On July 25, 2000, OVC and the victims field lost one of its most ardent advocates. Susan Laurence passed away after a 2 1/2 year battle with cancer. We will all miss her.

SUSAN LAURENCE MEMORIAL AWARD
FOR PROFESSIONAL INNOVATION

Susan Laurence (Posthumous)
Program Specialist, Office for Victims of Crime
9/3/95 - 7/25/00

As a program specialist for the Office for Victims of Crime, Susan Laurence was responsible for guiding the Department of Justice in understanding the value of offender accountability in a victim's recovery and for helping to bring issues of victimization to the attention of criminal justice practitioners who work with offenders. Her work with corrections departments nationwide helped lead to the establishment of corrections-based victim-witness coordinator positions and the development of training programs to improve the response of corrections officials to crime victims. Due in large part to her efforts, many state corrections departments now have victim-witness units and the American Correctional Association has a full-fledged Victim Committee. Ms. Laurence also helped steer the victim service field to greater involvement in restorative justice. Prior to her work in this area, practices such as victim-offender mediation and family group conferencing focused primarily on their rehabilitative value to offenders. Ms. Laurence used her position to draw the attention of practitioners to the needs of victims and to the concerns many victims have about restorative justice practices, helping to ensure a viable avenue for victim healing through the criminal justice system.