Many people are hurting because of an act of violence committed against them. Anyone – men, women, and children may be affected by violence. Our children are subjected to neglect, physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Research shows as many as 1 in 4 girls will be victims of sexual abuse by the time they are 18-years-old. For boys, the number is 1 in 6. Often the abuse is a “family secret” passed from one generation to another.
There is hope and restoration at the Advocacy Center.The Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children began in 1976 as the Waco Rape Crisis Center. It has grown into an umbrella agency with three programs, the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC),
The Victims Center, and Prevention and Education – offering many services to the hurting in our community.
Over the past year the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children has:
89 FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS and 566 FORENSIC INTERVIEWS provided
at the Center of children 17 and under that have made an outcry of abuse, if abuse is
suspected or if the child has witnessed a crime.
53 NON-OFFENDING PARENTS attended Family Forward and Learning initiatives
Following Trauma groups. This number is lower than usual due to COVID-19.
695 RESPONSES to the 24/7 crisis hotline for survivors of sexual assault and other violence crimes.
210 OF THE 695 crisis hotline calls resulted in Advocates going to Waco hospitals, of
which . . .
159 FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS were performed by a Sexual Assault Forensic
Examiner.
1,134 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY VICTIMS OF CRIME received direct counseling
and advocacy services.
102 PREVENTION RELATED PROGRAMS were presented by Prevention and Education
staff to 646 ATTENDEES.
435 MEDIA POSTS with 94,481 VIEWS/ENGAGEMENTS. Staff began a
podcast, provided both virtual and physical resources for families, provided book and movie
discussion materials around various topics and created videos that have over 1,200 views.
2024-2025 ADVOCACY CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Lindsay Bawduniak
Treasurer
Tammy Harralson
Secretary
Michaela (Miki) Alvarado
Lacy Brejcha
Ashley Bryant
Dr. Kristy Donaldson
Rachael Fineske
Briana Gongora
Grant Hayes
Sarah Hopkins-McCormack
Joseph Scaramucci
Josh Tetens
Jared Wallace
Shanta Williams
OUR STAFF
| Name | Title | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aleigh Ascherl | Executive Director | aascherl@advocacycntr.org | x110 |
| Alexis Dawkins | Forensic Interviewer | adawkins@advocacycntr.org | x113 |
| Amy Derrick | Crisis Hotline Coordinator-Case Manager | aderrick@advocacycntr.org | x126 |
| Arianna Gaines | Prevention Educator | againes@advocacycntr.org | x108 |
| Ashley Cassell | CAC Intake Coordinator | acassell@advocacycntr.org | x103 |
| Bernie Cano | Client Service Specialist | bcano@advocacycntr.org | x100 |
| Doug Cummins | Victims Center Program Director | dcummins@advocacycntr.org | x116 |
| Elsie Naruszewicz | Prevention Educator | enaruszewicz@advocacycntr.org | x108 |
| Erika Rodriguez | Lead Counselor – LPC | erodriguez@adovcacycntr.org | x213 |
| Gracia Martinez | Family Advocate and Case Intake Specialist | gmartinez@advocacycntr.org | x119 |
| Heather Kocian | Forensic Interviewer | hfillmore@advocacycntr.org | x105 |
| Heydi McKinney | Senior Lead Bilingual Forensic Interviewer | hmckinney@advocacycntr.org | x106 |
| Jennifer Getterman | Development Director | jgetterman@advocacycntr.org | x130 |
| Jennifer Jimenez | Rural CAC Client Services Specialist | jjimenez@advocacycntr.org | — |
| Dr. Kerry Burkley | CAC Program Director | kburkley@advocacycntr.org | x101 |
| Kristen Bradley | Counselor | kbradley@advocacycntr.org | x117 |
| Kristi Skains | Rural County Supervisor | kskains@advocacycntr.org | — |
| Kristin Arterbury | Counselor | karterbury@advocacycntr.org | x120 |
| Kyla Wilson | Prevention and Education Director | kwilson@advocacycntr.org | x118 |
| Laura Downing | Lead Counselor – LCSW | ldowning@advocacycntr.org | x109 |
| Lucero Aguilar | Counselor | laguilar@advocacycntr.org | x124 |
| Melissa Buchanan | Training and Outreach Specialist | mbuchanan@advocacycntr.org | x108 |
| Melissa Mansolo-Byrd | Bilingual Family Advocate | MMansolo-Byrd@advocacycntr.org | x102 |
| Melissa SoRelle | Counselor | msorelle@advocacycntr.org | x212 |
| Mickie Dye | Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Coordinator | mdye@advocacycntr.org | x123 |
| Mónica Davila | Prevention Community Organizer | mdavila@advocacycntr.org | x108 |
| Nicole Vassilico | Administrative and Operations Manager | adminsupport@advocacycntr.org | x111 |
| Patsy Buckner | Senior Family Advocate | pbuckner@advocacycntr.org | x114 |
| Sarah Hopping | Case Management Supervisor | shopping@advocacycntr.org | x121 |
| Shannon Yocham | Counselor | syocham@advocacycntr.org | x107 |
| Dr. Soo Battle | Medical Advisor/Pediatric Examiner | sbattle@advocacycntr.org | x104 |
| Sue Argabright | Grants and Staff Accountant | sargabright@advocacycntr.org | x112 |
| Sydney Lackey | Crisis Hotline Supervisor/Case Manager | slackey@advocacycntr.org | x129 |
| Teresa Perez | Bilingual Crisis Hotline Supervisor/Case Manager | tperez@advocacycntr.org | x115 |