Leadership Team
Executive Director
Director, National Crime Victim Bar Association
Renee Williams
Renée is the Executive Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. She also serves as the Director of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, an affiliate program of the National Center. Prior to taking the helm of the NCVBA, Renée was the executive director of a legal services organization in Pittsburgh, which focused on the legal rights of victims of domestic violence and other indigent clients. Renée is seasoned in nonprofit leadership, also serving as a board member for Athena International and Voices in Action. Renée is passionate and stays connected to the community as well. She mentors through Big Brothers Big Sisters, volunteers at Children’s National Hospital, and advocates for children as a court-appointed special advocate. For these efforts, she has been recognized as an Athena Young Professional Finalist, named one of Pittsburgh’s 40 under 40, and received a Jefferson Award. Renée completed her undergraduate studies in theatre arts at Point Park University and subsequently received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Law.
Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
Deidre Watford
Deidre Watford is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the National Center, bringing over 35 years of experience in strategic planning, project management, creative direction and project budgeting. She worked at several local and national advertising agencies in New York and Richmond, Va, before deciding to harness the power of the relationships she had built over the years. In 2005, she founded JosMar & Associates where she became known for being flexible, diverse, independent and dedicated to her clients. She quickly became the go to resource for many diverse clients in the Richmond, Va area. In 2013 she founded and still operates as President of The MJW Foundation, which was founded in honor of her mother, a trailblazer for the marginalized communities of the South Bronx. The MJW Foundation is an early childhood development organization which serves the underserved communities in the South Bronx by introducing cultural experiences and educational support to our young children. She has a passion for service and puts that passion to work at the National Center by helping to guide the messaging to our victim communities and advocates.
Managing Director of Programs and Grants
Sarah Ohlsen
Sarah Ohlsen is the Managing Director of Programs and Grants. She previously served as the Director of the Center for Victim & Survivor Services, where she provided vision, leadership, and direction to the direct service programs at the National Center for Victims of Crime. Sarah’s two decade career working with the criminal justice system and survivors of crime spans leadership and strategic roles at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Multnomah County, Oregon Department of Community Justice, and the District of Columbia’s Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants. Sarah served on Multnomah County’s Sex Trafficking Collaborative, as both the Director and an Executive team member for six years, on the Oregon Attorney Generals Taskforce for Victims’ Rights Enforcement, and as a Mayoral appointment to the District of Columbia’s Concealed Pistol Licensing Review Board. Sarah holds her master’s degree in criminology from George Mason University. She is considered an expert in human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, system-based victim services, and post-conviction crime victims’ rights.
Directors
Director, Events and Special Projects
Katy Maskolunas
Katy Maskolunas is the Director of Events and Special Projects at the National Center, where she oversees planning of the annual National Training Institute and manages the National Center’s work related to victim involvement in criminal justice reform, including the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge. She has worked in many different roles during her years at the National Center, including on the National Crime Victim Bar Association, National Compassion Fund, and DC Victim Hotline. Prior to joining the National Center, she worked as a graduate intern at the Arlington County Police Department, specializing in homeland security. Katy holds a MA in Forensic Psychology from Marymount University, and a BS in Psychology from the University of North Georgia.
Director, Center for Victim Service Professionals
Rachel Gibson
Rachel Gibson is the Director of the Center for Victim Service Professionals at the National Center for Victims of Crime, where she works to further the mission by supporting and overseeing NCVC’s programs for victim service professionals, providing training and technical assistance.
Rachel was formerly a Senior Technology Safety Specialist on the Safety Net Team at the National Network to End Domestic Violence where she worked to increase the safety and privacy of survivors and victims of crime. She developed training and technical assistance and provided expert thought leadership to build the capacity of victim service providers, private industries, lawmakers, and communities at large to provide advocacy and support to survivors in this digital society.
Rachel also worked at the National Resource Center on Reaching Victims through the Vera Institute of Justice, and at the former Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence as the Technology Safety Program Specialist. She holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida.
Director, Center of Research and Innovation
Dr. Andre Mansion
Dr. Andre Mansion is the Center’s Director of Research and Innovation, bringing over 10 years of experience conducting research on issues relating to criminal and juvenile justice, policy reform, and trauma. He is driven by a desire to increase the utilization of credible empirical knowledge into policy. Andre has led research efforts for the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University Law Center on issues of adolescent development, juvenile offending, trauma, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. He has also provided subject matter expertise to the Department of Defense, where he conducted research and developed programming aimed at the prevention of combat-related trauma, as well as the reduction of mental health-related stigma among active duty US Service members. Andre received his undergraduate degree with distinction in psychology from Duke University and holds a JD in law and a PhD in Psychology from Arizona State University’s Joint JD/PhD Program in Psychology and Law. He is also an active member in his community at the national, local, and professional level. He is an Ambassador for the Clinton Foundation 20|30 Group, a Center Associate and Training Instructor for the DC Center for the LGBT Community, and serves on the American Psychology-Law Society’s (APA Div. 41) Committee on Corrections.
Director, Victim Assistance to Support Tribes Center (VAST)
Renee Bourque
Renee Bourque is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma. Renee currently serves as the Program Director for the Victim Assistance to Support Tribes (VAST) Center for the National Center for Victims of Crime. Renee was recently appointed by Muscogee (Creek) Principle Chief to the Mvskoke Reservation Protection Commission as a committee member for the Violence Against Native Women committee and the Co-Chair for the Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee. Renee also serves as a subject matter expert for the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is currently working with Operation Lady Justice Task Force and DOJ to develop a volunteer in policing program and make this available to Tribal communities.
Renee previously served as a federal Victim Specialist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Great Plains Region (District I), serving victims of violent crimes on numerous reservations across Indian Country. Renee has held previous positions as a sworn police officer in Oklahoma (tribal and state), tribal domestic violence/sexual assault advocate, and a state investigator for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. Renee is also a Tribal Court Legal Advocate, certified by the National Tribal Trial College and University of Wisconsin Law School.
Renee has over 19 years of experience dealing with victims of crime in Indian Country, working on several different reservations including Oklahoma’s complex checkerboard jurisdiction. She has extensive knowledge and experience of assisting victims of crime, with an emphasis on crimes against women and children in tribal, state, and Federal court settings. Renee’s experience as an advocate and law enforcement officer, provides a unique perspective on systems response in addressing victim’s needs. Renee hopes to use her experience and perspective to raise awareness of the unique issues facing victims of violent crime in Indian Country.
Renee holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from St. Gregory’s University, Shawnee, OK and a Master’s of Science Degree Human Resources (Criminal Justice) from East Central University, Ada, OK. Renee has worked on projects such as the Maze of Injustice with Amnesty International and has been one of the leading voices for Native victims in Oklahoma. Renee has held several different positions on many community and national boards, and has also received letter of acknowledgment from the South Dakota United States Attorney’s Office for work conducted on Pine Ridge Reservation. One of the highlights of Renee’s career was to receive an honoring ceremony from the Oglala Sioux Tribal Prosecutor, Tatewin Means and Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center for service to victims on Pine Ridge Reservation.