For help with how to answer
questions on the reporting forms, call 1-800-922-VAWA or email at vawamei@usm.maine.edu
For help with downloading and submitting
reporting forms online on the GMS system, call the GMS Hotline at 1-888-549-9901.
Click
here to go to the GMS System
For the Progress Reporting Forms OVW recommends using Acrobat Reader 8.1.2. Click here to download this free version.
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VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative Staff Description
Anita
St. Onge
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Project Director
Anita St. Onge is currently the Director of Domestic Violence Initiatives
at the Catherine E. Cutler Institute for Child and Family Policy at the
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine.
Her work in the Muskie School focuses on child welfare and domestic violence.
Current projects include the provision of technical assistance on child
welfare matters to child welfare agencies for the National Child Welfare
Resource Center for Organizational Improvement and a national project
to measure the effectiveness of programs funded by the Violence Against
Women Office of the Department of Justice. Before joining the Muskie School
she was employed as an Assistant Attorney General representing the Department
of Human Services in child protective matters. She supervised Maine’s
child protective attorneys and served as legal counsel to the State of
Maine Bureau of Child and Family Services. She is also currently the Chair
of the Maine Commission on Domestic Abuse.
Maureen Baker
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of
Southern Maine
Policy Associate
Maureen Baker is a Policy Associate with the Catherine E. Cutler Institute
for Child and Family Policy at the Muskie School of Public Service at
the University of Southern Maine. In her role with Cutler she works with
the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative and the National Child Welfare
Resource Center for Organizational Improvement where she provides consultation
and technical assistance on issues of training and workforce development.
Throughout her career, Maureen has collaborated with professionals in
the fields of domestic violence, child abuse, and substance abuse, to
identify and minimize barriers to integrated service delivery especially
through the development, implementation, and assessment of meaningful
learning environments. In addition to her work with Muskie, Maureen has
over fifteen years experience in the field of domestic violence, both
as an advocate for battered women and children and as a community educator.
Jean Bessette
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Research Associate
Jean Bessette is currently working on the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness
Initiative, is Project Director for the Building Economic Security for
Survivors (BESS) project, and worked previously on the Snapshot Project,
all funded by the Office on Violence Against Women. She has worked on
other domestic violence, child welfare, and court projects. Ms. Bessette
has a particular interest in economic justice and its intersection with
public health, social services, and rural issues.
Oksana Fearon
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Research Analyst
Oksana Fearon is a Research Analyst at the Catherine
E. Cutler Institute for Child and Family Policy at the Edmund S.
Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine. She is
currently working on the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative project,
funded by the Office on Violence Against Women. She is originally from
Russia where she received her Masters in Linguistics and Intercultural
Communications, and BA in Economics. She is currently enrolled in a graduate
program in Public Policy and Management with concentrations in Organizational
Management.
Nicole Fortier
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of
Southern Maine
Administrative Assistant II
Nicole Fortier is currently providing administrative support to the
VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative project, funded by the Office
on Violence Against Women. She received her Associates Degree in Criminal
Justice from Andover College in May of 2009.
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Diane
Gout
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of
Southern Maine
Research Associate
Diane Gout is currently a doctoral candidate at Boston University in the
Interdisciplinary Sociology and Social Work Program. Her dissertation
is entitled "Cultural identity and intra-familial relationships as
protective factors against intimate partner violence among American Indian
and Alaska Native mothers." She has worked in the field of violence
against women for over 20 years. She has experience in trauma-based practice
and has worked with survivors of rape, incest, and domestic violence.
In addition to direct practice intervention, Ms. Gout has worked with
multi-disciplinary teams to develop policies and protocols, evaluate systems,
and conduct research on issues of trauma and abuse. She has experience
in both qualitative and quantitative research methods including survey
and instrument development, key informant interviewing, data review, analysis,
and report writing. Currently, Ms. Gout works with the VAWA Measuring
Effectiveness Initiative, where she oversees the analysis and reporting
of quantitative and qualitative data submitted by more than 1,000 OVW-funded
agencies and organizations every six months. Recently, Ms. Gout presented
an overview of the data collected specifically from tribal grantees funded
by VAWA to the Section 904 Task Force Federal Advisory Committee. She
has also been involved with several court evaluations in addition to a
number of other projects specific to violence against women and the effects
on children.
