STOP TA Clinic 3/20/23: Ask Anything with Marnie Shiels (OVW)

This Clinic, an “Ask Anything” with speaker Marnie Shiels, covered many of the frequent questions had by STOP Administrators. The Clinic began with Ms. Shiels describing Implementation Plan requirements regarding culturally specific and tribal organization involvement. She continued by describing the differences in the kinds of entities that need to be involved in the planning committee versus the larger consultation. The conversation continued with Ms. Shiels explaining that organizations do not need their mission statements to be to serve survivors of underserved or culturally specific communities to meet that requirement. Ms. Shiels described that to successfully satisfy the meaningful consultation requirement, an implementation planning committee must be inclusive and diverse. The conversation opened to allow Administrators to share success and challenges in meeting this meaningful consultation requirement. The conversation turned back to Ms. Shiels as she discussed alternate ways to reach out to culturally specific organizations if Administrators are having difficulty connecting with them. Ms. Shiels shared with Administrators where they can find resources if they’re having difficulties with any of the topics covered. She concluded the discussion by sharing issues and challenges that were common in the last cycle of Implementation Plans.

Marnie Shiels is presently employed as an attorney in the Office on Violence Against Women of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2012, she received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for her work on the Prison Rape Elimination Act Working Group. From September, 2011, to September, 2012, she was on a detail to the Office for Victims of Crime where she worked on issues relating to sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking, including the development of a solicitation for the creation of a national telemedicine center for sexual assault medical forensic examinations. In 2005, she received The Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contribution by a New Employee for her work on the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations. Previously, Ms. Shiels was employed as a legal analyst at the National Center for Victims of Crime, tracking federal and state statutes and cases relating to crime victims and writing articles on legal issues related to sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Prior to that, Ms. Shiels worked as the Education and Outreach Coordinator at Sojourn Services for Battered Women and Their Children, running support groups for domestic violence victims and giving educational presentations to a wide variety of audiences, including middle school and high school students, church groups, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and others. At that time she was also the southern co-chair for the California Alliance Against Domestic Violence’s Policy Committee.