Gov. Rick Snyder has announced 15 appointments to the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children.
The task force was established in accordance with "Erin's Law,” which protects against the sexual abuse of children. The panel has one year to provide recommendations for reducing child sexual abuse which will help in the creation of goals and guidelines for state and school policies.
“Protecting our children is one of the most important things we can do as a state,” Snyder said. “I thank this group of appointees and I am confident they will do good work on behalf of Michigan’s children.”
The members include Dorie Vazquez-Nolan, executive director of the Macomb County Child Advocacy Center and Care House where she is responsible for providing services to child victims of abuse and their families.
Vazquez-Nolan serves as the chair-elect of the Michigan chapter of the National Children’s Alliance.
Members serve one-year terms expiring June 17, 2015.
The appointments are not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
Other appointees are:
• Mark Boody, a sergeant with the Novi Police Department, who has experience in the investigation of child abuse and child sexual abuse and participated in the 2009 revision of Oakland County’s child abuse protocol.
Boody serves on the advisory council for Care House, Child Advocacy Center for Oakland County, the Youth Forum Committee for the city of Novi, and the Implementation Committee for the Novi Police Department.
• Denise Busley, co-founder and owner of Grand Traverse Pie Co. She is the board president of Zero Tolerance: ENDING Child Sexual Abuse, and works with the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center.
• Johanna Buzolits is the project director for the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Treatment Board and a psychologist in private practice.
She coordinates statewide sexual response initiatives, including training development for the Sexual Assault Response Team. She previously served as the director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center at the University of Michigan.
• Deborah Carley, division chief for children and youth services for the Department of the Attorney General, with experience in child abuse and neglect, physical child abuse and sexual assaults.
She previously worked in the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office and was an assistant prosecutor in the juvenile justice division, district court division, circuit court division, and the child sexual assault unit.
• Kristen Clark, executive director of human resources for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District where she coordinates school response to child sexual abuse and investigation, and works with community partners.
She previously served as executive director of labor relations and personnel for Howell Public Schools.
• Thomas Cottrell, vice president of counseling services for the YWCA of West Central Michigan, where he has served for 10 years. He is also an adjunct professor at the Western Michigan University School of Social Work.
Cottrell is a local and state trainer on child sexual abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault.
• Jerry Dorsey, chief of trials and litigation for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office where he works in the child abuse unit and is deputy chief of the special victims unit.
He has over 20 years of experience with the prosecutor’s office. Dorsey is chair of the Wayne County Council Against Family Violence and a member of the board of directors of the Guidance Center.
• Pamela Fitzgerald, a member of the Jackson Public Schools Board and a retired principal and teacher from Jackson High School. She has experience working with Children’s Protective Services in the Department of Human Services, and foster and adoptive parent associations.
Fitzgerald serves on the Michigan Supreme Court Foster Care Review Board for Jackson, Hillsdale and Lenawee counties.
• Kathy Hagenian, the executive policy director for the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.
Hagenian has worked in the field of intervention and prevention for over 25 years and has experience in policy, protocol and curriculum development. She previously worked for The Domestic Violence Project Inc. and SAFE House.
• Angie Kennedy, an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Michigan State University.
Kennedy conducted research regarding child sexual abuse including prevalence, risk factors and associated outcomes.
• Tom Knapp, chapter coordinator of the Michigan chapter of the National Children’s Alliance where he oversees and works with all of the children’s advocacy centers in Michigan.
Knapp also is a part-time faculty member at Grand Valley State University and the executive director of the Society of Michigan EMS Instructors and Coordinators, and has experience as a law enforcement investigator of child sexual abuse cases.
• Mary Lovik, the staff attorney for the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board.
Lovik previously served as an adjunct professor for the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University and as publications administrator and research attorney for the Michigan Judicial Institute.
• Cheryl Matthews, a family court judge with the Oakland County Circuit Court.
Previously, Matthews was an Oakland County prosecutor, serving as chief of the child sexual assault unit, and worked in private practice.
• Phyllis Van Order, coordinator of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program for sexual assault services of Calhoun County and Bronson Battle Creek, and the YWCA of Kalamazoo.
Van Order has professional experience in the care of sexual assault patients and is a founding member and past president of the Michigan chapter of the International Association of Forensic Nurses.
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