Elevating the Next Generation of Youth Leaders
Save the Victim Advocacy Corps: Help Us Shape the Future of Victim Advocacy
It is with great sadness that we share the Justice Department has abruptly terminated grant funding for NOVA’s Victim Advocacy Corps (VAC).
NOVA is prepared to fight for this visionary program that we believe can and will change the future of victim advocacy. Please help us continue this program to expand victim services and elevate young advocates across the country. Make a donation today.
NOVA's Work in the News
Establishing a national model for youth advocacy
The Victim Advocacy Corps aims to elevate the next generation of youth leaders in victim services. This program will give student advocates the opportunity to bring their fresh perspectives, ingenuity and critical support to the field of victim services. Our student fellows—hailing from communities throughout the United States—are young advocate leaders who are committed to bridging gaps in victim services and the criminal justice system by fostering accessibility, equity, and inclusion.
This visionary pilot program—developed in partnership with an Advisory Committee of student survivors, evaluators, college campuses, and subject matter experts—will establish a national model for engaging diverse youth leaders in victim services. Over the next three years, NOVA will work with the Advisory Committee to hold listening sessions, develop curriculum, and provide training and mentorship to our inaugural cohort of student fellows, who will participate in a nine-month, paid field placement in a local victim service agency.
The Student Fellows
Hailing from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) across the United States, the 2024 Victim Advocacy Corps Student Fellows represent a variety of identities and bring their unique experiences and perspectives to the field of victim advocacy.
Janeese Brisbo (she/her/hers)
Aaniiih Nakoda College
Harlem High School
Shaina Rae Barrows (she/her/hers)
Aaniiih Nakoda College
Family Healing Center
Ian Bolden (he/him/his)
Coahoma Community College
Family Crisis Services
KeiJuan Neese (he/him/his)
Coahoma Community College
Coahoma Community College
Saniyah Turner (she/her/hers)
Coahoma Community College
Coahoma Community College
Priscilla Berrios (she/her/hers)
Gallaudet University
FAIR Girls, Inc.
Kayden Williams (he/him/his)
Gallaudet University
DC Crime Victims Compensation Program
Krishna Lund-Brown (them/their/their & he/him/his)
Regis University
NOVA
Sophie Anderson Haynie (she/her/hers)
University of New Mexico
UNM Women’s Resource Center
Thanh Nguyen (she/her/hers)
University of New Mexico
New Mexico Asian Family Center
Sicilee Silversmith (she/her/hers)
University of New Mexico
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
Felicia Tuchman (she/her/hers)
University of New Mexico
NOVA
Aldo Jafet Perez Flores (he/him/his)
The University of Texas at El Paso
UTEP Campus Advocacy, Resources, and Education Office
Brianda Vasquez (she/her/hers)
The University of Texas at El Paso
UTEP Campus Advocacy, Resources, and Education Office
We invite you to learn more about the Victim Advocacy Corps and youth leadership in victim services by checking out our new video!
“It is important to have young voices at the forefront of our movement. As a survivor of sexual and domestic violence, advocacy has been a form of healing; activism is a way for me to take back agency after experiencing so much trauma and violence.”
– Kaylyn Ahn, Survivor-Advocate, Victim Advocacy Corps Advisory Committee Member
Our campus partners represent a variety of communities and perspectives: Aaniiih Nakoda College, Coahoma Community College, Gallaudet University, Regis University, University of New Mexico, and the University of Texas at El Paso are minority-serving institutions that have shown a strong commitment to supporting students from historically marginalized communities.
We are excited to work with the universities to uplift and celebrate the voices of students and survivors by giving them a path into victim services. As of Spring 2025, our 14 Victim Advocacy Corps Student Fellows have been placed at 13 community agencies across the United States and have collectively devoted more than 3,000 hours of service to survivors in their communities.
Learn more about the Victim Advocacy Corps
The Victim Advocacy Corps is a pilot program led by the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA) with funding from the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) that aims to elevate the next generation of youth leaders in victim services. Developed in partnership with student survivors, researchers, and college campuses, the Victim Advocacy Corps aims to heighten diversity and foster youth engagement in victim advocacy. Student fellows from pilot campus sites throughout the U.S. will receive specialized victim advocacy training, credentialing, mentorship, and a paid field-placement in a local victim service agency.
The Victim Advocacy Corps aims to uplift and celebrate the voices of historically marginalized youth and/or college students within victim services. By working with researchers, college campuses, and youth survivor advocates, we strive to ensure the Victim Advocacy Corps represents the needs of underserved communities and offers youth the opportunity to get engaged in both victim advocacy and community service.
This service corps program seeks to recruit young college students from historically marginalized communities. These student fellows—the Victim Advocacy Corps itself—aim to serve all victims of crime.
Our inaugural cohort of Student Fellows was selected and recruited in Spring 2024 and placed in community agencies throughout the country starting in Fall 2025. You can keep up with the VAC by following NOVA’s social media platforms or subscribing to our mailing list. If you’re interested in learning how you can support our VAC program, please reach out to us via email at [email protected].
Defining ‘youth’ can be complex. In the case of the Victim Advocacy Corps and its Student Fellows, we have focused on supporting college and graduate students, including non-traditional students, ranging from the age of 18 – 35+.
You can direct all questions and media inquiries to [email protected].
While many victim advocates bring their own personal experience, or survivorship, to their work, lived experience is not a requirement for our student fellows to participate in the Victim Advocacy Corps. Likewise, interested youth do not need to have a background in victim services. We invite all interested youth and/or students to apply if they are interested in supporting survivors and their community.
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