163 Survivor-Turned-Activist to Address Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse Issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 30, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TO SPEAK AT MTSU
Survivor-Turned-Activist to Address Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse Issues

(MURFREESBORO) – Olga Trujillo, a much-honored activist against the abuse of women, children and immigrants, will speak at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the Tennessee Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. Her speech is free and open to the public.
Trujillo, who survived abuse as a child and rape as an adult, is Director of Programs at Casa de Esperanza in St. Paul, Minn., and founder of O.R.T. Solutions, Inc., a company that works on domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, immigration and human trafficking issues.
Her career began in the U.S. Department of Justice, where she assessed asylum regulations implemented by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. She also oversaw the department’s implementation of the Mariel Cuban program.
As General Counsel of the Office of Justice Programs, Trujillo led the agency’s implementation of the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1994, including the Violence against Women Act and several immigration provisions.
Later, Trujillo served as Legal Counsel in the Office for Victims of Crime, urging officials to pursue funding for victims of immigrant crime. Her most recent position at the Justice Department was Director of the Special Projects Division of the Office for Victims of Crime, managing an $8 million discretionary grant program for nationwide training on victim issues.
Trujillo has worked as a consultant with several organizations, including Praxis International, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the Battered Women’s Justice Project, the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, the National Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, as well as local and state groups.
She is the recipient of the 2006 Bud Cramer Leadership Award from the National Children’s Alliance and is one of the recipients of the 2006 Peace Award from the Sunshine Lady Foundation.
Olga Trujillo’s appearance is sponsored by the June Anderson Women’s Center at MTSU. For more information, contact the center at 615-898-2913 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color jpeg photo of Olga Trujillo, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.