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Diane Hitchcock
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Research Assistant
Diane Hitchcock is a Research Assistant at the Catherine E. Cutler Institute
for Child and Family Policy at the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service,
University of Southern Maine. She is currently working on the VAWA Measuring
Effectiveness Initiative project, funded by the Office on Violence Against
Women. Diane received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration
(M.P.A.) from the University of Colorado Denver where she also completed
the CU Denver Program on Domestic Violence. She holds a B.A. in Sociology
with a minor in Women’s Studies from the University of Massachusetts
at Dartmouth. Diane has experience as a Relationship Violence Prevention
Educator and Community Organizer. Prior to coming to the Muskie School,
she was a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Colorado Denver
focusing her efforts on violence against women.
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Sameer
Mahimkar
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Data Manager and Research Analyst
Sameer Mahimkar is a Data Manager and Research Analyst with the Catherine
E. Cutler Institute for Child and Family Policy at the Muskie School
of Public Service, University of Southern Maine. He has been working at
Muskie since February 2002. He has developed menu-driven user-friendly
database management systems. These databases are used nationally by various
grantees of the OVW to collect the data required to report their program
effectiveness. He has also planned, designed, and maintained a website
for this project. This website is extensively used as a Communication
and Technical Assistance Tool. He has also been working with, and providing
technical assistance to the OVW’s State and Territory STOP Grant
Administrators to collect the data on sub-grants. He has been responsible
to clean and analyze this data and assist in writing reports. He also
assists in upgrading the web-based application and website for National
Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement. Mr. Mahimkar’s
technical, quantitative data collection and analysis skills have been
utilized in a variety of state and national projects. For the Evaluation
of Maine STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, he assisted
to design telephone survey instrument and designed a user-friendly database
to assist in data collection during survey. He also played an important
role in data analysis for this project. Additionally, he designed and
developed a database for the Maine Domestic Violence Court Co-ordination
Project, to aid the court in implementing and revising court-based interventions
designed to increase offender accountability. Before coming to the United
States of America, he worked in India as a programmer in a Software company
and has also worked in a Multinational Company for planning and coordinating
international projects. He possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Pune, India and has over 10 years of
functional experience as Software Programmer, Project Engineer and Product
Development Engineer.
Karen
Monahan
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Research Associate
Karen Monahan has extensive experience with evaluation of state court
initiatives and legal services organizations, and with performance measurement
for local non-profits. She directed an evaluation of a domestic violence
pilot project at five of Maine’s District Courts that included the
development of a procedures manual for judges, clerks, and court security
officers involved in domestic violence cases. She directed the reassessment
of Michigan’s Court Improvement Program (2005) and co-directed the
reassessment of the State of Connecticut’s Court Improvement Project
(2006), which in both cases studied those states’ compliance with
federal and state mandates and standards of practice in the handling of
child protection cases. As a member of the management team of the VAWA
Measuring Effectiveness Initiative, Ms. Monahan oversees the analysis
and reporting of data for the STOP Program (approx. 2400 subgrantees from
all 56 states and territories) and provides training and technical assistance
to STOP administrators and other VAWA grantees on how to complete the
progress reporting forms. Ms. Monahan’s background is in legal services,
civil litigation, and market research.
Hillary O’Donnell
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of
Southern Maine
Research Analyst
Hillary O’Donnell is a Research Assistant at the Catherine E. Cutler
Institute for Child and Family Policy at the Edmund S. Muskie School of
Public Service, University of Southern Maine. She is currently working
on the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative project, funded by the
Office on Violence Against Women. She received her Bachelors of Science
in Biology from the University of Connecticut in 2006.
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Lori Richardson
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Research Analyst
Lori Richardson is currently working on the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness
Initiative project, funded by the Office on Violence Against Women. She
also worked on the New Americans Child Care Choices of Parents of English
Language Learners project. Lori is originally from northern Maine and
attended the University of Maine, Orono where she received a Master of
Science in Human Development, and BA in Psychology with an additional
major in Child Development and Family Relations. At the University of
Southern Maine, she earned a Certificate of Applied Research & Evaluation
Methods. Lori is a doctoral student in the Gerontology program at the
University of Massachusetts, Boston. She aspires to evermore work in the
research field.
