Our Staff and Volunteers - The Hague Domestic Violence Project

The Hague Domestic Violence Project is made up of a group of researchers based at the Universities of Minnesota and Washington, volunteer professionals, law students and advisors from across the United States. To learn more about our team, see below.

National Advisory Board

Hon. Barbara Madsen, Chief Justice, Washington State Supreme Court

Hon. Ann Schindler, Judge, Washington Court of Appeals

Prof. Merle H. Weiner, Philip H. Knight Professor, University of Oregon School of Law

Chad Allred, J.D., Attorney-at-Law, Ellis, Li & McKinstry

Barbara Hart, J.D., Battered Women's Justice Project & University of Southern Maine

Paula Lucas, Founder/Executive Director, The American Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center

Sarah Ainsworth, J.D., Senior Legal & Legislative Counsel, Legal Voice, Seattle.

Roberta Valente, J.D., General Counsel, National Network to End Domestic Violence

Research Team

	Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D., is a Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota and Director of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse. He has published over 100 articles and 10 books on the topics of domestic violence, program evaluation and groupwork. His research and program development focus is on children exposed to domestic violence. Go to his homepage.
	Taryn Lindhorst, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Washington. Prior to receiving her doctorate in 2001, Dr. Lindhorst spent 15 years providing social work services in public health settings in Louisiana and managing a study of welfare reform in the state. Her research focuses on the intersections between individuals and social institutions, particularly as this relates to issues of violence against women. Dr. Lindhorst’s work on the effects of welfare reform for battered women has won two national awards.
	Luz Lopez, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Social Work. Ms López has nine years experience in the fields of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse with diverse populations. Prior to Boston University, she served for five years as program manager of two federal multi-site research programs for women with co-occurring disorders, substance abuse, and violence funded by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration. She coordinated the implementation of culturally appropriate trauma and mental health interventions in five substance abuse treatment sites in Boston that focused on services to Latina and African American women.
	Gita Mehrotra, MSW, is a second year doctoral student at the University of Washington School of Social Work. She has worked for the past 11 years in the field of domestic violence in a variety of roles, including advocacy, program development and coordination, and community education/outreach. Gita is particularly interested in domestic violence issues in South Asian and API immigrant communities and queer communities.
	Sudha Shetty, Esq., is Director of the International Fellowship Program at the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. She speaks and writes extensively on domestic violence issues facing immigrant women and women of color. She has been a consultant to the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, L.L.P. on diversity issues. In her former role as Director of the Seattle University Law School's Access to Justice Institute she developed the Hague Convention Project and supervised both the development of a national database on Hague Convention cases and a Washington State judges' bench guide on this issue. She is regularly in contact with battered mothers, attorneys and judges involved in Hague Convention hearings.
	Bill Vesneski, Esq., is a doctoral student at the University of Washington School of Social Work where his research focuses on the implementation of federal child welfare policy, particularly the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) and its provisions regarding the termination of parental rights. He earned his MSW in 1998 at the University of Washington and his JD in 1991 from the Seattle University School of Law.

