Gender-based Violence and Housing Specialist

Ms. Marcus has more than 20 years of experience working in the victim service field. She served in key leadership roles providing national-level training and technical assistance. She participated in the formulation of a technical assistance program for U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) grantees addressing violence against women with disabilities and Deaf women; and coordinated technical assistance engagements and authored materials for OVW grantees improving their criminal justice system response to domestic violence. Through the  Domestic Violence and Housing Technical Assistance Consortium (DVHTAC), an interagency initiative funded in part by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), she worked with OVC TA providers, trained VOCA administrators and supported OVC grantees to address the housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, sexual assualt and human trafficking. Ms. Marcus worked with over 50 federal, state and community-based housing program directors, administrators, researchers and funders through the creation and on-going coordination of a national peer network in support of providing financial assistance (flexible funding) to promote economic self-sufficiency and housing stability for survivors. She has designed and implemented a grants management training series for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Family Violence Prevention Services Administration (FVPSA) grantees, and developed grants management manuals for FVPSA State Administrators and tribal grantee. She has designed creative grants management solutions that leverage funding, including flexible funding solutions, between various federal grant programs. Ms. Marcus has authored leading guidance, policies, regulations, procedures, and practices for federally-funded domestic violence grantees and stakeholders, and is an experienced trainer and technical assistance provider on a range of safe housing topics, including housing protections for survivors afforded through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and other federal laws.