AVA Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Mark Hertweck, President
Email: mark.hertweck@ky.gov
Phone: (502)564-8210
Amy Baynes, Vice President
Email: amy.baynes@tn.gov
Phone: (615) 532-2988
Gene Nelson, Secretary
Email:Gene.Nelson@ccvs.vermont.gov
Phone: (802) 241-1250, Ext. 109
Pictured above (from October 2022) are Amy Baynes (Secretary), Moriah Pease, Mark Hertweck (Treasurer), Shautaun Hailey (Vice President), Barry Bryant (Executive Director); Julia Fuller-Wilson (Immediate Past-President); Stephanie Lowery (President), Laura Quasney and Gene Nelson. Not pictured is Debbie Bousquet.
Board Members at Large
Moriah Pease
Email: Mpease@utah.gov
(801) 333-3521
Laura Quasney
Email: Laura.Quasney@state.sd.us
(605) 773-4317
John Gish
Email: John.Gish@ag.iowa.gov
515-242-6109
Laura Russell
Email: Laura.Russell@dac.state.ok.us
405-264-5008
Tierra Williams
Email: Tierra.williams@dcjs.virginia.gov
804-239-8850
Executive Director
Barry Bryant
Email: barry@avadministrators.org
Phone: (919) 588-9615
Committees
Website
Laura Quasney
Tierra Williams
Finance
Moriah Pease
John Gish
Membership Benefits
Laura Russell
Current Board Member Bios and Photos
Mark Hertweck – President
Mark Hertweck is the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) Financial Administrator for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mark also currently helps to administer several other federal grant awards including VOCA, JAG, Coverdell, and NCHIP. He began his service as a Kentucky state government employee in 2006 and serves in his current role as a Federal Program Specialist with the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet since February 2016.
Mark earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University (’93) in Waco, TX and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Seminary (’99) in Ft. Worth, TX. He is married with three children and one grandchild. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf, watching baseball (he’s a diehard Red Sox fan), reading, and spending time with family.
Amy Baynes – Vice President
Amy Baynes is a Senior Program Manager and the STOP Administrator for the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OCJP). OCJP administers funding for 11 different federal and state fund sources to approximately 250 grantees. Amy is responsible for supervising a team of program managers, as well as providing grant monitoring, training and technical assistance to grantees. As the STOP Administrator, Amy provides STOP specific training and technical assistance to OCJP Program Managers and grantees, and coordinates the STOP Implementation Plan. She has served in her role at OCJP since 201
Amy has over 20 years of experience in the field of victim services and criminal justice. The majority of that time was spent as the Program Director of a Child Advocacy Center, and also includes working for the Department of Children’s Services and the Office of the District Attorney General. Amy is passionate about advocating on behalf of crime victims and ensuring access for all to comprehensive, quality services.
Amy is married with two children and loves spending time with her family – especially attending her kid’s sporting events. She also loves spending time with friends, watching football (Go, Tennessee Titans!) and traveling.
Gene Nelson – Secretary
Gene is the Senior Grants Manager at the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, where she has worked since 2008. She is responsible for the administration of twelve state and federal grant programs valued at approximately $12M annually from the U.S. Department of Justice (D.O.J.) Office on Victims of Crime, the Office on Violence Against Women, the U.S. Agency of Health and Human Services and the State of Vermont. Of the four state grants, two support domestic and sexual violence programming, one supports Vermont’s Child Advocacy Centers and Special Investigative Units, and the fourth supports Supervised Visitation Programming. Sub-grantees include 70 state agencies and non- profit organizations and funding is distributed via approximately 170 subgrants.
Prior to her work as Grants Manager, Gene assisted crime victims through the Vermont Victims’ Compensation Program. Communicating directly with over one thousand crime victims and listening to the impact that crime had on their lives enabled her to see first-hand the value of these federal and state resources, which serves as her inspiration to come to work each day. Gene has also volunteered with many non-profit organizations benefiting children and families in her state and serves on several advisory boards. Gene received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Cornell University. She loves spending time with friends and family, kayaking, hiking and cross country skiing.
