Survivor-Centered Services on Campus

Training and technical assistance is tailored to be responsive to each institution’s culture, resources and areas of need. Our team has vast experience in the field and works closely with consultants and partner organizations with campus expertise. 

• Developing Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Teams that are inclusive, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed;
• Cultivating collaborative campus and community partnerships and meaningful inclusion in CCR initiatives;
• Engaging administrative leadership to embed CCR initiatives into the institution;
• Best practices around:
  • CCR Team structure and process, including linkage with other existing multidisciplinary teams;
  • CCR Team composition and leadership, including student involvement in the CCR Team;
  • Internal and external memoranda of understanding;
  • Conflict resolution strategies; CCR Team policies and communications strategies, and effective meeting facilitation; and
  • Strategies for sustainability.

Our technical assistance and training include:

• Individual campus consultations
• Virtual and in-person trainings
• Customized technical assistance to provide in-the-moment expert assistance
• CCR Team product review and feedback
• Virtual and in-person site visits
• Digital toolkits and resources

The NOVA Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Advisory Committee was established in 2021 to be responsive to the needs of higher education institutions and inform the training and technical assistance funded by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).  The CCR Advisory Committee includes individuals who have experience serving on effective Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Teams from a diverse array of institutions. 

The goal of the advisory committee is to provide input and direction on all programmatic areas and deliverables of NOVA’s training and technical assistance to OVW Campus Program grantees and/or other institutions of higher education around establishing and maintaining a CCR Team to enhance the response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking (DVSAS) on campus. This committee provides feedback and guidance on how NOVA prioritizes and structures: 

• Training and resource development, 
• Development and review of products, and 
• Implementation of ideas and strategies.   

CCR Advisory Committee members have a space to share experiences and learn from the successes of other institutions. They also play a critical role in improving the OVW Campus Grant Program and ensuring that grantees have structures in place to continue the work after the grant period is completed. 

Through this CCR Advisory Committee NOVA wants to also uplift and highlight the amazing work that’s been done in the United States and territories to address DVSAS in a coordinated community response. 

Members: 

Naima Yael Tokunow: Naima Yael Tokunow (she/her/hers), is currently a Communication Associate with the deep equity non-profit, Change Elemental, working to uplift and co-create communications to shift the change-making sector to one that is prefiguring and iterating toward a vision of love, dignity, and justice. Previously, Naima was the OVW Campus Grant Project Coordinator at the Women’s Resource Center of The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. Naima is also an English, literature & cultural studies educator, having taught at New Mexico State University, University of New Mexico and Southern New Hampshire University. Creatively and professionally, Naima’s life is centered around social and gender equity and community building. In her free time, she likes to hike, write, camp, garden, and collage with her husband, toddler and three dogs. She is blessed to be Black and alive.

Kenneth Gooden: Kenneth Gooden, has served as Project Coordinator of Coahoma Community College’s Dating and Domestic Violence Prevention Program since 2016. Kenneth has focused on providing comprehensive prevention and bystander intervention programming for the campus community, as well as trauma-informed and culturally specific training for situations of sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, and stalking. He has consistently dealt with cultural norms that play a major role in how individuals view these crimes. He is committed to ensuring sustainability through an on-going training and prevention education program. 

Annette Brandt: Annette Brandt is the OVW Grant Project Coordinator at Northeastern Illinois University. Our “K(NO)W More” Prevention and Awareness Campaign focuses on sexual violence education and prevention on our campus. In addition to providing educational programs to staff and students to prevent this type of violence, their goal is to work with individuals all throughout campus to create a culture that ensures individuals who have experienced sexual violence are treated respectfully and supported in a person-centered way. Prior to working in higher ed, they spent 15 years working in a rehabilitation environment supporting individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. They are a Chicago native who loves to attend demonstrations and fight for social justice. In their free time during the pandemic, they have taken a liking to living room karaoke sing-offs with their partner and 13-year-old kiddo.

