Roper Victim Assistance Academy Celebrates Graduates and 15th Anniversary, June 8
June 1, 2018
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
The Roper Victim Assistance Academy of Maryland, a program managed by the University of Baltimore's School of Criminal Justice, will celebrate its most recent graduates and its 15th anniversary on Friday, June 8 from 1-2:30 p.m. at the Bon Secours Center, Marriottsville Road, in Marriottsville, Md. The event will feature a keynote address delivered by Katharine T. Sullivan, principal deputy director for the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women and a former Eagle County, Colo. judge.
The Roper Victim Assistance Academy is one of the longest running academies of its kind in the country, providing the foundational training sought by every victim service-providing agency in Maryland. Over the last 15 years, the academy has trained 644 basic and more than 2,800 advanced training participants. The academy has one of the only certification programs in the country for victim service providers, a three-tiered program with more than 50 graduates. The Academy represents more than 400 agencies across eight states, plus Washington, D. C. and China, and boasts the longest-standing and largest alumni association compared to other state victim assistance academies across the United States.
Appropriately trained victim service providers lift the credibility and quality of services provided to crime victims. Nationally-recognized trainers travel from across the country to offer Roper Victim Assistance Academy participants the best possible victim services training.
"At a time when the #MeToo movement is bringing widespread recognition to the field of victim services, it is critically important to recognize the need for appropriate education and training of those who serve crime victims," said Debra Stanley, director of the academy and executive director of UB's School of Criminal Justice. “Education helps to raise the professional standards and certification of a field, and in turn raises the quality and relevancy of services provided to crime victims.”
The graduates represent a wide range of victim services providers, from law enforcement, the court system and corrections, to domestic violence advocates and social workers. Three alumni will be given special recognition awards:
- 2018 graduate Lesia Anderson, founder of When Trauma Hurts and champion and voice for child victims, will receive the Vince Roper Scholarship Award;
- Veronica Land-Davis, class of 2017, executive director of Roberta's House in Baltimore, will be recognized for her outstanding service to crime victims of Maryland;
- Pamela Widgeon, class of 2007, former chief of victim and witness services for the Office of the Baltimore State's Attorney, will be recognized for her exceptional leadership, service, support and dedication to the needs of Maryland crime victims.
Learn more about the Roper Victim Assistance Academy of Maryland.
Learn more about UB’s School of Criminal Justice.