Judy Benitez is executive director of Louisiana Foundation Against
Sexual Assault, the state’s coalition of sexual assault crisis centers
and other agencies concerned with sexual violence. LaFASA’s mission
is to work toward ending sexual violence in Louisiana, through education,
program support, and social change. Judy has worked with victims of crime
since 1990, serving as victim advocate and program director for the 21st
District Attorney’s Tri-Parish Victims Assistance and Rape Crisis
Programs from 1990 to 1993 and executive director of LaFASA since 1993.
She is a former President of the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Judy holds a Master’s degree in counseling from Southeastern Louisiana
University and a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University.
She is a former newspaper reporter. As a journalist she worked at the Hammond,
La., Daily Star, the Danville Register of Danville, Virginia, and the Herald-Journal
of Syracuse, N.Y., as well as weekly newspapers in Massachusetts and Central
New York. While at the Daily Star, she covered the local district court, which
included frequent coverage of criminal trials and the experiences of crime victims.
A desire to help crime victims directly led her to leave journalism and join
the District Attorney’s victim assistance program. Judy continues to use
her journalism background in the writing, editing, and design of LaFASA’s
newsletter, the Lexicon.
Judy is a 1996 graduate of the National Victim Assistance Academy, sponsored
by the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime. In 2002, she completed
the intensive Advanced Threat Assessment and Management Academy of Gavin de Becker
and Associates, and in 2004 she completed the 40-hour Leadership Training Institute
of the National Coalition Building Institute. She serves on numerous state and
national level task forces and advisory boards. She has been qualified as an
expert witness in state district court and has presented trainings and keynote
addresses at numerous local, regional, state and national conferences. She continues
to volunteer at her local rape crisis center, providing counseling and hospital
advocacy.
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