Kendra Massey: Kendra Massey (she/her) is the Director of the Norse Violence Prevention Center at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) and serves as the Project Supervisor for the OVW grant. Prior to her role at NKU, she worked in the field of interpersonal violence prevention and intervention at community-based nonprofits in Cincinnati, OH and Portland, OR. In her role at NKU, Kendra oversees confidential advocacy services and campus prevention efforts and is excited to be part of a coordinated response team. She’s committed to addressing the issue of interpersonal violence through a trauma-informed and intersectional lens. Kendra holds a Bachelors of Science in Sociology from Xavier University and Masters of Social Work from NKU. In her free time, she likes to read, hike, bake, and travel.

Maggie Gross: Maggie M. Gross, MSW, LCSW is the project director under the direction of Dr. Kimberly Werner, PhD, Associate Dean of Research at University of Missouri-St Louis’ College of Nursing & Missouri Institute of Mental Health departments respectively. In this role Maggie manages the Women’s Health Study which houses two research grants: the PTSD-TBI research study & the Office of Violence Against Women College Campus Grant for UMSL. Under these grant provisions, Maggie provides one-on-one direct supervision to research staff & intern team members, study participants, the UMSL campus community, & manages the communications & coordination of community stakeholders. Since 2019, Maggie has managed & coordinated UMSL’s Coordinated Community Response Team called the Tritons United: Against Gender Based Violence to prevent & educate the campus community on sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

Maggie is a St Louis native who earned both her bachelor’s degree in psychology & biology & her master’s degree in social work from Washington University in St Louis. A licensed clinical social worker, a certified substance abuse counselor, a clinical member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA), a Missouri rostered clinician for Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy by the Children’s Advocacy Center at UMSL & 15+ years’ experience providing both clinical psychotherapy services as well as research assistance to populations such as children, teens/young adults, twins, seniors, & families within various inpatient & outpatient mental health treatment facilities.

Nikki Green: Nikki Green (she/her) has served as Project Director of the OVW Campus Program Grant at IU Southeast since 2018.  In her current role, Nikki is largely responsible for organizing Green Dot Training and campus based advocacy on campus, heading the CCR Team on campus, participating on the Southern Indiana SART and passionately supervising the campus interpersonal violence prevention peer education team (STAR)!  Prior to serving as Project Director at IU Southeast, she served as a children’s/victim advocate at a local emergency and crisis center, held a position in Protection and Permanency via the state of Kentucky and worked as a School To Work Coordinator with Big Brothers Big Sisters.  Nikki holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from IU Southeast and Master of Education (focus on school counseling) from IU Southeast. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, theater and attending sporting events.

Suzannah Rogan: Suzannah Rogan [she/her] previously served (March 2017-April 2021) as the founding Project Director of the Campus Advocacy, Prevention, and Education (CAPE) Project, an OVW Grant Funded office, at Doane University, a small liberal arts university in rural Nebraska. While in this position, she was able to lead her coordinated community response team to develop a comprehensive prevention and response program that included a diverse and engaged peer educator component. During her last two years at the institution, she also served as the inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist, focused on leading strategic and grassroots initiatives to create and sustain a more equitable university environment and curriculum. From Doane University, she served as a Prevention Coordinator for Sexual Violence Response at Columbia University. Currently, she is a Senior Training and Technical Assistance Specialist with the Workplaces Respond and Economic Justice Team at Futures Without Violence.

Prior to her work with universities, Suzannah received a Master of Science in Gender, Media and Culture from the Gender Institute at the London School of Economics where she focused on the use of violence and other forms of power in masculinity construction. Her passion is to invite men into prevention work and illuminate their path as partners in prevention solutions. She has a background and education in content and curriculum development, anti-oppressive frameworks, leadership and team development, community engagement and organizing, and utilizing theories of change to create broad impact. 

Kelsey Barrans: Kelsey Barrans is the Director in the Center for Transformational Wellness (CTW) at Green River College (GRC) and serves as the Project Director for the OVW Campus Program grant. Kelsey has been the Project Director for four years. Prior to her work at GRC, she served survivors of Domestic Violence at a community service organization for a decade. She is a lifelong Washingtonian, a proud Auntie to six amazing kiddos.

[email protected] 

For additional information and resources on the development and maintenance of Coordinated Community Response Teams to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (DVSAS) on campus, please see the OVW Campus Program Technical Assistance website: Center for Changing our Campus Culture.