John Gish
John is the Section Chief for Victim Assistance at the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. John’s team provides crime victim compensation, training and outreach, and is the State Administering Agency for OVC grants. Before working in the Attorney General’s Office, John spent six years as the elected County Attorney for Washington County, Iowa. He has prior experience as an assistant county attorney and as a staff attorney with a nonprofit legal clinic where he defended the rights of individuals with disabilities. In addition to his full-time work, John is a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, and has deployed twice to the Middle East. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Iowa State University and his Juris Doctor from Drake Law School. John is married with three kids, and he enjoys the outdoors and staying active.
Moriah Pease
Moriah Pease is the VAWA and SASP Grants Administrator for the Utah Office for Victims of Crime (UOVC). Moriah has over 14 years of experience in the field of victim services. She began her career as a victim advocate in a law enforcement-based victim advocate program, providing support and assistance to crime victims. Moriah received her Bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College and a Certified Public Management Certification from Utah Valley University. Moriah is married and has four children. For self-care, she enjoys running and working outside in the yard.
Laura Quasney
Laura Quasney, is a Program Specialist with the South Dakota Department of Public Safety Victims’ Services Program. She began her work in state government in 2015 working for the Department of Social Services Division of Child Support managing cases pertaining to tribal jurisdiction. She began with the Victims’ Services Program in 2018 and works on the administration of Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), Family Violence Prevention and Services Program (FVPSA), STOP, Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP), and Access & Visitation Grant Program. Within this role, she is responsible for subrecipient management, on-going technical assistance, and federal grant compliance. Laura also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators. She is married with two young children and two dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys watching her kids’ activities and spending time outdoors fishing.
Laura Russell
Laura Russell is currently the Grant Programs Specialist for the S.T.O.P. VAWA, Rural, and VOCA Grants. She has been in this position since May 2016. Laura is responsible for grant monitoring, technical assistance, application reviews, writing the federal grant applications, and all other aspects of managing these grants. Prior to this position, she has been a travel agent in Oklahoma and Texas, a teachers’ assistant for grades K-2 in Mississippi, and the Federal Grants Division Assistant from 2013 – 2016. In 2015 – 2016, Laura was also the Grant Programs Specialist for the RSAT, PREA, and SORNA Grants. Laura earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Oklahoma State University. She has two sons and 2 grandchildren. She enjoys travelling and reading in her spare time.
Tierra Williams
Since her first introduction to victim service work in 2008, as a student volunteer in a domestic violence shelter, Tierra Williams has had a desire to promote large scale change in the lives of those impacted by violence. Tierra commenced her career within the Virginia state government in March 2016. She came to the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) in April 2018 as a Victims Services Program Specialist and in September 2020, she transitioned to the role of VSTOP and VSDVVF Grant Program Coordinator.
Her primary role is to provide oversight and management of state and federal grant programs and projects under the Virginia Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (VSTOP) and Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victim Fund (VSDVVF) funding opportunities. She does this by engaging in grant program coordination, providing technical assistance, training, data collection and federal performance reporting. She also provides insight to stakeholders and policy makers within the Virginia state government as it relates to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking services and resource development. Through her professional and academic careers, Tierra has had the opportunity to intern within the federal government, volunteer within local community action organizations, and gain insight on working with diverse populations through professional experiences in the education, government, healthcare, research, and local victim service sectors. Tierra enjoys committing herself to her physical wellness, shopping, and scary movies. She also serves as a mentor to undergraduate students and Board member for a local non-profit. Tierra is a Military Spouse and a “Bonus Mom” to two awesome Bonus Boys!
Barry Bryant – Executive Director
Barry began working with the NC Governor’s Crime Commission in 1993 and worked first as a VOCA administrator. When VAWA became part of the Crime Bill of 1994 and subsequently in 1995 when VAWA funding was first allocated to states and territories, Barry also begin distributing VAWA funding and helping programs all across NC understand more clearly how VOCA and VAWA funding could be used to improve services to crime victims. Barry served on the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) Board from 2003-2008 and was President of NAVAA in 2006 and 2007. Barry was the first Board President of AVA in 2007 and served until 2009. Barry retired from State government in 2015 and began working at HopeLine, a crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline, after his 25-year old nephew died by suicide. In March 2017, Barry began serving as the Executive Director of AVA. Barry has remained active in NC serving on his local domestic violence task force since 1993 and currently chairs Wake County’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Task Force. He has served as Chair since the inception of the fatality review task force in 2013. Barry is married and has two adult children and three grandchildren.