MARY BETH BUCHANAN
Presentation: State of the Nation: What are the current priorities set by the OVW?
Friday, (5/18) at 12:20 pm
Mary Beth Buchanan currently serves as Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. Ms. Buchanan was designated to this position by President George W. Bush on November 29, 2006. As Acting Director, Ms. Buchanan serves as the liaison between the Department of Justice and Federal, State and International governments on the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. In this role, she is responsible for handling the Department's legal and policy issues regarding the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and oversees an annual budget of almost $400 million.
Mary Beth Buchanan also serves as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She was appointed by President Bush on September 5, 2001, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 2001. Ms. Buchanan is the first woman in Pennsylvania's history to be Presidentially appointed to this position. As United States Attorney, Ms. Buchanan oversees the prosecution of all federal crimes, and the litigation of civil matters in which the federal government has an interest, throughout the twenty-five counties in Western Pennsylvania.
At the request of the Attorney General, Ms. Buchanan also served from June 2004 until June 2005 as the Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. This Washington D.C.-based office provides oversight and coordination to the 94 United States Attorneys' Offices, 5,500 Assistant United States Attorney's, and 5,000 support staff employees nationwide.
Prior to her appointment as United States Attorney, Ms. Buchanan was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Pennsylvania. During this role, Ms. Buchanan acted as the District's Violence Against Women Act Coordinator, and was instrumental in the formation of the Western Pennsylvania Crimes Against Children Task Force. From its inception until her appointment as United States Attorney, Ms. Buchanan served as the Chair of the Crimes Against Children Task Force and the district's Child Exploitation Coordinator.
Ms. Buchanan is a 1984 graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, and a 1987 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
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