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New Director of Court and Legal Advocacy

08/02/2011 09:22:00

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Carrie Bernier, DVCC Director of Court and Legal Advocacy.

One of Carrie Bernier's earliest memories as a volunteer with the Women's Crisis Center in Norwalk was a Valentine's Day party at the shelter, where she helped the children bake cookies and decorate cards for their mothers. That was over 20 years ago, before the Women's Crisis Center and the Stamford-based Domestic Violence Services merged to become the DVCC.

"I found the work so compelling and challenging, that I made domestic violence prevention and systems change work my career," Bernier said.

Bernier went on to become Coordinator of Education and Training for the Women's Crisis Center for several years before entering law school at Pace University. After graduation in 2000, she served for four years as the Domestic Violence Docket Court prosecutor in the Stamford courts, then went on to private practice, where she focused on family and criminal law. During this time, she also served on the DVCC Board of Directors.

Last month Bernier joined the DVCC team again, this time as Director of Court and Legal Advocacy. Her responsibilities include providing representation for DVCC clients seeking restraining orders, offering advice and information on other family-related civil legal matters, overseeing DVCC's court and legal project, and working with other DVCC staff to influence public policy and bring about systems change with regard to how Connecticut's legal system handles domestic violence cases. Bernier and Andrea Dahms, who is DVCC's Domestic Violence Victim Advocate and Attorney in Stamford, recently created a position paper addressing the large number of dual arrests in Connecticut and have been meeting with legislators, court personnel and advocates in Hartford to continue the dialogue on changing dual arrest policies.

"I am thrilled to be joining the staff of DVCC once again, but in a new role," Bernier said. "It truly feels as if I am returning home. I'm so impressed with the pace of growth at DVCC and the commitment and professionalism of the staff."

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Comments (1 posted)

10/26/2011 23:21:10

I was thrilled to learn of Carrie Bernier's return to DVCC as staff. She has always been dedicated to the organization in her many roles and her contributions have been invaluable. Congratulations to DVCC for retaining the high quality professionals who continue to raise the level of expertise and commitment to the prevention of violence in our communities.