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Amy Sullivan
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of
Southern Maine
Project Assistant
Amy O. Sullivan is a Project Assistant II in the Justice Policy Program
at the Cutler Institute for Health & Social Policy at the Edmund S.
Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine. She is
currently working on the Muskie School's VAWA Measuring Effectiveness
Initiative project, funded by the Office on Violence against Women providing
support and coordination for training and professional development. She
attended Providence College in Rhode Island where she received her Bachelors
of Arts with a major in Humanities and minor in Women’s Studies.
She is currently enrolled in a graduate program at the USM Lewiston-Auburn
College, working on her Master's degree in Leadership Studies
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V.
Gail Sweat
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Policy Associate
V. Gail Sweat, M.S. Ed, is a Policy Associate II and Manager of Qualitative
Initiatives for the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative (VAWAMEI)
(previously known as the Snapshot Project). Gail initially managed the
site visits to all of the states and territories to document in state
reports the effectiveness of the work being accomplished through the VAWA
grants. She is a consultant and trainer for the Kids First Center in Portland,
Maine, facilitating women’s groups for victims of domestic violence
who are parents, and developing curricula for use in those groups and
with community stakeholders. Ms. Sweat directed the VAWA Technical Assistance
Collaborative Addressing Domestic Violence and Child Custody working with
OVW, the American Bar Association, the National Center for State Courts,
and the National Network to End Domestic Violence to develop institutes
in San Francisco, Baltimore, Chicago, San Antonio, and Boston for Legal
Assistance to Victims (LAV), Safe Havens, and Rural grantees. The goal
of these institutes was to provide grantees expert information including
promising and innovative practices and the latest research regarding divorce,
custody, and visitation when domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking
is present. She has worked as an advocate for abused women and their children
since 1978. She was Shelter Program Coordinator for domestic violence
shelters in Colorado and Maine. Gail is directing a project awarded through
the Bingham Program to develop an advanced curriculum for guardians ad
litem who work with children from families where domestic violence is
present.
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Kathy Tombarelli
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Research Assistant
Kathy Tombarelli is a Research Assistant II at the Catherine E. Cutler
Institute for Child and Family Policy at the Edmund S. Muskie School of
Public Service, University of Southern Maine. She is currently working
on the Muskie School's VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative project,
funded by the Office on Violence Against Women. She is originally from
the west and has lived in several states including Texas, California and
Washington. She attended the University of Southern Maine, Portland where
she received her Bachelors of Arts in Political Science. She is currently
enrolled in a graduate program at the Muskie School of Public Service,
working on Master's degree in Public Policy and Management.
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Susan Walker
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of
Southern Maine
Research Analyst/Project Coordinator
Susan Walker is a Research Analyst and Project coordinator at the
Catherine E. Cutler Institute for Child and Family Policy at the Edmund
S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine. She
is currently working on the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative project,
funded by the Office on Violence Against Women. She has been working at
Muskie since July 2002. While working on the VAWA project she developed
a system using Access databases to automate the cleaning of the data.
She received her masters in Public Policy and Management in May of 2004.
Certificate in Research and Evaluation Methods in January of 2004, and
BS in Leadership and Organizational Studies in May 2002. Before that she
managed an organic vegetable farm CSA in Standish while she helped raise
six children. She enjoys being outdoors and taking photos of nature and
unusual things.
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Laura Woods
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of
Southern Maine
Research Assistant
Laura Woods is a Research Assistant at the Catherine E. Cutler Institute
for Child and Family Policy at the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service,
University of Southern Maine. She is a recent graduate of the University
of Southern Maine with a degree in Communication. She is currently working
in two areas within the Institute: the National Child Welfare Resource
Center for Organizational Improvement, and the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness
Initiative, a project funded by the Office on Violence against women.
Sun Young Yoon
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern
Maine
Research Associate
Sun Young Yoon, Research Associate, joined the Muskie School after
leaving a lecturer position at Ewha Womens University in Seoul, South
Korea where she taught graduate level courses including research methods
in child and family studies and social statistics. At the Muskie School,
she is currently working on the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative
analyzing data collected from grantees funded by the Office on Violence
Against Women. She is also the Co-Principal Investigator of Children At
Risk in the Child Welfare System: Collaborations to Promote School Readiness,
a research project funded by the Child Care Bureau. Dr. Yoon holds a Ph.D.
in Child and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
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