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, community health, foodborne illnesses. Ms. Orlosky took a positon in violence prevention upon completion of the Fellowship and manages 10 cooperative agreements along with playing a a major role in a number of workgroups and task groups within the CDC's Division of Violence Prevention.  She has a Masters in Psychology and a background in research, which includes pharmaceutical clinical trials and qualitative, quanitative, andn mixed methods design research in HIV/AIDS and sexual violence.

Holly Ramsey-Klawsnik, Ph.D.
Trainer/Consultant
Klawsnik & Klawsnik Associates
Canton, MA
Member: 2011

Dr. Holly Ramsey Klawsnik of Klawsnik & Klawsnik Associates in Canton, Massachusetts is a researcher, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, and Licensed Certified Social Worker.  She has provided extensive clinical services to children, older adults, and adults with disabilities and has provided forensic evaluations and consultations for agencies charged with investigating alleged victimization. She has conducted multiple research studies, including National Institute on Aging-funded research regarding the sexual victimization of vulnerable adults in institutions and a study of elder sexual assault within the family.   Holly has authored over 70 articles, book chapters, and training manuals including “The Sexual Violence in Later Life Information Packet” published by the NSVRC.  She has testified before the US senate on elder abuse, is a frequent conference speaker, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse since 1999. She was an invited participant in the 2010 White House Roundtable on Sexual Violence.  As a trainer for health care, criminal justice, social services, and rape crisis/domestic violence professionals, her work also focuses on investigative interviewing, trauma impact, casework intervention, mental health problems, and professional self-care.

Jennifer Rauhouse
Executive Director/Founder
Peer Solutions
Phoenix, AZ
Member: 2011

Jennifer Rauhouse has worked for 30 years to end sexual, relationship and family violence including child abuse before it begins.  She founded Peer Solutions in 1996 and has developed, implemented and evaluated STAND & SERVE (S&S), a locally and nationally awarded school, family and community primary prevention initiative designed to cultivate safety, equality and respect as norms.  Jennifer has provided primary prevention trainings with an emphasis on youth and community mobilization for the following states: Arizona, California, Louisiana, Idaho, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.  Since 2005, she has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to edit and review curriculum as well as assisting with the development of National Sexual and Interpersonal Violence Primary Prevention and Evaluation Guidelines.  Jennifer  is currently serving on a committee to update the Cultural Competency Curriculum for the Arizona Department of Behavior Health Services Employees and Providers.

Delilah Rumburg
CEO
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
Enola, PA
Member: 2000

Delilah Rumburg has served as Executive Director of PCAR since 1995. She has been responsible for overseeing PCAR's tremendous growth and outreach to communities not only in Pennsylvania, but throughout the nation. She was appointed by Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to the Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, where she served as co-chair.  Ms. Rumburg previously served as a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) on Violence Against Women. In addition, she has helped to shape national policy on violence against women by participating in congressional briefings at our nation's capitol.   

At the state level, Ms. Rumburg is a gubernatorial appointee to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). A popular keynote speaker at numerous national conferences on sexual violence, Ms. Rumburg was awarded the National Crime Victim Service Award presented by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Departments, U.S. Department of Justice, in 2006.
 

Cassandra Thomas
Senior Vice President
Houston Area Women’s Center
Houston, TX
Member: 2008

Cassandra Thomas, recognized as a leading national expert on sexual assault, began her involvement with the Houston Area Women’s Center as a volunteer in 1981, joined the staff in 1985 and became Director of the rape crisis program in 1987. In 1997 she was named Senior Vice President of Direct Services, and two years later was promoted to Senior Vice President of the Center.

Thomas is an inspirational keynote speaker and her expertise in sexual and domestic violence is frequently sought out by national media. She has appeared on national news programs such as The Today Show, World News Tonight, Prime Time, and 20/20 and has been quoted in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Glamour, and Ebony.

Thomas serves on the Board of Directors of the Texas Council on Family Violence, the Advisory Council for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and the National Campus Rape Project. She served on the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Sexual Assault Committee and is a member of the Women of Color Network and the Center for Disease Control’s Sexual Assault Working Group. She was also appointed to the Crime Victim’s Institute by Texas Attorney genera, John Cornyn.

Rebecca Ward, Psy. D
Director
Centro de Ayuda a Victimas de Violación
(Rape Victims Support Center)
Department of Health
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Member: 2009

Rebecca Ward is a  doctor in Clinical Psychology and the Director of Centro de Ayuda a Víctimas de Violación (Rape Victims Support Center, RVSC),  a program of the Department of Health for the prevention of sexual violence since 1993. She is also a member of the dual Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence since 2001. She began her work as a psychologist at the Center and at a shelter for battered women in 1993. Her doctoral dissertation was on the “Translation and Adaptation of the Eight  Emotional States Questionnaire and Socio-demographic Profile of battered women in shelters”. In 1996 she coordinated the Clinical Services Unit at the Rape Victims Support Center.

She is a member of the Task Force to Eradicate Violence Against Women coordinated by the Women’s Advocate Office; participated in the focal groups to develop the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations; is a member of the Advisory Board of RAINN.org.  Dr. Ward also works with the development of public policy regarding violence against women and child maltreatment issues. As the Director of the RVSC she develops and distributes the Protocols for Intervention with victims/survivors of sexual and domestic violence at the Emergency Rooms. She is also the Director of the Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Committee and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Program in Puerto Rico, a project of the CDC. As part of this assignment, she wrote the first state plan for the primary prevention of sexual violence in Puerto Rico after two years of planning with the SVPPC.

Dr. Ward writes and implements 9 federal grants in order to work with the prevention and intervention with sexual violence through the satellite offices of the RVSC located at the six regions of the DOH Island wide.

Dr. Ward is also a clinical supervisor of graduated students at the Department of  Psychology, Interamerican University and a mother of two kids.

Nichole Witt
Executive Director
White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, Inc.
Mission, SD
Member: 2008

Nichole Witt is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and resides on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. She was born and raised on the reservation and graduated high school from St. Francis Indian School. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and American Indian Studies from the University of South Dakota (USD). She began her master’s degree program at USD. In 2002, Nichole began working for the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, Inc. (WBCWS) as their Grant Manager. Ms. Witt develops, writes and implements federal grants received by WBCWS. She works with tribal agencies to develop, write and administer the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s Office on Violence Against Women grants which include the STOP, Arrest, Tribal Coalition, Safety for Indian Women and Grants to Indian Tribal Governments grants. She is responsible for the implementation of the grant’s goals and objectives, coordinating the criminal justice system response, victim and health services, and completing OVW grant correspondence and reporting.

Ellen Yin-Wycoff
Associate Director
California Coalition Against Sexual Violence (CALCASA)
Sacramento, CA
Member: 2010
Vice Chair

Ellen Yin-Wycoff serves as the Associate Director at the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault. (CALCASA). Since working in the violence against women/victim services field since 1985, she has also served as the Executive Director of the Sacramento Rape Crisis Center and held staff/management positions at the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA), Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV), WEAVE, Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center, and Lutheran Social Services of Southern California. Ellen also served as an appointed member on the Sacramento County Health Council and on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA), Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center, and My Sister’s House in Sacramento, California. Currently, Ellen serves as an appointed member on the State Sexual Assault Advisory Committee through the California Emergency Management Agency.