ourteam
The Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (IowaCASA) is a vibrant organization working to unite people and organizations to promote a society free from sexual violence and to meet the diverse needs of survivors. IowaCASA is a progressive organization, and works toward goals that will improve the well-being of survivors in many aspects of their lives. We support disenfranchised groups and actively work on anti-racist initiatives. IowaCASA is a small, statewide non-profit organization that provides a friendly, fast-paced work environment.
Beth Barnhill
Executive Director
She/her/hers
515-850-1915
Beth has proudly held the Executive Director position for IowaCASA since 1990. She brings with her an extensive history of working in the anti-violence movement. She also serves many roles on a number of state boards and committees addressing violence against women. She is a founding member and past chair of the Iowa Board for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, and a founding board member of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence.
Elizabeth Balcarcel
Director of State Program Technical Assistance and Programs
She/her/hers
515-850-1911
Elizabeth started working in the anti-violence movement in 2003 at IowaCASA's member program L.U.N.A. (Latinas Unidas por un Nuevo Amanecer). At the coalition, she provides resources, support, and in-depth capacity building for member programs as she assists them with organizational sustainability. She directs the flow of technical assistance to member programs.
Julie Wooden-Kean
Director of Finance & Administration
She/her/hers
515-850-1902
Julie oversees the financial management of all coalition operations and funding for the coalition. She also manages and monitors the agency's sub-grant program to member programs and provides consultation regarding grant, financial, and administrative issues. She is a Certified Sexual Assault Victim Counselor, and holds a degree from Iowa State University in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She earned her master's degree from ISU in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies with areas of specialization in Women's Studies, Sociology and English.
Ashley E. Frazier
Staff Attorney
She/her/hers
515-850-1913
Ashley provides legal services to survivors and victims of sexual violence, guiding them through certain legal and administrative processes. Ashley graduated from Drake Law School and Drake College of Business and Public Administration, earning her Juris Doctorate and Master’s of Public Administration. She has practiced as an attorney in the Des Moines area and is able to assist legal advocates and survivors in certain legal issues that arise regarding sexual violence. Ashley has previously provided legal services regarding divorce, child custody issues, and business law. She is also a trained mediator.
Jocelyn Hernandez
Community Engagement Specialist
She/her/hers
515-850-1912
Jocelyn supports services and collaborative efforts within victim service programs. Jocelyn earned a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Spanish from Iowa State University. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. Prior to joining IowaCASA, Jocelyn worked for ACCESS (Assault Care Center) in Ames as a Domestic Abuse Diversity Advocate. Jocelyn has worked in the anti-violence movement since 2015 and is highly involved in the Latino community.
Sonci Kingery
Staff Attorney
She/her/hers
515-850-1914
Sonci assists survivors with navigating the administrative process in secondary and post-secondary educational settings, as well as certain civil legal processes. Sonci graduated from Wartburg College in 2007 with majors in psychology and sociology and a minor in Woman’s Studies. She graduated from Drake University Law School in 2012. She served as IowaCASA’s Rural SART coordinator in 2015 before spending time at a private practice in West Des Moines. Her areas of practice included family law (dissolutions, establishment of paternity, child support and visitation), residential landlord/tenant, consumer rights, employment, and guardianships.
Nadia La Fontant
Underserved Advocacy & Training Specialist
She/her/hers
515-850-1910
Nadia La Fontant, Underserved Advocacy & Training Specialist, joined IowaCASA December of 2015. She provides support to a statewide group of women and men of color working in comprehensive sexual assault programs. She also assesses the needs of marginalized and other underserved communities, provides training and oversees efforts to work with correctional institutions, detention facilities, and jails as they come into compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards, and provides consultation and support to member programs in these areas. Nadia graduated from Iowa State University in 2013 with a B.S. in Child, Adult, and Family Services. She has been working in the anti-violence movement since 2012.
Janise Lane
Law Clerk
She/her/hers
Janise Lane hails from Chicago, IL, and is a student at Drake University Law School. She is the Vice-President of OUTLaws (an LGBT+ campus organization) and an At-Large Representative of the Student Bar Association. She is also a member of Drake’s National Moot Court Team and Intellectual Property Team. Janise’s passion for the law stems from the disproportionate amount of injustice minority races suffer as a result of systemically racist institutions. She is expected to graduate in May 2022.
KellyMarie Z. Meek
Prevention Specialist
She/her/hers
515-850-1906
KellyMarie started in the anti-violence movement as a volunteer in 1996. Since then, she has worked with a local rape crisis and domestic violence program, the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Integrative Services Project, and the Iowa Victim Assistance Academy. She joined IowaCASA in 2008, where she focuses on prevention and training. Her many passions include sex workers' rights, LGBTQIA advocacy, and working with youth and families involved in the foster care system.
Christian Monyei, Jr.
Law Clerk
He/him/his
Christian Monyei Jr., originally from Lanham, MD, is a rising second-year law student currently attending Drake University Law School where he serves as President of the Black Law Students Association (2020-2021). During his undergraduate career at Lipscomb University, he majored in the Fred D. Gray Institute of Law, Justice and Society, with an emphasis in Law and Ethics. He acted as the President of the charter chapter of the Collegiate 100, a subsidiary of the 100 Black men—an organization aiming to uplift and mentor minority youth within the community. Christian has also worked at the John Hall Law Group as a Legal Assistant/Medical Clerk. He is expected to graduate in May, 2022.
Nafla Poff
Prevention Capacity Building Specialist
She/her/hers
515-850-1904
Nafla provides support for IowaCASA member programs who would like to incorporate public health-based prevention efforts into their existing work as the Prevention Capacity Building Specialist. She received her Masters of Public Health from the University of Minnesota in 2015, and had been focusing on using an equity lens to guide infant mortality prevention and systems change work in Wisconsin before joining IowaCASA in 2020.