Volunteer Professionals

	Cari O'Brien, Esq., is a graduate of Macalester College and William Mitchell College of Law. She first began her work on the Hague Domestic Violence Project with Sudha Shetty while attending Seattle University School of Law, and is pleased to again be a part of this project. As a 2006 Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellow, Cari traveled to Rwanda to research the aftereffects of the 1994 genocide, focusing on women's and children's issues. While maintaining relationships with contacts in Rwanda, Cari also serves as a board member for the Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation and stays involved in the Twin Cities performing arts scene year round. She is currently employed as an Attorney Editor/Project Manager with FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business.
	Carolyn Hansen, Esq., is a Copywriter with FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business. During law school, she served as a certified student attorney for Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners (LAMP), representing Minnesota prisoners in family law and civil rights matters. Carolyn also coordinated a trip to Rwanda where she researched human rights advocacy for women, specifically women who were victims of rape and other hate crimes related to the 1994 genocide. In her free time, she volunteers as an art mentor at a facility for children who were removed from their homes due to abuse or instability.
	Larry Tweed, Esq., graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 2002 and began his legal career at a boutique firm in downtown, Saint Paul. In September 2004, he joined the Peace Corps and traveled to Kyrgyzstan where he served as a Sustainable Economic and Organizational Development (SEOD) volunteer in the city of Osh. As an SEOD volunteer, Larry spent over two years working with local and international NGOs, attorneys and universities to improve civil society by focusing on citizen education and sustainability within the NGO sector. Larry worked as an Attorney Editor for FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business, and is now working for a non-governmental program in Nigeria.
	Mary Grams, Esq., is an Attorney Editor with FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2004. As a law student, she published an article on guardians ad litem appointed in highly contentious divorce and custody matters in Minnesota. Mary is excited to volunteer with the Hague Domestic Violence Project, and also enjoys volunteering with Linea Legal Latina, Meals on Wheels, and Project Homeless Connect.
	Nick Gardner, Esq., is an Attorney Editor with FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and the American Graduate School of International Management. He has served as a courtroom interpreter for French-speaking refugees and volunteers regularly with the Minnesota Center for Victims of Torture.
	Troy Lightfield, is the owner of Totem Web Solutions, a Minneapolis-based website design and search marketing firm. He graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris, with a B.A. in the Liberal Arts for the Human Services. Troy is extremely excited to volunteer with the Hague Domestic Violence Project, and also enjoys volunteering for his sons baseball team and school events. He also provides adult foster care for individuals with mental disabilities. Most recently Troy worked as a Senior Search Marketer for Findlaw and is currently employed with ARAnet as their SEO Specialist.
	Maria Magdalena Minvielle, LLM, is an Attorney Editor for the Spanish Content with FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business. She holds a Law Degree and a Specialization in Corporate Law from México and an LLM from Hamline University . She worked as an interpreter for an immigration office in the Twin Cities helping illegal immigrants obtain their legal status. Some of her interests include advocating against domestic violence, human trafficking and child pornography.
	Brendan Donckers, Esq., is an associate with Gendler & Mann. Brendan recently worked as a staff attorney with the Washington Supreme Court Commissioner's Office and provided legislative counsel to the House Democratic Caucus on environmental issues. He has previously worked for the General Counsel to the Mayor of Seattle, consulted with the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development, and authored a bench guide on the Hague Convention for the Washington Supreme Court's Gender and Justice Commission. Brendan's legal experience also includes extensive volunteer work with Seattle University's Access to Justice Institute and the Ronald L. Peterson Legal Clinic. Prior to returning to Seattle, Brendan worked on an international global security initiative with the United Nations Foundation in Washington, D.C. and served as an aide to a U.S. Congressman. He received his J. D. with honors from Seattle University School of Law and was the valedictorian of Santa Clara University.

Volunteer Law Students

	Catherine Harris is a second year law student at William Mitchell. She grew up in England and then moved to Rochester, MN when she was fourteen, where she went to high school. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2008 with a BA in International Studies and History, and went directly to law school. She has recently been volunteering with victims of domestic violence and is looking to pursue a career in public interest law. She is volunteering through the Minnesota Justice Foundation.
	Jennifer Brennan is a student at William Mitchell. She volunteered at a domestic abuse shelter for two years, working in both legal and social service capacities to provide support and justice for women who are victims of domestic abuse. She plans to pursue a career in public international law and is very excited to be working on this project. She is volunteering through the Minnesota Justice Foundation.
	Andrea Albright is a law student at William Mitchell College of Law. Over the past 5 years, she has volunteered in the field of international education as well as with organizations providing assistance to immigrant populations. Most recently, she worked for an adoption agency helping to build families and promote international child welfare.
	Violet Odala, LLM, recently received her LLM from the University of Minnesota Law School. She also holds an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham in the UK, and an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in South Africa, where she also earned a BA degree in Sociology. Before law school, Violet worked for a Human Rights NGO in Malawi, dealing directly with local communities, teaching them to know, claim and defend their rights, and training Community Based Educators. Upon graduating from law school, she worked as a Senior State Advocate in Malawi. Violet has also interned with different organizations. Her interests are in International Law and Human Rights, especially women's and children's rights.

Why this Project?

We are a team of individuals from various professional backgrounds who are dedicated to creating a comprehensive resource that will enable mothers, advocates for battered women, attorneys and judges to better prepare themselves for Hague Convention cases in the United States' legal system.