STOP TA Clinic 5/1/23: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Data for Revised STOP Implementation Plans with Lisa Gilmore and ICJIA

Lisa Gilmore, LCPC, M.Ed. – Lisa is Principal & Founder of Illinois Accountability Initiative (IL-AI), which strives to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in their self-determined efforts to create and sustain accountability practices in local communities, among individuals, and within systems and institutions. IL-AI believes that community accountability practices can increase safety and reduce harm in the lives of LGBTQ people, transforming communities and directly challenging social conditions that support oppression and violence in many forms. IL-AI is a proud and active member of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. Lisa currently serves as Lead Consultant on the Alliance of Local Service Organizations’ (ALSO’s) Underserved Technical Assistance Project for the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women’s Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations Grant. Lisa is also a Senior Consultant with Morten Group, LLC, a national consulting firm specializing in organizational and resource development, including a specialty in incorporating racial equity efforts within strategic planning and everyday organizational practices.

Previously, Lisa served as Director of Education & Victim Advocacy at Center on Halsted, Chicago’s LGBTQ community center. While at the Center from 2005 – 2013, Lisa provided victim services and guided the work of the Anti-Violence Project, the Legal Program, professional training and technical assistance, and the implementation of the Center’s formal systems-level advocacy efforts—all aimed at reducing the impact of bias in the lives of LGBTQ people. Lisa is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and has provided individual counseling, group support, or crisis counseling to hundreds of survivors and witnesses of domestic, sexual, hate, police, and HIV status-related violence. In March 2012, Lisa was honored as one of four “Women of Distinction” by Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of the State of Illinois, during the inaugural year of this Women’s History Month event. Before dedicating herself to LGBTQ-specific anti-violence efforts, Lisa worked for several years with adults dually diagnosed with developmental disabilities and mental illness.

Jennifer Hiselman, M.A., InfoNet Manager, Center for Victim Studies, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority – Jennifer oversees ICJIA’s InfoNet System, an online data system used by over 100 victim service providers in Illinois. Jennifer joined ICJIA in 1996 as a researcher focusing on victimization, victim services, and gender based violence. She worked closely with ICJIA’s Grants Unit to inform victim services planning, led an evaluation of Illinois’ Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs, and completed the state’s first crime victimization survey. As InfoNet Manager, Jennifer oversees InfoNet’s operation and development, provides training and assistance to users and other stakeholders using InfoNet data, and works closely w ith users and other stakeholders to help InfoNet keep pace with evolving data collection and reporting needs.

Amanda L. Vasquez, M.A., Acting Manager, Center for Victim Studies, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority – Ms. Vasquez leads a team of seven research staff in ICJIA’s Center for Victim Studies. She has over 14 years of experience conducting victimization research, including in the areas of child abuse and neglect, commercially sexually exploited children, sexual assault, and domestic violence. She was principal investigator for an Office for Victims of Crime funded demonstration initiative, Illinois Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems (HEALS) that sought to link systems of care for children, youth, and families impacted by violence, during that project’s planning phase. She was also principal investigator for a study on the prevalence of trauma, post-victimization impacts, and help-seeking experiences of LGBTQ+ victims in Illinois. In 2020, she co-led an effort to assess victim service providers’ vicarious trauma-informed organizational readiness and prepared agency specific reports identifying organizational strengths and opportunities for growth.