Kelsi Roby
Training and Technology Specialist
She/her/hers
515-850-1920
Kelsi works with IowaCASA member programs by providing certification training for advocates around the state, support of the statewide database provided by the Iowa Crime Victim Assistance Division and technical assistance around technology use and confidentiality within our work. She has over 5 years of experience in IT, software support and customer service while earning her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Purdue University.
Kathy Sullivan
Accountant
She/her/hers
515-850-1917
Kathy has worked for the members of labor organizations since 1999 representing both the public and private sector members by handling all aspects of their finances. From office management of the local union and apprenticeship fund offices to the administrator of their health insurance and pension trust fund offices. While raising her two daughters, she finished her bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Computer Information Systems. Prior to 1999, she worked in the health insurance industry for several years.
Matty Tate-Smith
Communications Specialist
He/him/his
515-850-1907
Matty develops and manages internal and external communications for the coalition and works to educate local media about issues of sexual violence. He also provides guidance and technical assistance on social media and communication strategies to member programs across the state. He has a degree in journalism from Drake University.
Laura Velazquez
Legal Advocate
She/her/hers
515-850-1922
Laura works with the coalition's legal team to provide legal support and resources to survivors of sexual assault. Before joining IowaCASA, Laura started as a volunteer in 2013 with L.U.N.A. (Latinas Unidas por Un Nuevo Amanecer), a culturally specific program in Des Moines, where she later became a full-time Sexual Assault Coordinator. Laura is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Human Services with a minor in physiology. She speaks and writes Spanish fluently.
Maggie Woznicki, LMSW
Member Services
& Sustainability Specialist
She/her/hers
515-850-1905
Maggie serves as a point of contact between the coalition and its member organizations. She hopes to engage and support coalition members in any aspect of nonprofit programming so that they can successfully support survivors. Prior to this role, she worked for Social Security Administration; assisting low-income Chicagoans with disabilities obtain cash benefits. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.
resource
sharing
project
The Resource Sharing Project is part of a national movement of sexual violence-related services and resources. Led by the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Resource Sharing Project was created to help sexual assault coalitions across the country access the resources they need in order to thrive as they work to support survivors and end sexual assault.
Cat Fribley
Director for the Resource Sharing Project
She/her/hers
319-339-0899
Cat has been with the coalition since 2001 managing the National Sexual Assault Coalition's Resource Sharing Project for the coalition. She provides capacity-building training and technical assistance to state and territorial sexual assault coalitions. In addition, she coordinates all national activities and events for the project. Cat has worked in the anti-violence movement since 1995 at national, state, and local advocacy organizations.
Kris Bein
Assistant Director for the Resource Sharing Project
She/her/hers
515-401-8722
Kris has been an active part of the anti-violence movement since 1995. Before joining IowaCASA's team in 2009, she provided medical and legal advocacy to survivors of sexual violence, institutional advocacy, and training through a dual domestic violence and sexual assault agency in rural Illinois. Kris holds a master's degree in Human Services from the University of Illinois, with specialization in Social Services Administration.
Elizabeth
Edmondson Bauer
SASP Technical Assistance Specialist for the Resource Sharing Project
She/her/hers
515-401-8984
Elizabeth has worked in victim services and violence prevention since 1999. She comes to the Resource Resource Sharing Project after 12 years with the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. She earned her Bachelor’s of Social Work from Middle Tennessee State University in 2000 and began her career at the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
Valerie Davis
SADI Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Resource Sharing Project
She/her/hers
515-330-6175
Valerie provides training and technical assistance to state coalitions and rural dual-service programs on enhancing and building comprehensive sexual assault services. She holds a master's degree in Public Administration, with a concentration in domestic violence, from the University of Colorado Denver. She has been part of the anti-violence movement since 1995.
Leah Green
Rural Technical Assistance Specialist for the Resource Sharing Project
She/her/hers
515-444-7381
Leah is originally from Eastern Iowa and earned a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and Studio Art from Cornell College. She has been involved in the anti-violence movement since 2010 working for several centers across Iowa as an advocate and prevention educator. At the Resource Sharing Project, she provides training and technical assistance to state coalitions and rural dual-service programs across the country on issues related to creating sustainable sexual assault services.
Norio Umezu Hall
Publications Specialist for the Resource Sharing Project
He/him/his
515-505-2729
Norio loves finding resilience and wisdom in the written word. As publications specialist, he gets to combine three loves: the anti-violence movement, systems change, and art. Before coming to Iowa, he worked with low-income LGBTQ survivors of color. He’s worked at the statewide coalition level in Iowa for almost three years now. When he isn’t writing or reading, he can be found learning about culturally based healing and community organizing.
Board of Directors
Rhiannon Baker
Fredrikson & Byron
Ben Brustkern
Cedar Valley Friends of the Family
Jon Buse, Secretary of the Board
Kirkwood Community College
Dawn Collins
Edward Jones
Katryn Duarte, President of the Board
Rape Victim Advocacy Center
Nicole Cisne Durbin
Survivor Services Family Resources
Amber Gustufson
Grassfed Yoga
Mary Ingham
Crisis Intervention Service, Mason City
Kathi Koenig, Treasurer of the Board
CPA, McGowen, Hurst, Clark & Smith, P.C.
Alyssa Rodriguez Palante
Iowa City School District
Michael Shaw
MSM, Iowa Men's Action Network
Sara Siebert
Beyond Borders
Anasia C. Sturdivant
Victim Advocate
Yoshida Thomas
Community Advocate
Leah Vejzovic
Community Advocate
Want to join our Board of Directors?