Our team has more than 50 years of combined experience working at the intersection of disability and abuse and have diverse backgrounds in disability, domestic violence, sexual violence, nonprofit management, and more. We also maintain a growing network of policymakers, practitioners, and first responders who are successfully changing their systems for the betterment of survivors with disabilities and frequently call on them to provide peer learning to the communities we support.
With more than 15 years experience in the area of victimization of people with disabilities, Ms. Smith directs the Center on Victimization and Safety at the Vera Institute of Justice, and oversees its portfolio of work aimed at addressing abuse of people with disabilities. 
Ms. Hope brings over 18 years experience in nonprofit management and working towards social justice. Currently, as a project director for the Center on Victimization and Safety, she oversees a variety of national training and technical assistance projects designed to ensure that victims and survivors who have not traditionally been able to access victim services are able to do so. 
Ms. Harrell began working in the anti-violence against women movement in 1990 volunteering at the local domestic violence shelter. Today, as a project director at the Center on Victimization and Safety at Vera, her work focuses on helping individuals, organizations, and communities across the country address violence against adults and children with disabilities. 
Ms. Brown has been working to address domestic and sexual violence for over 10 years. As a senior program associate with the Center on Victimization and Safety, she works closely with local and statewide collaborations to improve their services to victims of domestic and sexual violence who have disabilities or are Deaf. 
Ms. Myers joined Vera in October 2010 as a senior program associate for the Accessing Safety Initiative. She brings over 20 years experience working to end violence against people with disabilities. Currently, she provides training and assistance to grantees across the country who want to end abuse of people with disabilities. 
Leni Dworkis joined Vera in November 2015 as a Research Analyst in the Center on Victimization and Safety. Leni brings with her a passion for working with at-risk and marginalized populations.
Prior to joining Vera she served in research assistant and graduate teaching assistant roles exploring t...