Child Welfare Expert Witnesses in Virginia

This expert is a Licensed Clinical Social (LCSW) and a Diplomat Child Forensic Interviewer (DCFI). She is currently practicing at an advocacy center in VA. In this role, she coordinates the multidisciplinary team response to child sexual abuse and severe physical abuse investigations. She conducts forensic interviews and extended forensic interviews of child and adolescent alleged victims of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and witness to crimes. She has also worked at the Safe Shores: The DC Children's Advocacy Center coordinating the Forensic Interview Program and conducting interviews. This expert has conducted hundreds of CAC-based forensic interviews of alleged victims of abuse. She has completed nationally recognized trainings in Forensic Interviewing including ChildFirst-Virginia, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), Childhood Trust, and the National Children's Advocacy Center. She was a faculty member with Child First-Virginia and is a trained facilitator for the Stewards of Children Darkness to Light Curriculum. She has spoken at state and national conferences including the National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Center for Victims of Crime, Child Advocacy Centers of Virginia, and the National Children's Alliance Leadership Conference. she has served as an expert witness in both civil and criminal courts providing testimony about forensic interviewing, sexual abuse dynamics, the process of disclosure, delayed disclosure, and interviewing techniques.

This expert has been practicing as a social worker for 35 years. She earned her BA and MSW at Tulane University, and completed her PhD in Social Work and Community Planning at Washington University. She then completed her LCSW at the University of Maryland. She has led multiple workshops and trainings on topics relating to social work in the LGBT community, and is a member of several regional Social Workers Associations. She currently serves as a Social Work Trainer and Educator, as well as a Therapist and Consultant at a Private Practice in Virginia.