Celebrating 20 Years of Advocacy at the 2020 Virtual Voices for Justice Celebration
2020 has brought a host of “firsts” for our community, and last week we hosted our first ever virtual experience for our 6th Annual Voices for Justice celebration! It was an evening of celebrating 20 years of victims’ rights advocacy as an organization while imagining what we can accomplish for crime victim litigation in the next 20 years and beyond. Executive Director Meg Garvin energetically led the evening in recognizing and celebrating our victims’ rights community while giving attendees a brief history of NCVLI and its important role in the field of Victim Law.
We extend a special thanks to Emmy Award-winning journalist Anna Canzano for emceeing this event!
We were honored to be joined by our Keynote Reema Zaman, an award-winning speaker, actress, and author of the critically acclaimed memoir I AM YOURS.
Reema’s powerful story served as a reminder to all of us that understanding rights and access to support can change the outcomes for survivors of crime. As Reema noted,
“…Because of [NCVLI’s] tireless commitment to empowering survivors like myself, you have played a critical role in changing the culteral, political and social landscape surrounding the narrative about survivors, about assualt, about rape about abuse…because of your work you have made it that much more possible and supportive for survivors like myself to speak out and break their silence and pursue justice today.”
The evening included insights into NCVLI’s work from NCVLI staff, project partners, and Board President Jennifer Storm, who emphasized that meeting Meg Garvin and NCVLI changed her perspective as a victims’ rights advocate:
“As a victim advocate, NCVLI was a huge resource for me…there were so many times where I didn’t have another attorney to turn to who truly understood victims’ rights but also how to get creative and innovative in applying those rights to make sure that victims’ voices were heard. This is the beauty of NCVLI.”
The evening concluded with a special moment: in honor of 20 years of advocacy, NCVLI recognized community-nominated individuals and organizations nationally who have contributed to securing meaningful rights for victims. To see a complete listing of these honorees, click here.
We were certainly inspired by the stories and the generosity of our community! This evening would not have been possible without our generous sponsors, thank you! And thank you to the businesses and individuals who contributed donations to this year’s first-ever online auction! With your support in writing the next chapter of rights, Voices for Justice 2020 was a resounding success.
If you missed it, you may view the Voices for Justice recorded program here.
